Saturday, April 13
Starkville
2:30 PM
Mississippi State
29-11, 9-8
1
vs
6
#4 Tennessee
31-7, 11-3
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
Tennessee
3
0
0
0
1
0
2
6
11
0
Mississippi State
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
1
3
1
No. 16 Bulldogs Split Series With No. 4 Tennessee, Rubber Match Sunday
April 13, 2024 | Softball
STARKVILLE – No. 4/4 Tennessee evened the series with No. 16/17 Mississippi State on Saturday as the Bulldogs fell, 6-1. The loss sets up a decisive third game in the series at noon CT on Sunday.
The Lady Vols (31-7, 11-3 SEC) scored three in the first inning to take control of the game. The Bulldogs (29-11, 9-8 SEC) answered back in the fourth, but Tennessee added insurance runs in the fifth and seventh.
"I thought [Tennessee's Payton Gottschall] pitched great. We just did not do a good enough job of adjusting or swinging within the plan to start with," head coach Samantha Ricketts said. "I thought she did a really good job staying in tight on our hands. She didn't really leave many over the plate. You know, credit to her. They're a great team. They're a great pitching staff, and we knew this weekend was going to be a battle coming in. I think with our offense we expect, we at least want to be tough outs and I don't feel like we really had a whole lot of that except for maybe one inning I can think of where we felt like we were swinging at the right pitches and really attacking."
Jessie Blaine provided the MSU run on a solo homer with two outs. Sierra Sacco and Salen Hawkins also added hits for State.
"Big credit to them. They came back ready to play after last night, and you know it's what this league's about, being ready game-in and game-out. Every weekend is going to feel like super regional, and we have to continue to learn. I think we're doing a good job coming out ready in Game 1, but Game 2 has been a tough one for us and something that we're aware of. We've talked about and we're still looking for the answers there."
Samantha Ricketts on today's crowd…
"It's awesome. It's just so exciting when we can look up and see 1,500-plus fans showing up to Starkville on a Saturday for us. We've come a long way, and to see standing room only up in the top and out on the deck, that amount of people, I'm just very thankful I think for all of us. I'm grateful for the support, and we know how hard this team and this program has worked to get to this point and to put that top-15 product on the field. The Bulldog community to show up for us like they did, it's just special. You know we want to perform for them, and that is where it is also frustrating. Having that many people, you would love to get them in the game and give them a whole lot to cheer for there throughout the innings."
Two Outs, So What? – State now has 108 two-out RBIs this year, which ranks fourth in the SEC and fourth in MSU single-season history.
Jessie Blaine – Hit her first home run since March 3 and her sixth of the season.
Delainey Everett – Threw the final 1.0 inning in relief, striking out the side.
Josey Marron – Threw 6.0 innings, striking out six … tossed a career-high 115 pitches.
Kiki Milloy singled through the right side. McKenna Gibson reached on a fielders' choice to the shortstop as Milloy out at second. Zaida Puni fouled out to right field, allowing Gibson to advance to second. Rylie West doubled to left, scoring Gibson. Sophia Nugent hit a two-run homer to left field.
No. 4 Tennessee 3, No. 16 Mississippi State 0
Bottom 4
Jessie Blaine hit a solo home run to left field with two outs.
No. 4 Tennessee 3, No. 16 Mississippi State 1
Top 5
Milloy reached on a fielding error by the third baseman. Gibson singled through the left side allowing Milloy to advance to second. Amanda Ahlin came in to pinch run for Gibson. Puni singled through the left side, scoring Milloy.
No. 4 Tennessee 4, No. 16 Mississippi State 1
Top 7
Milloy singled through the left side, and she advanced to second on a wild pitch. Gibson hit a two-run homer to center field.
No. 4 Tennessee 6, No. 16 Mississippi State 1
For more information on the Bulldog softball program, follow on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook and Instagram by searching "HailStateSB."
The Lady Vols (31-7, 11-3 SEC) scored three in the first inning to take control of the game. The Bulldogs (29-11, 9-8 SEC) answered back in the fourth, but Tennessee added insurance runs in the fifth and seventh.
