Friday, April 14
Starkville
4:00 PM
Mississippi State
23-17, 3-9
3
vs
4
#16 Alabama
30-12, 7-6
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
Alabama
1
0
2
0
0
0
1
4
7
0
Mississippi State
0
0
1
0
0
0
2
3
5
2
Seventh-Inning Rally Falls Short Against No. 16 Alabama
April 14, 2023 | Softball
STARKVILLE – Mississippi State's seventh-inning rally fell short on Friday afternoon as the Bulldogs brought the winning run at the plate in a 4-3 series-opening loss to No. 16 Alabama.
The Crimson Tide (30-12, 7-6 SEC) got out to a 3-0 lead through the top of the third inning before the Bulldogs added a run in the bottom of the frame. Alabama added what ended up being the game-deciding run in the seventh inning.
Mississippi State rallied in the bottom of the seventh, putting three runners on after the first two batters were retired. Madisyn Kennedy hit a two-run homer to cut the lead to one run, and she was followed by a double from Nadia Barbary. Jackie McKenna fought to a full count as a pinch hitter before going down on strikes to end the ballgame.
"We knew it was going to be another fight, and [Montana Fouts] is one of the best in the country," head coach Samantha Ricketts said. "We had to be on our A-game. It was good to see us battle to the end, and I thought we had some better at bats than we've seen the last few weekends. It's something we have to use moving forward. We'll get another chance at her later in the weekend, and even into tomorrow. It was good to see some fight, competitiveness and attacking into our plan and not just sitting back and waiting on someone to attack first."
MSU (23-17, 3-9 SEC) saw Reis Beuerlein hold Alabama to one run in 4.2 innings of relief work. In addition to her double, Barbary also singled and scored earlier in the game. Aquana Brownlee and Saleyna Daniel both collected singles in the contest.
"I think they were doing a good job of learning from at-bat to at-bat. They shared information and just kinda talked about, 'Hey this is what the setup was. We've got to make sure we're attacking this pitch.' She's going to get her strikeouts. That's going to happen. Just not letting that define us, understanding that if we keep sticking with our plan and hitting the ball hard, a couple were going to drop finally. It was good to see them drop at the end. I thought we had a couple hard hit early on that just didn't fall for us. It was just staying with the process, staying within and not trying to do too much with the game on the line there."
Madisyn Kennedy on fighting into the seventh inning and homering…
"What we have been focusing on is to focus on our sisters beside us and not care about anything else that is said. We are just going to focus on each other and fight with each other."
Madisyn Kennedy on facing Montana Fouts…
"We have practiced [facing her] all week in practice. We were confident going into the game, knowing the pitches she was going to throw. We had a lot of confidence in our at-bats and the person behind us. No matter what the situation was, someone was going to get it done. It may have only come at the end of the game, but we still had a lot of confidence. Everyone said in their first at-bat that they felt confident."
Reis Beuerlein – Threw the final 4.2 innings, allowing one run.
Paige Cook – Hit a sacrifice fly in the third … leads the team with 32 RBIs.
Saleyna Daniel – Delivered a single as a pinch hitter and took second on a wild pitch.
Madisyn Kennedy – Hit a two-run homer … it was her second multi-RBI game of the year.
Ashley Prange drew a leadoff walk and Kenleigh Cahalan followed up with a single into center field. Prange was retired at third on a fielder's choice from Ally Shipman. Bailey Dowling grounded out to shortstop to move the runners to second and third. Cahalan scored on a passed ball.
No. 16 Alabama 1, Mississippi State 0
Top 3
Prange walked on four pitches, and Jordan Stephens pinch ran at first. Stephens advanced to second on a wild pitch before the first out was recorded on a fly ball. Shipman beat out an infield single to shortstop, advancing Stephens to third, and Dowling walked to load the bases. Jenna Johnson then lofted a single down the right-field line to drive in Stephens. Emma Broadfoot hit a sacrifice fly to left to score Shipman.
No. 16 Alabama 3, Mississippi State 0
Bottom 3
Nadia Barbary lined a single to center field and advanced to third on an infield single by Saleyna Daniel that then kicked off the third baseman's glove. Paige Cook brought Barbary home on a sacrifice fly to center field.
No. 16 Alabama 3, Mississippi State 1
Top 7
Cahalan drew a leadoff walk, and Shipman singled on a bunt to get two runners on with no outs. Dowling moved the runners to second and third with a sacrifice bunt. Johnson then singled through the left side to bring in Cahalan.
No. 16 Alabama 4, Mississippi State 1
Bottom 7
Riley Hull worked a two-out walk to set up Madisyn Kennedy's two-run home run to left-center.
No. 16 Alabama 4, Mississippi State 3
The Crimson Tide (30-12, 7-6 SEC) got out to a 3-0 lead through the top of the third inning before the Bulldogs added a run in the bottom of the frame. Alabama added what ended up being the game-deciding run in the seventh inning.
Mississippi State rallied in the bottom of the seventh, putting three runners on after the first two batters were retired. Madisyn Kennedy hit a two-run homer to cut the lead to one run, and she was followed by a double from Nadia Barbary. Jackie McKenna fought to a full count as a pinch hitter before going down on strikes to end the ballgame.
