Fans that made it out to the Mississippi State University softball field  Sunday afternoon were treated to a true hitting exhibition, as both teams would combine to hit nine home runs and score 24 runs. 

Unfortunately for the team in maroon and white, they found themselves on the wrong side of the 16-8 scoreline after six innings.

Head coach Vann Stuedeman expressed her frustration with the weekend but was happy with the effort level that was displayed by her team.

“It was just a tough weekend all around, really love the grit and fight of the girls that they had,” Stuedeman said. “The will that they have is great. Really both sides threw about eight pitchers so that’s a long game.

That was like a marathon game and for some reason we’re seeing a lot of those games this year, so we will deal with it.” 

Tennessee would come out of the gates swinging, as they hit 2 home runs in the first two innings and score eight runs, including a Meghan Geer grand slam in the first. 

The Bulldogs would respond valiantly in the third when they scored five runs on two home runs.  

The first ,coming off of a Caroline Seitz solo shot and the other a grand slam from senior Katie Gentle, to help cut the lead down to five. 

However, the Volunteers wouldn’t let up. In the fourth, they would respond by snagging three more runs to put the game almost out of reach for the Bulldogs, who came up empty in the fourth themselves. 

Geer would hit her second home run of the day in the top of the fifth inning, adding to the level of frustration for the Bulldogs on the mound. 

Gentle wouldn’t go down without a fight though, hitting a solo home run in the fifth to extend the game into the sixth. 

She commented  after the game about the power that was shown on the part of both teams over the course of the three-hour game.

“The wind had a big factor in it, but everyone had a good day today,” Gentle said. “You can’t look down on anyone about it.”

The Bulldogs day  ended in the sixth on a Mackenzie Toler pop up to the shortstop, with the score at 16-8. Now their sights will turn to their regular season home finale against Memphis on Wednesday. 

Going forward with the rest of their season, Stuedeman outlined what needs to happen to make the rest of the season as successful as it can possibly be.

“We just have to stay true to what we do and who we are,” Stuedeman said. “We are a blue collar team that works really hard. It’s late season and the exams are coming up. We just need to make sure we take care of our each individual job and be excellent at the job so that we can really check in mentally when it counts”. 

For the four seniors on the team, Stuedeman talked about how much they have meant to her and the program as a whole.

“This my first group to graduate that I have had for four years, so it was kinda emotional before the game started,” said Stuedeman.   

“I really have enjoyed the time getting to know those girls, that I wouldn’t have got to know if it wasn’t for Scott Strickland saying I could be their coach, so it’s been a great four years and were not done yet”.

The Bulldogs will be at home one last time on Wednesday, where they will face the Memphis Tigers at 6:00 p.m. at the Mississippi State softball field.