No. 16 Bulldogs Fall 6-1 In Front of Fifth-Largest Ever Crowd
No. 4 Lady Vols bounce back from run-rule victory on Friday
STARKVILLE – Following No. 16 Mississippi State’s upset run-rule victory against No. 4 Tennessee on Friday night, the two teams took to the field in front of the fifth-largest ever crowd at Nusz Park.
Unfortunately, Bulldog fans didn’t have much to celebrate as the Lady Vols’ pitching staff lived up to its reputation as one of the best in the nation in a 6-1 win.
Tennessee (31-7, 11-3 SEC) pitcher Payton Gottschall (14-3) kept the Bulldogs SEC-leading offense at bay for most of the game, allowing just three hits and no walks. The Bulldogs (29-11, 9-8 SEC) scored their lone run on a solo home run by Jessie Blaine in the fourth inning to make the score 4-1. Gottschall also recorded seven strikeouts.
"I thought [Gottschall] pitched great,” MSU coach Samantha Ricketts said. “We just did not do a good enough job of adjusting or swinging within the plan to start with.”
Other than Blaine’s solo home run, only Sierra Sacco and Salen Hawkins reached base in the Saturday afternoon game.
The Lady Vols bounced back quickly from their 9-1 defeat Friday night. They scored three runs in the top of the first inning on a Rylie West double and Sophia Nugent’s two-run home run that scored West. They answered Blaine’s solo home run with Zaida Puni’s RBI single in the next half inning.
McKenna Gibson’s seventh inning home run drove in the final two runs to give Tennessee a 6-1 win.
“They came back ready to play after last night, and you know it's what this league's about, being ready game-in and game-out,” Ricketts said. “Every weekend is going to feel like a super regional, and we have to continue to learn. I think we're doing a good job coming out ready in Game 1, but Game 2 has been a tough one for us and something that we're aware of. We've talked about it and we're still looking for the answers there."
MSU’s Josey Marron (9-6) threw a career-high 115 pitches in six innings of work inside the circle, but finished with six strikeouts. Delainey Everett pitched the final inning for MSU and allowed just one hit and one walk while striking out three batters.
The final attendance total for Saturday’s game was 1,572, which is the third-largest regular season game attendance on record.
"It's awesome. It's just so exciting when we can look up and see 1,500-plus fans showing up on a Saturday for us,” Ricketts said. “We've come a long way, and to see standing room only up in the top and out on the deck, that amount of people, I'm just very thankful I think for all of us. I'm grateful for the support, and we know how hard this team and this program has worked to get to this point and to put that top-15 product on the field. The Bulldog community to show up for us like they did, it's just special.”
The Bulldogs and Lady Vols will decide the series winner Sunday at noon on SEC Network+.