Mississippi State softball took the opening steps of its 2005 season this weekend with a four-game slate of fall exhibitions. The Lady Dawgs swept the competition, taking two from Mississippi Valley State, and one each from Henderson State and Copiah-Lincoln Community College.
In Saturday’s opener with Henderson State, the Bulldogs carried a one-run lead into the sixth inning before busting open the game with a pair of runs from both Katie Johnson and freshman Lindsey Hundley. MSU won the game 7-0.
In game two of Saturday’s double-header the Bulldogs claimed an early lead against MVSU, and used their pitching to cruise to a 5-0 victory.
Sunday was a continuation of Saturday’s dominance for the Lady Dawgs. They opened up against MVSU in a carbon copy game of the night before.
The Bulldogs scored early: four runs in the second inning and two more in the third, and then relied on their pitching to secure the win. Sophomore Stephanie Comeaux pitched four strong innings of shutout ball before staff ace Melissa Massey came in and locked up the last three.
In the final game of the tournament, the ladies in Maroon and White closed the weekend by beating the Lady Wolves of Co-Lin 8-1 behind Jennifer Jessup’s two-for-two effort at the plate.
The tournament was the first of two fall tournaments for the Bulldogs. The purpose of the fall schedule is to ease the transition to the college game for the incoming freshmen, as well as allow returning players a chance to knock the dust off their cleats. Two MSU freshmen found an early ray of the spotlight.
Courtney Bures, a rookie infielder from Haymarket, Va., paced the team in RBIs for the weekend with seven to accompany her .467 batting average.
“Courtney will be our next All-American,” Miller said. “She has great bat speed. She’s not hitting for power right now, but there is definitely some potential there.”
Pitcher Ragan Blake also shined in her opening weekend in Maroon and White. Coming off her senior season of high school where she went 29-0 with a .08 ERA, Blake pitched eight shutout innings, allowed just three hits and struck out 13.
“Ragan pitched surprisingly well, because she has been pretty rocky in practice. This has been a big adjustment for her,” Miller said. “She played in a very competitive summer league, but this is still a big jump, and the same will be true when we open up SEC play in the spring. But the important thing right now is to get (her) some innings and experience.”
Though Miller was pleased with the overall results of the weekend, he was far from saying he was content with his team’s play.
“We’ve got a good bit of speed, but we’re not a team with a lot of power.” Miller noted. “We need to get better at the plate, and hit with more authority. We need a more killer instinct when we get a lead. (But) overall, a good weekend.”