For the second straight day, the Mississippi State softball team suffered a last at-bat loss to a ranked team at the Clearwater Invitational.
After losing 5-4 to No. 25 Michigan on Saturday, the Bulldogs (6-4) fell 6-5 to No. 20 UCF to wrap up play at the Eddie C. Moore Complex in Clearwater, Florida.
Earlier Sunday, MSU had beaten South Florida 8-0 on the run rule in five innings.
Shannon Doherty lined the go-ahead single into left field, just past the glove of Bulldogs shortstop Nadia Barbary, in the bottom of the sixth for UCF.
The hit gave the Knights the win after Mississippi State rallied from a 5-2 deficit. Barbary hit a two-run home run in the fourth inning, and Florida native Jackie McKenna tied the game with a single through the right side in the sixth.
But it was Doherty — also a Florida native and a good friend of McKenna’s — who won it for UCF.
The Knights used a four-run second inning to get some separation. Jasmine Williams tied the game 2-2 with an RBI single, Olivia Elliott put UCF ahead with a two-run double, and Jada Cody added a run with a single to right.
MSU tied the game on Barbary’s blast and McKenna’s single but couldn’t respond in the seventh.
Mississippi State went 3-2 in Clearwater and will next compete in the South Alabama Invitational. The Bulldogs open play against Tulsa at 12:30 p.m. Friday in Mobile, Alabama.
Mississippi State 8, South Florida 0, five innings
In the Bulldogs’ first game, a six-run fourth inning sparked a run-rule victory over the Bulls (2-7).
Paige Cook came off the bench to hit a three-run home run, breaking a scoreless tie. Chloe Malau’ulu added a two-run triple, and Kiersten Landers brought home a run on a fielder’s choice.
Freshman Macy Graf added an RBI triple in the fifth, and Brylie St. Clair scored her with a single. Graf and St. Clair each went 3 for 4 against USF.
Freshman pitcher Josey Marron tossed a one-hit shutout for the Bulldogs.
Theo DeRosa reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @Theo_DeRosa.
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