The Mississippi State softball team certainly came close to winning at least once in Saturday’s doubleheader at No. 18 Missouri.
But the Bulldogs have learned the hard way by now that close doesn’t count in the brutal Southeastern Conference.
Mississippi State (22-18, 0-11 SEC) was reminded painfully Saturday, dropping the first game to the Tigers (31-10, 9-5) 5-2 and losing 4-3 in Game 2. The Bulldogs had the tying run on base in the sixth inning of Game 1 and at the plate in the seventh in the nightcap.
Jackie McKenna launched a three-run homer with two strikes and two out in the seventh inning of Game 2, but Addison Purvis struck out looking to end the game.
Purvis, a freshman from Sullivan, Missouri, provided both runs for the Bulldogs in Game 1 with a pinch-hit double to center field — on her birthday, no less.
Coach Samantha Ricketts praised the Bulldogs’ comeback effort despite the pair of losses in a news release from Mississippi State.
“It was good to see us fight back, especially in that second game,” Ricketts said. “For Addi, that’s a hard thing to do, to come off the bench in that spot and deliver, but we had plenty of faith in her and that’s why you see her in the lineup in the second game. Jackie, too, in that last inning stayed calm, stayed with her plan and got a good pitch to hit.”
The Bulldogs were victimized all day by home runs off the bats of the Tigers. Missouri cracked five home runs — four in Game 1 — to power itself to victory.
Jenna Laird cracked two long balls off Emily Williams, a two-run blast and a solo shot, to provide the first three runs in Game 1. Casidy Chaumont and Kendyll Bailey each had solo homers in the contest.
In Game 2, Laird had a double and Chaumont a single to drive home runs in the first inning.
Kimberly Wert homered in the sixth, scoring herself and Laird, before McKenna’s homer brought the Bulldogs within a run.
Annie Willis went the distance in the nightcap, striking out 10.
Mississippi State closes out the series at 3 p.m. Sunday in Columbia, Missouri.
Theo DeRosa reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @Theo_DeRosa.
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