The Lady Bulldogs softball team found success this weekend as they went 3-1 playing in double headers Saturday and Sunday.
Saturday, the team split its two games, winning the first one against Kentucky State 1-0.
Junior transfer Alison Owen was the star in that game. She put on a show, earning her first shutout of the season. She only gave up one hit and struck out three batters in the game. In a one-run game, her shutout on the mound was the difference.
The Bulldogs were not as fortunate in the second game on Saturday. They were beaten handedly by Northwestern State 10-5 after giving up a first inning grand slam. MSU surrendered eight hits, walked four batters and had four errors in the loss.
Sunday faired much better for the Dogs as they won both games of the double-header. In the first game, State defeated Murray State 4-1. The pitching staff pitched well between Kylie Vry, who got the start, and Jacey Punches, who closed it out with three strong innings. Despite giving up one run, the two pitchers did not allow any earned runs.
The final game Sunday was the highlight of the weekend. It was a 10-inning thriller that ended on a walk-off hit by North Carolina transfer Logan Foulks.
Even though she drove in the game-winning RBI, Foulks was extremely humble after the game.
“It might have been the walk-off run, but I definitely don’t consider it the winning run,” Foulks said. “It was a complete team effort, from the pitching staff, the players in the field and the people that didn’t play. We all have a job to do, and we did it.”
Another compelling aspect from Sunday’s game was all of the strikeouts by the Bulldogs pitching staff.  MSU set a school record for strikeouts in a game with 21, 14 of which came from Owen, who pitched the last six innings and was stellar.
Despite having a huge weekend individually, Owen would not take credit for the team’s success.
“It’s not just me. Our team was really successful this weekend,” Owen said. “We’ve really been working our releases, staying focused and doing well, and I’ve been building off their energy on the mound, and that’s what kept me focused during the game.”
Owen is a transfer from the University of Georgia. She played there two seasons before transferring to MSU in 2012. NCAA rules dictated she sit out 2012 and she is now playing in her first season for the Bulldogs as a redshirt junior. She is off to a great start with a record of 3-1, 0.80 ERA and 34 strikeouts in 26.1 innings pitched.
Over the weekend, it was clear pitching could be a very big strength of this team moving forward. The staff had a bit of a hiccup against Northwestern State, but in the other three games this past weekend, the Bulldogs only allowed four runs. MSU has only given up 18 earned runs on the season in nine games and has a 2.05 ERA as a staff.
Head coach Vann Stuedeman said she was pleased with her team’s performance over the weekend.
“Overall, I think we learned a lot about ourselves. We’re learning how to be competitive from the first pitch to the last pitch,” Stuedeman said. “I feel like we’re strong in every category: on defense, on offense and in the circle, and when we put all three of those together, I think we’re going to be really special.”