State Rally Falls Short Against South Alabama

Tuesday, April 26

Starkville

6:00 PM

Mississippi State

24-24

South Alabama

27-16

South Alabama

Mississippi State

State Rally Falls Short Against South Alabama

April 27, 2016 | Softball

Box Score

By: hailstate.com

STARKVILLE, Miss. – Once again the Mississippi State softball team (24-24) proved its relentless effort and tenacity, but fell 2-1 to South Alabama (27-16) Tuesday at Nusz Park.

Senior Kayla Winkfield looked to spark a rally in the bottom of the seventh for MSU, but the effort fell short after she helped her side cut the deficit in half.

Bulldog junior starter Alexis Silkwood and sophomore relievers Cassady Knudsen and Holly Ward were masterful in the circle for State, combining for seven strikeouts and allowing one walk.

“It was another tough outing for these young ladies,” MSU head coach Vann Stuedeman said. “We have the third-strongest schedule in the nation and we are feeling it. We need to stand together, fight together and believe in one another. I look forward to our next opportunity to win another pitch.”

The Jags loaded the bases with no outs in the top of the second, but Silkwood buckled down to strike out two and get a groundout to escape the jam without any runs to score.

USA threatened again in the third, but this time came through with a two-out double down the line in left to score runners from first and second, taking a 2-0 lead.

State was successful in putting runners on base over the course of the game, but were unable to bring runners across and snap the shutout.

Having reached via walks on her first three at bats on the night, Winkfield put bat to ball for a double off the wall in right to lead off the seventh. What seemed as a simple groundout from junior Amanda Ivy to move Winkfield to third turned into more as the Giddings, Texas native alertly took home on the play, snapping the shutout and drawing within one.

The rally ended there for the Bulldogs as consecutive outs secured the victory for the visiting Jags.

Devin Brown (16-10) collected the win for USA by allowing just one run on four hits in a complete-game effort. Brown also walked three and struck out five on the night.

Silkwood (4-9) suffered the loss in 6.0 innings after surrendering the Jags' two runs on seven hits. Silkwood also struck out five batters for the 30th time in her career as a Bulldog. Knudsen tossed 0.2 innings and struck out both batters she faced, while Ward fielded an easy grounder against the lone batter she faced.

MSU will now hit the road tomorrow to take on Mississippi Valley State at 6 p.m. Wednesday in Itta Bena, Mississippi.

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.”