MSU Closes Out Regular Season with Series Win at Florida
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Closing the regular-season with a second consecutive Southeastern Conference series win, Mississippi State softball (32-20, 9-15 SEC) spilt Saturday’s doubleheader against No. 7/9 Florida (40-15, 12-12 SEC) at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium.
Freshman leftie Grace Fagan blanked the Gators over 6.2 innings before Florida used a two-out rally in the seventh to cut into State’s lead, but sophomore Emily Williams shut the door with her fifth save of the season to clinch the series with a 4-2 win the doubleheader opener.
Florida starved off the series sweep, plating two runs in the fifth, as the Gators blanked the Bulldogs, 2-0, in the final game of the regular season.
Senior Kat Moore led Mississippi State at the plate over the doubleheader, going 3-for-5 with a walk, double and home run. Moore drove in two while scoring a run of her own. Her home run was the 11th of her senior season, setting a new Mississippi State senior record. Fellow senior Bevia Robinson finished Saturday with a 3-for-6 outing at the plate with a triple and an RBI.
Fagan earned the victory in game one of Saturday’s doubleheader, allowing just two runs off three hits and five walks. She struck out six in the contest as she improved to 7-7 over her debut season. Williams earned her fifth save in the game allowing just one hit and fanning a Gator.
Fagan and Florida ace Kelly Barnhill traded three scoreless innings before Mississippi State broke through in the top of the fourth with the first runs for either team. After junior Fa Leilua got on board with a single up the middle, Moore sent the first pitch of her at-bat to right field for her 11th home run of the season, setting a new Mississippi State senior home run record.
Senior Sarai Niu led off the fifth with a single up the middle. Robinson slugged a play to right field for her third triple of the series to plate pinch runner sophomore Grace Dabb and extend Mississippi State’s lead to 3-0.
Thunder and Lightning struck in the sixth as sophomore Mia Davidson drew a walk and Leilua singled up the middle to get two quick on for State. After one fielder’s choice wiped out the lead runner and a second loaded the bases for State, it was older sister redshirt sophomore Montana Davidson that drove in the run with a sacrifice fly to left.
Fagan kept Florida in balance through the first five innings, allowing just three hits. The Gators loaded the bases in the bottom of the sixth with three walks, but senior Emily Heimberger handled a pop up at second base to keep Florida off the board.
The Bulldog defense picked up two quick outs in the bottom of the seventh, but two walks and a hit by pitch loaded the bases forcing Mississippi State to bring in Williams for the save attempt.
Jaimie Hoover broke up the shutout with a two-run double to put the tying run in scoring position, but Williams shut the door with a called strike three to clinch State’s second consecutive SEC series.
Game two of the series featured another pitching duel with junior Alyssa Loza and Florida’s Elizabeth Hightower exchanging four scoreless innings, stranding nine base runners. It was the Gators that scored the lone runs of the game, taking advantage of a bases-loaded situation in the bottom of the fifth.
After Hannah Sipos led off the inning with a double to right, a one-out walk and single to left center loaded up the bases for Hoover. A ground ball to short recorded the first out, but a run scored on State’s failed double play attempt. A Bulldog error on the play allowed a second Gator to come home to give Florida a 2-0 lead, it’s only lead over the series to fight off the sweep.
State’s best scoring chance came in the top of the fifth as Robinson and Heimberger knocked back-to-back, two-out singles to put Bulldogs on the corners, but a foul out behind third base retired the side.
SERIES WIN IN THE SWAMP
With State’s 4-2 victory over the Gators in game one of Saturday’s doubleheader, the Bulldogs clinched their first series victory over Florida since 2004. The series win was just the second in program history for State in Gainesville. The first road series victory for the Bulldogs was in 2003. It’s the first time that Mississippi State has won back-to-back SEC series since 2017.
KAT DADDY SETS SENIOR HOMER
With her 11th home run of the season, Kat Moore wrote her name in the Mississippi State record book as the Bulldogs’ senior home run record holder. The previous record of 10 was held by four other Bulldogs, most recently Morgan Bell in 2018.
FLORIDA SERIES RESULTS
Friday, May 3
Game One – Mississippi State def. No. 7/9 Florida, 6-4
Saturday, May 4
Game One – Mississippi State def. No. 7/9 Florida, 4-2
Saturday, May 4
Game Three – No. 7/9 Florida def. Mississippi State, 2-0
ON DECK
Mississippi State turns its sights to postseason play with the 2019 SEC Tournament hosted by Texas A&M in College Station. The Bulldogs will await their tournament seeding fate for their first match-up of the tournament, which will begin on Wednesday, May 8.
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