Mississippi State Pulls Away For 7-2 Win Over Gamecocks

Tuesday, March 12

JACKSONVILLE

6 p.m.

Jacksonville State University

13-10

MISSISSIPPI STATE

17-6

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

3/12/2013 9:30:00 PM | Softball

Box Score

PHOTO GALLERY

JACKSONVILLE – Mississippi State grabbed an early 4-0 lead and held off the Jacksonville State softball team on Tuesday night, when the Gamecocks dropped a 7-2 decision to the Bulldogs at University Field.

The Bulldogs (17-6) grabbed a pair of runs in the first and two more in the second and relied on its pitching staff to keep the Gamecocks (13-10) off the board. Their staff kept JSU from mounting a rally by striking out 16 batters and forcing JSU to strand eight runners on base.

Junior Kalee Tabor and sophomore Sara Borders each notched two of the Gamecocks' five hits in the loss, while senior Jessica Guy recorded the other. Tabor was 2-for-3 with a walk, while Borders' two hits came in four at bats.

MSU starter Stephanie Becker (5-1) tossed the first four innings for the Bulldogs and was in command. She notched 11 strikeouts before giving up a pop up to first for the 12th and final out she recorded. She walked two and gave up a pair of hits in her scoreless outing. Kylie Vry gave up both runs, only one of which was earned, on two hits and a walk in her inning, while Alison Owen struck out four and gave up one hit in two frames in the circle.

Senior Hilary Phillips (3-1) started the game for JSU and gave up four runs, three earned, on six hits in 1.2 innings of work. MSU got two in the first despite only getting one ball out of the infield, an RBI single to center by Sam Lenahan. The Bulldogs got two more in the second to chase Phiilips and make way for junior Tiffany Harbin.

Harbin went the final 5.1 innings for the Gamecocks and surrendered three runs on four hits. She struck out six and walked five in an outing that saw her toss 2.1 scoreless before the Bulldogs got one in the fifth and two more in the sixth off of three doubles in the inning.

Trailing 5-0, the Gamecocks got on the board in the fifth with a pair of runs that started with a fielding error by second baseman Heidi Shape that allowed Jessica Guy to score and then a Vry wild pitch that let Borders cross the plate.

Shape, Lenahan and Jessica Offutt each had two hits for the Bulldogs at the plate, while Erin Nesbitt led all players with two RBI.

The Gamecocks will open Ohio Valley Conference play this weekend with a three-game series with Tennessee State at University Field. The series will begin with a 1 p.m. doubleheader on Saturday and conclude with a 1 p.m. single game on Sunday.