The Mississippi State softball team scored first Sunday, but No. 11 Tennessee scored 10 unanswered runs, all on home runs, to post a 10-1 win in the rubber match of their weekend series in Knoxville, Tennessee.
The Bulldogs (24-12, 5-4 Southeastern Conference) scored first, but allowed 10 unanswered runs, all coming on five home runs. Madisyn Kennedy scored for the Bulldogs in the top of the second, reaching base on a single, taking second on a wild pitch and scoring on Shea Moreno’s double.
Tennessee (25-10, 7-4 SEC) took the lead on a grand slam in the third inning, then added four more runs on three home runs in the fifth and walked off with a two-run homer in the sixth.
Kennedy had one of the game’s best at-bats. In a 4-1 ballgame with two runners on and two outs, she fell into an 0-2 hole after fouling off the second strike. Kennedy then saw 22 more pitches, fouling off another 18, before striking out in a full count.
The Bulldogs next will travel to Hattiesburg to take on Southern Miss at 6 p.m. Wednesday before hosting Missouri over the weekend.
Pearl River 21-14, EMCC 1-4: East Mississippi Community College faced its fifth consecutive ranked conference opponent and dropped two run-rule decisions to eighth-ranked Pearl River on Saturday in Scooba.
In the opener, EMCC hitters were limited to singles by Raegan Pritchett and Lauren Pickett Pickett’s fifth-inning single plated Carley Martin for the Lions’ lone run.
In the nightcap, EMCC starter Maggie Meadows held the Wildcats scoreless through the first two innings before the visitors exploded for 10 runs in the third while sending 14 batters to the plate.
The Lions scored four times in the bottom of the fifth. A leadoff infield hit by Abby Stephens was followed by walks to Meleah Pogue and Aislynn Cochran to load the bases. Meadows then singled in EMCC’s first run in front of Jenna Kirkland’s bases-clearing, two-out double.
The Lions (4-27, 0-12 MACCC) are scheduled to take on Northeast Mississippi in a Wednesday doubleheader at home before traveling on Saturday to Perkinston to meet Mississippi Gulf Coast.
Baseball
The W 10, Asbury 9: Joel Estabrook walked leading off the bottom of the ninth inning, moved to second on a ground ball and scored on a single by Landon Clark to lift the Mississippi University for Women baseball team to a 10-9 win over Asbury University on Saturday in Millington, Tennessee.
Clark finished 3 for 5 with a home run and four RBIs for the Owls (8-14), including a three-run home run during a four-run eighth that tied the game at 9-9. Clark also pitched a perfect top of the ninth to earn the victory, the first for the freshman from Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
Catcher Avery Benson went 4 for 4, belting his second home run of the year, driving in four runs and scoring four times. His home run in the sixth inning, a three-run blast, gave the Owls a 4-1 lead. But Asbury scored three runs in the seventh and four in the eighth off of Tanner Evans and held 9-5 lead going into the bottom of the eighth inning.
Center fielder Joel Estabrook went 2 for 4 with a walk, an RBI and two runs scored, while first baseman Austin Telano went 2 for 4 and scored a run.
The Owls are off until Friday, when they head to Jackson for a 5 p.m. doubleheader against Belhaven (15-11). Their next home game at Heritage Academy will be at 5 p.m. April 13 against Millsaps.
EMCC splits with No. 1 Pearl River
East Mississippi Community College maintained a one-game lead atop the MACCC baseball standings by earning a doubleheader split, winning the opener 4-2 and dropping the nightcap 4-3 in extra innings on Saturday at top-ranked Pearl River.
The Lions took command with Wesley Sides’ three-run homer in the third inning. A frame later, EMCC pushed the lead to 4-0 when Coby Holmes’ sacrifice fly plated Kade Shannon, who led off the inning with an infield hit in front of Will Crawford’s double.
That early run production was all EMCC starting pitcher Kylan Stepter would need. The sophomore right-hander from Hernando kept the high-powered Pearl River offense off stride throughout his six-inning stint, allowing just two singles.
The Wildcats responded by grabbing the early lead in the seven-inning nightcap by scoring twice in the second inning. After the Lions cut the deficit in half the following frame on Ethan Medlin’s sacrifice fly, Pearl River got the run back by manufacturing a two-out run in the fourth inning.
Following a leadoff single by Blayze Berry in the sixth inning, EMCC knotted the score at 3-3 on Sides’ team-leading eighth home run of the season.
As the nightcap went into extra innings, the Pearl River bullpen proved to be the difference in the game. After the Sides homer in the sixth, PRCC relievers Landen Payne and Blake Hooks combined for 10 strikeouts over the last four innings. Payne struck out eight of the 11 EMCC batters he faced during his three-inning stint.
