Silkwood Returns As State Improves To 16-3

Sunday, March 6

Starkville

2:00 PM

Mississippi State

16-3

Western Kentucky

8-10

Western Kentucky

Mississippi State

Silkwood Returns As State Improves To 16-3

March 06, 2016 | Softball

Box Score

By: hailstate.com

STARKVILLE, Miss. – Making her first appearance of the 2016 season, junior Alexis Silkwood got the start and allowed the Mississippi State softball team (16-3) to cruise to a 7-0 win over Western Kentucky (8-10) Sunday at Nusz Park.

MSU finished the weekend 4-1 as the Bulldog Slamboree hosts, outscoring its opponents 17-2 and collecting three shutout victories.

Senior Kayla Winkfield paced the Bulldog offense in the event's final game by going 2-for-4 with two runs scored and a triple. MSU was patient at the plate as a whole, drawing six walks and three hit batters.

“I thought (assistant) coach (Samantha) Ricketts had a really good plan going in,” head coach Vann Stuedeman said. “We did well and we had runners on base. Any time you have more runs than hits that is a message received. We will definitely celebrate that for sure.”

State jumped on the Lady Toppers early on with assistance from two hits, three walks and two hit batters between two WKU pitchers. Having loaded the bases four times in the frame, the Bulldogs led 4-0 after one.

Just as it has done all season, the Bulldog defense ruled the day to keep runners in scoring position from crossing the plate. Sophomore Cassady Knudsen entered in relief of Silkwood in the third and starred from the time she entered the circle by striking out the side.

The MSU offense would come alive once again in the fifth. A leadoff triple from Winkfield was the first of only two runs in the inning, but alert base running paired with a hit batter and a Lady Topper error allowed State to bring three across and take a 7-0 lead.

Knudsen continued her success with a seven-run cushion and had a combined no-hit effort with Silkwood that was broken up by a base hit to open the seventh inning. WKU would go on to load the bases, but a fly out to right would end it and give MSU the 7-0 victory.

Picking up the win was Knudsen (3-0) who tossed five complete innings and struck out a season-high seven batters, while having allowed just two hits. Silkwood finished with two strikeouts in 2.0 innings. Starter Hannah Parker (5-6) took the loss for the Lady Toppers as she allowed four runs in just 0.2 innings pitched in the first.

The Bulldogs will close their six-game homestand Tuesday with one game vs. Penn State at 6 p.m. CT. The game will air live on SEC Network+ via WatchESPN.com and the Watch ESPN app.

For more information on the MSU softball program, follow “HailStateSB” on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. You can also find all-access coverage of the Bulldogs on SnapChat by searching for “HailStateSnap.”