By Dalton Middleton
Special to The Dispatch
STARKVILLE — Mississippi State (33-14, 7-9) survived a pitching duel with No. 24 Arkansas (27-17, 5-14) 3-0 to open a pivotal Southeastern Conference weekend series with a 3-0 win over Arkansas Saturday night at Nusz Park.
Cassady Knudsen and Alexis Silkwood combined for a shutout win and scattered six Razorback hits throughout the game.
MSU coach Vann Stuedeman said the game could have gone either way and that both teams performed a phenomenal game, but the game came down to timely hits.
“What we did well today was not try to get too big and try to hit the ball middle-oppo and try to hit hard ground balls up the middle,” Stuedeman said. “I don’t think we even pulled many balls foul. We had the timely hit. They had bases loaded three times and that was the only difference. We had the timely hits and they couldn’t capitalize.”
Knudsen started the game and faced a few jams, but got out of them without any trouble. In each of the first three innings, Knudsen faced at least two baserunners, including a bases loaded situation in the first.
Kat Moore, who chased down multiple deep flyballs in left field, said the defense was never worried in any of the situations and was going to help Knudsen out in any chance they could. She said trust is what was working for the Bulldogs tonight.
“Just knowing we have each others backs,” Moore said. “Just going out there and grinding for each other. Playing for each other is what this team does.”
Reigning National Player of the Week Caroline Seitz started the Bulldogs offense with a double in the bottom of the second inning to lead off. Calyn Adams then grounded out and moved Seitz to third base. The next batter, Katie Anne Bailey, hit an RBI-groundout to give the Bulldogs a 1-0 lead over Arkansas.
With a 1-0 lead, Knudsen settled down in the fourth and only allowed a walk. In the bottom of the fourth inning, Kat Moore led the inning off with a solo homerun, the first of her career, to extend the Bulldogs lead to 2-0.
Knudsen returned in the fifth, but ran into a jam. A razorback single, double, and walk loaded the bases. Mississippi State then brought in Alexis Silkwood who struck out a batter and got a ground out to get out of the bases loaded jam without any damage.
Even though Knudsen got out of previous bases loaded situations, Stuedeman said the team needed another look in the fifth inning and another pitcher on the mound at the specific time.
“I thought they had a really good plan against Cassady at that point,” Stuedeman said. “They were sitting on one pitch and we were having trouble getting it for a strike. I just thought we needed a different look. She (Silkwood) did a great job getting that first strikeout.”
In the bottom of the sixth, Bulldog Bevia Robinson led the inning off with a single. After being moved to second base with a groundout, Seitz stepped up to the plate and ripped an RBI single to left field to give MSU an insurance run and extend the lead to 3-0.
Silkwood came back in the top of the seventh inning and got a groundout and two strikeouts to finish the shutout win and get the first win of the series under the belt.
Silkwood, who didn’t allow a hit in 2-2/3 innings of relief, said the team was just playing softball and that they felt like kids and enjoyed the game.
“I was just picking up Cass,” Silkwood said. “I looked at her and said ‘I got you Cass.’ Last time I went out there, I didn’t get her. So I just thought about Cass and the team each time. That is what was working for me. I wasn’t really thinking about the pitches, I was just thinking about my team and getting outs for them.”
Stuedeman said she noticed points of the game where the team got too excited and needs her team to keep their head straight and to stay confident for tomorrow’s game so the Bulldogs can earn their third straight SEC series win.
“We just have to stay confident and play one pitch at a time,” Stuedeman said. “It is hard to do. For example, Cassady got a double-play ball and you could see Cassady got really really excited and the net pitch she threw wasn’t really that great because you could see she wasn’t present so those moments where we can learn to control our emotions, both positive and negative, will help us, you know being in those situations and learning from them confidently with a win. That makes it a lot easier to remember and swallow. We have to keep confidence and keep playing pitch by pitch and learn from the learning opportunities.”
n Sanders homers twice: In other softball news, former New Hope standout D.J. Sanders hit three home runs as UL Lafayette beat Georgia State 19-4 and 7-1 in Sun Belt Conference play Saturday at Lamson Park.
Sanders leads the nation with 27 home runs this season.
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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