The Lady Bulldog softball team went into this weekend’s three-game series against Florida sniffing for its first conference series sweep since sweeping Arkansas in mid-April last year.
The No.22-ranked Maroon and White certainly didn’t expect to be swept themeselves, but the Gators crept into Starkville and left with a three-game Bulldog bite in their mouths.
MSU (30-11, 4-5 SEC) only squeaked out 11 hits in the three game set, compared to Florida’s (31-12, 10-5 SEC) 21. MSU’s defense also lapsed, committing seven errors on the weekend.
“We’ve played against good teams and beaten them all year long,” MSU head coach Jay Miller said. “I don’t think Florida is any better than some of the other teams we’ve played and beaten. We’re tending to beat ourselves a little bit defensively, and we just have to do a better job offensively.”
Even sophomore shortstop Courtney Bures’s back-to-back two-for-three performances Saturday weren’t good enough to even drive in a single Bulldog RBI.
Florida took game one Saturday, 7-1. Stephanie Comeaux took the pitching circle for the Bulldogs, but allowed three runs in the first inning alone, putting the Dawgs behind early.
State scored one run in the first, behind a Callye Williams drive-in of Hayle Guess. The Bulldogs left six runners on base en route to an opening-game loss.
Game two of the Gator-Bulldog lockup brought more of a pitcher’s duel with Florida winning 2-0. Ragan Blake went all seven innings, allowing two runs on five hits, also striking out three.
Two runs was all Florida needed, however, as the Bulldogs were held to four hits by Gator pitcher Stacey Nelson. Bures and Nakita Boyce shared MSU’s four hits with two apiece, but none of the four knocks drove in Bulldog runs.
“The SEC is so different from anything else,” Williams said. “It’s so competitive, and there’s only so many opportunities that you have. When we get down early in the game, we have to bounce back. Other teams are creating opportunities for themselves, and we’re not.”
Blake took the mound again Sunday, which State lost 2-1. She nearly matched her game two performance, allowing two runs on seven hits, striking out three in her seven innings pitched. Game three’s seven-inning-showing chalked up Blake’s 18th complete game of the year, moving her up to fifth all-time in school history, tied with 1985 freshman hurler Kim Davis.
Boyce, who had a four-for-nine showing against UF all weekend, drove in the lone Bulldog run in the sixth inning.
The Dawgs would leave three more runners on base in the series finale, pushing the weekend total of runners left on base to 14, which is three more than Bulldog base hits.
“Obviously, our mindset on where we stand in the conference changes a little bit now,” Miller said. “Now, we’ve dug ourselves into a bit of a hole. We just have to go out and play better ball.”