"We knew it was going to be another fight, and [Montana Fouts] is one of the best in the country," head coach Samantha Ricketts said. "We had to be on our A-game. It was good to see us battle to the end, and I thought we had some better at bats than we've seen the last few weekends. It's something we have to use moving forward. We'll get another chance at her later in the weekend, and even into tomorrow. It was good to see some fight, competitiveness and attacking into our plan and not just sitting back and waiting on someone to attack first."
MSU (23-17, 3-9 SEC) saw Reis Beuerlein hold Alabama to one run in 4.2 innings of relief work. In addition to her double, Barbary also singled and scored earlier in the game. Aquana Brownlee and Saleyna Daniel both collected singles in the contest.
Quotables
Samantha Ricketts on differences in later plate appearances."I think they were doing a good job of learning from at-bat to at-bat. They shared information and just kinda talked about, 'Hey this is what the setup was. We've got to make sure we're attacking this pitch.' She's going to get her strikeouts. That's going to happen. Just not letting that define us, understanding that if we keep sticking with our plan and hitting the ball hard, a couple were going to drop finally. It was good to see them drop at the end. I thought we had a couple hard hit early on that just didn't fall for us. It was just staying with the process, staying within and not trying to do too much with the game on the line there."
Madisyn Kennedy on fighting into the seventh inning and homering…
"What we have been focusing on is to focus on our sisters beside us and not care about anything else that is said. We are just going to focus on each other and fight with each other."
Madisyn Kennedy on facing Montana Fouts…
"We have practiced [facing her] all week in practice. We were confident going into the game, knowing the pitches she was going to throw. We had a lot of confidence in our at-bats and the person behind us. No matter what the situation was, someone was going to get it done. It may have only come at the end of the game, but we still had a lot of confidence. Everyone said in their first at-bat that they felt confident."
Quick Hitters
Nadia Barbary – Posted her fifth career multi-hit game and has a hit in three-straight contests … doubled and scored a run.Reis Beuerlein – Threw the final 4.2 innings, allowing one run.
Paige Cook – Hit a sacrifice fly in the third … leads the team with 32 RBIs.
Saleyna Daniel – Delivered a single as a pinch hitter and took second on a wild pitch.
Madisyn Kennedy – Hit a two-run homer … it was her second multi-RBI game of the year.
Scoring Recap
Top 1 Ashley Prange drew a leadoff walk and Kenleigh Cahalan followed up with a single into center field. Prange was retired at third on a fielder's choice from Ally Shipman. Bailey Dowling grounded out to shortstop to move the runners to second and third. Cahalan scored on a passed ball.
No. 16 Alabama 1, Mississippi State 0
Top 3
Prange walked on four pitches, and Jordan Stephens pinch ran at first. Stephens advanced to second on a wild pitch before the first out was recorded on a fly ball. Shipman beat out an infield single to shortstop, advancing Stephens to third, and Dowling walked to load the bases. Jenna Johnson then lofted a single down the right-field line to drive in Stephens. Emma Broadfoot hit a sacrifice fly to left to score Shipman.
No. 16 Alabama 3, Mississippi State 0
Bottom 3
Nadia Barbary lined a single to center field and advanced to third on an infield single by Saleyna Daniel that then kicked off the third baseman's glove. Paige Cook brought Barbary home on a sacrifice fly to center field.
No. 16 Alabama 3, Mississippi State 1
Top 7
Cahalan drew a leadoff walk, and Shipman singled on a bunt to get two runners on with no outs. Dowling moved the runners to second and third with a sacrifice bunt. Johnson then singled through the left side to bring in Cahalan.
No. 16 Alabama 4, Mississippi State 1
Bottom 7
Riley Hull worked a two-out walk to set up Madisyn Kennedy's two-run home run to left-center.
No. 16 Alabama 4, Mississippi State 3
On Deck
The Bulldogs continue their series with the Crimson Tide at 1:30 p.m. CT on Saturday. The game will air on SEC Network+.Follow the Bulldogs
For more information on the Bulldog softball program, follow on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram by searching "HailStateSB."
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Montana Fouts (16-6)
L: Hawk, Kenley (3-5)
Batting:
RBI: Jenna Johnson 2 ; Emma Broadfoot 1
SH: Bailey Dowling 1 ; Kat Grill 1
SF: Emma Broadfoot 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Jordan Stephens 1 ; Kenleigh Cahalan 2 ; Ally Shipman 1
SB: Larissa Preuitt 1
Batting:
2B: Barbary, Nadia 1
HR: Kennedy, Madisyn 1
RBI: Cook, Paige 1 ; Kennedy, Madisyn 2
SF: Cook, Paige 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Hull, Riley 1 ; Kennedy, Madisyn 1 ; Barbary, Nadia 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
2
ph/cf
AB
2
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
INF
/ Softball
P
/ SoftballINF
/ Softball
INF
/ SoftballOF
/ Softball
C/INF
/ SoftballINF
/ Softball
C/UTL
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