"I thought [Tennessee's Payton Gottschall] pitched great. We just did not do a good enough job of adjusting or swinging within the plan to start with," head coach Samantha Ricketts said. "I thought she did a really good job staying in tight on our hands. She didn't really leave many over the plate. You know, credit to her. They're a great team. They're a great pitching staff, and we knew this weekend was going to be a battle coming in. I think with our offense we expect, we at least want to be tough outs and I don't feel like we really had a whole lot of that except for maybe one inning I can think of where we felt like we were swinging at the right pitches and really attacking."
Jessie Blaine provided the MSU run on a solo homer with two outs. Sierra Sacco and Salen Hawkins also added hits for State.
Quotables
Samantha Ricketts on Tennessee pitching…"Big credit to them. They came back ready to play after last night, and you know it's what this league's about, being ready game-in and game-out. Every weekend is going to feel like super regional, and we have to continue to learn. I think we're doing a good job coming out ready in Game 1, but Game 2 has been a tough one for us and something that we're aware of. We've talked about and we're still looking for the answers there."
Samantha Ricketts on today's crowd…
"It's awesome. It's just so exciting when we can look up and see 1,500-plus fans showing up to Starkville on a Saturday for us. We've come a long way, and to see standing room only up in the top and out on the deck, that amount of people, I'm just very thankful I think for all of us. I'm grateful for the support, and we know how hard this team and this program has worked to get to this point and to put that top-15 product on the field. The Bulldog community to show up for us like they did, it's just special. You know we want to perform for them, and that is where it is also frustrating. Having that many people, you would love to get them in the game and give them a whole lot to cheer for there throughout the innings."
Quick Hitters
Packing the Park – Today's attendance was 1,572, which stands as the fifth-largest crowd in program history … it is the third-largest regular-season crowd on record.Two Outs, So What? – State now has 108 two-out RBIs this year, which ranks fourth in the SEC and fourth in MSU single-season history.
Jessie Blaine – Hit her first home run since March 3 and her sixth of the season.
Delainey Everett – Threw the final 1.0 inning in relief, striking out the side.
Josey Marron – Threw 6.0 innings, striking out six … tossed a career-high 115 pitches.
Scoring Recap
Top 1Kiki Milloy singled through the right side. McKenna Gibson reached on a fielders' choice to the shortstop as Milloy out at second. Zaida Puni fouled out to right field, allowing Gibson to advance to second. Rylie West doubled to left, scoring Gibson. Sophia Nugent hit a two-run homer to left field.
No. 4 Tennessee 3, No. 16 Mississippi State 0
Bottom 4
Jessie Blaine hit a solo home run to left field with two outs.
No. 4 Tennessee 3, No. 16 Mississippi State 1
Top 5
Milloy reached on a fielding error by the third baseman. Gibson singled through the left side allowing Milloy to advance to second. Amanda Ahlin came in to pinch run for Gibson. Puni singled through the left side, scoring Milloy.
No. 4 Tennessee 4, No. 16 Mississippi State 1
Top 7
Milloy singled through the left side, and she advanced to second on a wild pitch. Gibson hit a two-run homer to center field.
No. 4 Tennessee 6, No. 16 Mississippi State 1
Next Up
The loss sets up a rubber match on Sunday. State and Tennessee will take the field at noon CT on SEC Network+.For more information on the Bulldog softball program, follow on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook and Instagram by searching "HailStateSB."
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Payton Gottshall (14-3)
L: Marron, Josey (9-6)
Batting:
2B: Rylie West 1
HR: McKenna Gibson 1 ; Sophia Nugent 1
RBI: McKenna Gibson 2 ; Zaida Puni 1 ; Rylie West 1 ; Sophia Nugent 2
SH: G. Koutsoyanopulos 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Kiki Milloy 2 ; McKenna Gibson 2 ; Rylie West 1 ; Sophia Nugent 1
HBP: Sophia Nugent 1
Batting:
HR: Blaine, Jessie 1
RBI: Blaine, Jessie 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Blaine, Jessie 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
1
AB
2
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
0
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
C/OF
/ Softball
P
/ SoftballINF
/ Softball
P
/ SoftballOF
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