Life on the road is a cold and lonely place for most teams. However, the Lady Bulldog softball team seemed to achieve some level of comfort on the road this weekend.
The team finished 3-2 in its five game stint at the Hyatt Regency Cougar Classic.
After going 0-2 in two close efforts against host-team Houston and Pittsburgh, The Bulldogs sprang to life. They won a tight contest against Brigham Young in Saturday’s opener thanks to a five-hit, one-run, complete game by ace pitcher Melissa Massey, and a clutch two-out RBI by Blair Geddings in the fifth inning.
The Lady Dawgs followed the win with an outstanding 3-1 win over Villanova. Senior Jennifer Waterman had a record day at the plate, becoming only the fourth player in Mississippi State history to hit two home runs in a single game. Waterman drove in all three MSU runs.
“We struggled a little on Friday,” said head coach Jay Miller. “But we really settled in and got more comfortable on defense on Saturday. (Also,) we had some people who came through big for us (at the plate.)”
Sunday’s game against Virginia proved to be an extension of the squad’s Saturday success. The Bulldog bats pummeled Virginia starter Erin Horn for six hits and four runs before she was asked to return to the dugout in the top of the third inning.
Senior Kate Jaspers, along with Geddings, paced the Bulldogs with two hits each, while Geddings, Waterman, and Chelle McDonald recorded the three Bulldog RBIs. Massey continued her weekend dominance, pitching a five-hit complete game shutout of the Cavaliers.
“I was pleased with the pitching all weekend,” Miller said. “They really came through on Saturday and Sunday, but we were only two pitches away from winning both games on Friday. (So) if we had two pitches back, we could have been undefeated.”
The Lady Dawgs concluded the tournament portion of their season at 17-6, and now must focus on SEC play, where the competition will be much stiffer. The team’s first three series are against nationally ranked clubs, starting tomorrow in Baton Rouge, La.
However, Miller says these tournaments have prepared the squad for the task ahead.
“We’re much tougher (mentally) than we were (at the beginning of the year,)” Miller said. “We’ve done a good job of making adjustments and getting ready for the SEC. We’ve got a tough start to conference play with LSU, South Carolina, and then Georgia, so we’re going to have to be ready right from the start.”