Bulldogs Fall In 12-Inning Battle To No. 11 LSU

Saturday, April 16

Starkville

7:00 PM

Mississippi State

23-19, 3-11

#11 LSU

31-13, 6-11

LSU

Mississippi State

Bulldogs Fall In 12-Inning Battle To No. 11 LSU

April 16, 2016 | Softball

Box Score

By: hailstate.com

STARKVILLE, Miss. – In front of a record-setting crowd of 1,612, the Mississippi State softball team (23-19, 3-11 SEC) fell to No. 11 LSU (31-13, 6-11 SEC) 5-2 in a tough 12-inning battle at Nusz Park on Saturday night.

The victory allowed the Tigers to even the three-game Southeastern Conference series after the Bulldogs took game one Friday to open Super Bulldog Weekend.

“We have had some extra-inning marathons we haven't been able to come out on top of,” head coach Vann Stuedeman said. “In the bottom of the seventh we had chances to score and it is a tough game to lose. We had some incredible defensive plays and a lot of things went our way, but it didn't show up on the scoreboard.”

Throughout the first four innings both offenses and defenses were evenly matched. In the top of the fifth inning the Tiger bats came alive with a single up the middle and infield single, but a two-run single went down as an out after the batter had not been reentered into the game.

In the bottom of the sixth, junior Amanda Ivy caught the defense sleeping with a bunt single. A shot from junior Mackenzie Toler to left center scored the first run of the night to give MSU a 1-0 lead.

In the top of the seventh, LSU answered back with a solo home run to tie the game, marking the first run the Tigers had scored against the Bulldogs in 12 innings. Following another State pitching change, LSU added another run on a double to take a 2-1 lead.

Down to their final three outs, MSU mounted a rally. Senior Kayla Winkfield took first on a hit by pitch and advanced to second on a single from junior Caroline Seitz. The Tigers went to the bullpen in an effort to seal the victory, but a wild pitch scored Winkfield from third to tie the game and send it to extras.

The seventh through 11th innings were similar to those at the beginning of the game where the defenses and offenses were evenly matched and runners on base were kept from crossing the plate.

The top of the 12th saw the Tiger bats come alive. A leadoff triple and a sacrifice fly allowed LSU to retake the lead. A two-run double to center extended LSU's lead to 5-2.

With a chance to extend the game even further, the Bulldogs were unable to mount a rally as the Tigers took the game and evened the series.

LSU reliever Carley Hoover (12-6) collected the victory, allowing only one hit, no runs and striking out six batters over 5.2 innings.

Junior Alexis Silkwood (3-6) took the loss for the Bulldogs after giving up four Tiger runs on seven hits in 5.1 innings of relief.

The teams will return to the field Sunday for the rubber game, first pitch is set for 3:32 p.m. CT with the game to air nationally on SEC Network.

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.”