State Drops Series Opener To Ole Miss

Saturday, April 2

Starkville

6:00 PM

Mississippi State

20-14, 1-6

Ole Miss

27-9, 3-4

Ole Miss

Mississippi State

State Drops Series Opener To Ole Miss

April 02, 2016 | Softball

Box Score

By: hailstate.com

STARKVILLE, Miss. – In front of a near-record crowd, the Mississippi State softball team (20-14, 1-6 SEC) dropped game one of its Southeastern Conference series with in-state rival Ole Miss (27-9, 3-4 SEC) 4-3 at Nusz Park.

With 1,474 on hand, an attendance that ranked fifth in MSU program history, the Bulldogs were unable to overcome a late home run from the Rebels in the series opener.

A trio of Bulldogs combined for the five MSU hits as senior Kayla Winkfield and junior Katie Anne Bailey led the way, going 2-for-4 on the night, while Winkfield added an RBI.

“These kids are resilient and tough,” head coach Vann Stuedeman said. “They have great team chemistry and enjoy spending time together. They are going to give their best effort and really work hard to make things happen in our favor.”

A leadoff single followed by a stolen base and an MSU wild pitch allowed the visiting Rebels to jump out to a 1-0 lead in the first.

In the home half of the second, the Bulldogs had juniors Amanda Ivy and Mackenzie Toler lead off the inning with walks. Freshman Sarai Niu made OM pay with a one-run double to the wall in right center to tie the game at one. State later loaded the bases and a four-pitch walk to junior Alexis Silkwood pushed across another run to give MSU a 2-1 lead after two.

Pitching and defense took control for the middle innings as both sides put runners on base, but were unable to bring any across to score.

The Rebels had their best opportunity in the top of the sixth with runners on first and second as a hard hit ball off of third baseman Caroline Seitz's glove led to a 5-2-6-3 putout that resulted in Niu applying a tag at the plate for the second out of the inning. On a 2-1 count, the next Rebel hitter homered to straightaway center field for a three-run shot that put OM on top 4-2.

State would prove its resiliency in the home half of the same inning by putting its first two batters on base. With one away, Winkfield singled to center, scoring freshman pinch runner Emily Heimberger from second and cutting the Rebel lead to one.

The Bulldogs got their leadoff runner on base in the seventh, but nothing more as OM took game one 4-3.

Madi Osias (14-3) collected the win for the Rebels, allowing just one run on four hits in 4.1 innings in relief of OM starter Elisha Jahnke. Kayla Landwehrmier (1) got the save after lasting the final 1.2 innings of the game.

Freshman starter Regan Green (5-5) suffered the loss for State, allowing four runs, one earned, on four hits over 6.0 innings.

The two sides will return to the field Sunday for game two in a nationally-televised tilt on ESPNU with first pitch set for 6:02 p.m. CT. Admission is free for all regular season games at Nusz Park.

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.”