No. 22 Bulldogs Drop Series Opener to No. 5 Florida; DH Scheduled for Saturday

Friday, April 20

Starkville

6:00 PM

Mississippi State

33-13, 0

#5 Florida

39-7, 0

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
Florida	3	0	2	1	0	2	0	8	10	1
Mississippi State	0	1	0	0	0	2	0	3	2	2

Mia Davidson slugged her 16th home run of the season during No. 22 MSU's series opener vs. No. 5 Florida.

No. 22 Bulldogs Drop Series Opener to No. 5 Florida; DH Scheduled for Saturday

April 20, 2018 | Softball

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STARKVILLE, Miss – No. 22 Mississippi State (33-13, 6-10 SEC) slugged two homers off No.5 Florida (39-7, 13-3) ace Kelly Barnhill, but the Gators took game one of the weekend series, 8-3, Friday night at Nusz Park.

Junior Kat Moore and Freshman Mia Davidson recorded the lone Bulldog hits in the contest, both home runs.

Making her first start in conference play, sophomore Candace Denis tossed the complete game, allowing eight runs off 10 hits and four walks. Denis struck out a career-high six Gators in the contest.

The Gators struck early with two home runs in the top first to take a 3-0 lead. Moore sliced the lead to 3-1 with a solo home run in the top of the second, but Florida answered in the top of the third, taking advantage of a Mississippi State error to plate two unearned runs.

Florida added to its lead with a sacrifice fly in the top of the fourth before taking an 8-1 advantage in the sixth with an RBI triple and a second sacrifice fly of the game.

The Bulldogs rallied in the bottom of the sixth as junior Emily Heimberger got on base with a hit by pitch before Davidson slugged her 16th home run of the season to slice the lead to 8-3.

Freshman pinch hitter Carter Spexarth drew a one-out walk in the bottom of the seventh, but the Bulldogs could not rally.

MAMA MIA!
With her 16^th home run of the season, Mia Davidson now stands third outright in single-season history. She is just one home run away from tying Courtney Bures for the MSU freshman record and two from tying Iyhia McMichael for the MSU single-season record.

FLORIDA SERIES SCHEDULE
Friday, April 20 – No. 5 Florida def. No. 22 Mississippi State, 8-3
Saturday, April 21 – No. 22 Mississippi State vs. No. 5 Florida (1 p.m. CT)
Saturday, April 22 – No. 22 Mississippi State vs. No. 5 Florida (30 minutes following game two)

WATCH LIVE
All three of this weekend's games will be streamed on the SEC Network+ via WatchESPN and the WatchESPN app.

Game Two: No. 22 Mississippi State vs. No. 5 Florida
Game Three: No. 22 Mississippi State vs. No. 5 Florida

LIVE STATS
Mississippi State will provide live stats for all three games this weekend, which may be accessed through the link below.

No. 22 Mississippi State vs. No. 5 Florida Live Stats

ADMISSION
Admission to all regular-season home games at Nusz Park is free.

PROMOTIONS
SATURDAY - Pregame: Women's Basketball Senior First Pitch; In-Game: Women's Basketball Team Recognition; Free T-Shirts & Gift Card; s Throughout the Game; Up to 225 Hail State Rewards Points, 150 Bully's Kids Club Points

ON DECK
Due to inclement weather on Sunday, Florida and Mississippi State will now play a doubleheader on Saturday, April 21. Game one of Saturday's is set for 1 p.m. CT. Game two of Saturday's doubleheader will begin approximately 30 minutes after game one.