Bulldogs Battle, But Drop Game Two At No. 1 Florida

Saturday, April 23

Gainesville, Fla.

12:00 PM

Mississippi State

24-22, 3-14

#1 Florida

44-3, 14-3

Mississippi State

Florida

Bulldogs Battle, But Drop Game Two At No. 1 Florida

April 23, 2016 | Softball

Box Score

By: hailstate.com

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Six stellar innings from the Mississippi State softball team (24-22, 3-14 SEC) were overshadowed by one that allowed No. 1 Florida (44-3, 14-3 SEC) to take game two, 6-3, Saturday.

State gave UF starter Aleshia Ocasio everything she could handle and tagged her with the worst start of the 2016 season, but a six-run third inning from the Gators overshadowed the sharp showing by the MSU offense against the nation's top pitching staff.

Junior Caroline Seitz led the Bulldogs at the plate with a 2-for-4 performance with one run batted in and one run scored, while senior Kayla Winkfield scored twice on the day. The game two victory gives the Gators the Southeastern Conference series win.

“I'm proud of the fight in our Bulldogs today,” head coach Vann Stuedeman said. “We had our chances, but could not capitalize.”

The Bulldogs started early as a leadoff walk to Winkfield set the table for a two-out double from junior Mackenzie Toler that gave MSU a 1-0 lead in the first.

Winkfield made an impact again in the third, this time with a triple to right to lead off the inning and Seitz followed with a single to plate Winkfield and put State on top 2-0.

A two-out double from the Gators in the home half of the third served as the first UF hit of the game, scoring two and evening score. The inning continued with a pair of walks to load the bases and the Gators made it count with a grand slam to take a 6-2 advantage.

Junior Amanda Ivy notched a two-out double for the Bulldogs which scored Seitz from second and cut the deficit to 6-3 in the top of the fifth. The score would not draw any closer as the Gators clinched the series.

Ocasio (16-1) picked up the win for UF, allowing all three State runs on five hits and three walks over 5.0 innings pitched.

Junior starter Alexis Silkwood (4-7) suffered the loss for State after allowing all six runs on four hits and five walks. The East Alton, Illinois native struck out three in the complete-game effort.

The series will conclude Sunday with a nationally-televised tilt on SEC Network that will begin at 4:02 p.m. CT.

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.”