The Lady Bulldogs swept the Mississippi Rebels out of Starkville Wednesday night. Armed with bats instead of brooms, State out-hit Mississippi 13 to seven.
The Dawgs handily defeated the Rebels 7-2 to complete the series sweep. After an Iyhia McMichael homerun in the Bulldog first, Tanelda McDonald led State’s charge with three hits and two RBIs, while shortstop Hayle Guess, second baseman Lindsey Nelson and designated player Blaire Brown all had multiple-hit nights for the squad.
“Iyhia set the tone for us,” said head coach Jay Miller, “but we also got great hitting all the way down the lineup, and that’s what we’ve been looking for.”
Staff ace Melissa Massey shut down the Rebel lineup with startling efficiency. Massey, winner of her last five starts, gave up only two runs to the Rebels in her six innings of work. Sara Hickerson came on in relief and worked her way out of a bases loaded jam to close out the game.
The win sealed the season series for the Dawgs who, in Tuesday’s doubleheader, hammered Rebel pitching, outscoring them 10-1 on the day. McMichael was 1-2 in the game with two runs scored, making her the school’s career leader in that category.
Guess and Jennifer Waterman paced the Bulldogs with two RBIs each.
The second game of the doubleheader was a pitcher’s duel that saw Kelli Miller fight off a furious Mississippi rally in the top of the seventh to gain the complete game victory, 2-1.
The Rebels had runners on second and third when Andrea Brahs grounded out to first base to end the game.
Massey says the staff has come together in the last few games, but has been the beneficiary of better overall team play.
“We’re hitting our spots, but the defense is really coming together and we’re getting a lot of run support. So that allows us to pitch better.”
State has won seven of eight games. Senior Blair Brown says that the team’s play is a reaction to some of the tough losses earlier in the season.
“It’s amazing what we can do when you piss us off,” Brown said with a laugh. “We are a very prideful team. So when you embarrass us or make us mad, it just fuels us.”
The midweek sweep of the Rebels was the team’s first sweep of the SEC season. It catapulted the Lady Dawgs into the seventh seed of the SEC Tournament, and according to Miller, possibly a regional bid.
“That’s our goal, to get into the national tournament. (By sweeping Mississippi,) we’ve all but assured an SEC tournament bid, so now we have to go out and capitalize on the opportunity we’ve given ourselves.”
The Lady Dawgs must now look ahead to this weekend’s matchup with nationally ranked Florida. Miller says that a win or two this weekend could put the Bulldogs in a great position.
“Well, they’re a Top 15 team, but they’re aren’t any different from the other strong programs in the SEC. They’ve had some injuries to their pitching staff, but they are still winning games. But we’re winning games. So if we can just keep playing at the level we’ve been playing at, we will be OK.”
The series will be the final home SEC series for the Bulldogs.
“It’s important for this group of seniors to go out on top. We can beat them. Softball is a game of momentum, and right now we have it.”