The Wildcats pushed across the winning run in the bottom of the ninth after D.K. Donaldson and Taylor Woodcock opened the inning with a single and a walk. John Griffin Bell’s chopper up the middle was then flagged down by EMCC reliever Gabe Garner, but the right-hander’s throw to second base sailed into center field allowing the winning run to score.
Berry had three singles for the Lions, while Sides added two hits.
The Lions (15-10, 10-2 MACCC) had their nine-game conference winning streak snapped. They are scheduled to play a doubleheader on Wednesday at Northeast Mississippi.
Tennis
Owls split at LeMoyne-Owen
The Mississippi University for Women tennis team wrapped up its season with a split Friday at LeMoyne-Owen College in Memphis, Tennessee.
In the women’s contest, the Owls (2-6) defeated the Magicians 7-2, while the men (2-7) fell by a 6-3 score.
The women won two of three doubles matches to take the early lead. The key contest was at second doubles, where The W’s Karina Garcia and Nicole Rensink won 6-2. LOC won first doubles, and MUW took No. 3 doubles.
The Magicians won at No. 1 singles, but it was all The W at the Nos. 2-6 positions.
Sarah Kackley defeated LaRie King 6-2, 6-0 at second, Mandy Ferguson defeated Braelyn Miller 6-3, 6-0 at third, and Mallory Parker blanked Kike Odjo 6-0, 6-0 at No. 4. The Magicians forfeited at fifth and sixth singles.
The men took forfeits at third doubles and sixth singles, with their lone on-court victory coming at Nol. 5 singles, where Victor Gomez defeated Jamil Muhammad 6-2, 6-4.
Men’s tennis
Ole Miss 5, Mississippi State 2
Singles: Nikola Slavic (UM) d. Florian Broska 6-4, 4-6, 6-3; Finn Reynolds (UM) d. Nemanja Malesevic 7-5, 6-2; John Hallquist Lithén (UM) d. Carles Hernandez 6-4, 7-5; Gregor Ramskogler (MSU) d. Lukas Engelhardt 6-7 (4), 6-2, 6-4; Simon Junk (UM) d. Alberto Colas 6-0, 5-7, 7-5; Davide Tortora (MSU) d. Jakob Cadonau, 6-3, 6-0.
Doubles: Broska-Ramskogler (MSU) d. Reynolds-Engelhardt 7-5; Jan Soren Hain-Junk (UM) d. Hernandez-Malesevic 7-6 (5); Slavic-Lithén (UM) d. Colas-Tortora 7-6 (4).
Site: A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre, Starkville.
Records: Ole Miss (12-10, 2-7 SEC), Mississippi State (13-9, 3-6 SEC).
Women’s tennis
Ole Miss 5, Mississippi State 2
Singles: Emma Antonaki (MSU) d. Sabina Machalova, 6-1, 4-6, 6-4; Anaëlle Leclercq-Ficher (UM) d. Magda Adaloglou 7-5, 6-7, 1-0 (3); Ludmila Kareisová (UM) d. Tamara Racine 6-4, 7-5; Rachel Krzyzak (UM) d. Chloe Cirotte 6-4, 6-2; Lillian Gabrielsen (UM) d. Alexandra Mikhailuk 6-3, 6-1; Marta Falceto (MSU) d. Reka Zadori 3-6, 7-5, 1-0 (6).
Doubles: Machalova-Leclercq-Ficher (UM) d. Racine-Cirotte 6-2; Kelsey Mize-Kareisová (UM) vs. Antonaki-Falceto (MSU), 4-4 (unfinished); Gabrielsen-Krzyzak (UM) d. Mikhailuk-Alessia Tagliente 6-0.
Site: Palmer/Salloum Tennis Center, Oxford.
Records: Ole Miss (9-8, 3-6 SEC), Mississippi State (10-11, 1-8 SEC).
Prep powerlifting
Smith 2nd, Seals 4th at state meet
Caledonia junior Ladarius Smith placed second in the 114-poind class in the MHSAA Class 4A Boys Powerlifting Championships on Saturday at Mississippi Coliseum in Jackson.
Smith totaled 720 pounds, with 275 pounds in the squat, 145 pounds in the bench press and 300 pounds in the deadlift.
Teammate Matthew Seals, finished fourth in the 308-pound class. The senior totaled 1,350 pounds, with 600 in the squat, 240 in the bench press and 510 in the deadlift.
Local soccer
CSO skills camp registration open
Registration is open for the Columbus Soccer Organization’s Summer Soccer Skills Camp directed by coach Mark Farmer of MLS’ Atlanta United.
The camp is open for boys and girls ages 6 to 12 and is scheduled for 9-11 a.m. June 13-16 at Lowndes County Soccer Complex.
The camp is limited to 50 players to ensure a high level of coaching attention. Registration will close once full. The camp is open to boys and girls ages 6 to 12.
For more information and to register, visit columbusmssoccer.org.
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