Bulldog Bits
Men’s Tennis
Riding a 10-match win streak into today’s home contest against 49th-ranked Ole Miss (7-6, 2-4 Southeastern Conference), the 15th-ranked Mississippi State men’s tennis team (14-3, 5-0 SEC) looks to continue its momentum as the Bulldogs and Rebels fight for in-state bragging rights at 3 p.m.
Today’s match at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre will open a five-match homestand for the Bulldogs as MSU faces Ole Miss, Georgia, Tennessee, Texas A&M and LSU during the homestretch.
“Our guys are very excited for (today’s) match, it’s not hard to get up for your in-state rival,” State head coach Matt Roberts said. “We know our great fans will pack out A.J. Pitts and we’ll need their energy (today) against Ole Miss. We’re playing great tennis right now, so it should be a fun match to watch.”
Last time out, the Bulldogs cruised past Arkansas on Thursday night in Fayetteville as the Bulldogs won 4-1. Vaughn Hunter turned in a stellar performance in the win as the senior clinched the match after a three-set victory in singles action. The South African lefty was also responsible for the doubles point as Hunter and partner Mate Cutura took down their Razorback foes.
Soccer
Looking to continue its impressive spring season on the pitch, the Mississippi State soccer team hosts Southern Miss on Sunday at 1 p.m. to close out the home spring slate.
The contest was originally set for Saturday at 6 p.m., but the threat of inclement weather forced the game to Sunday at 1 p.m.
The match for the two programs will mark back-to-back spring seasons the Bulldogs and Golden Eagles have faced off at the MSU Soccer Field. State took last season’s contest 1-0 against USM.
Last time out, State earned its second win of the spring after downing Auburn on the road 2-0. The Bulldogs received goals from Mallory Eubanks (one) and Kiley Martens (one) to spoil the spring opener for the Tigers.
Sunday’s match against USM will be the first of the spring for the Golden Eagles as the team travels to Starkville once again. Last fall, USM turned in an 8-7-2 record on the pitch, while going 2-5 on the road.
Softball
NORMAN, Okla. – A high-powered offense and clutch hits highlighted Friday for the Mississippi State Bulldogs (23-9), as they split a pair of games to start their weekend in Oklahoma.
MSU used an RBI double from Olivia Golden to begin a seventh-inning rally against Louisiana Tech (20-11), capping it with a walk-off single through the left side from Morgan Bell to win 5-4. State returned shortly after to face the 12thranked Oklahoma Sooners (25-7) and fought tooth-and-nail with the home team, but dropped a 5-3 contest.
The Lady Techsters struck first in the weekend’s opening game, sending a solo home run to left field in the first at-bat of the day. That lead did not last for long, as State tallied four hits in the home half of the first and bring home a run courtesy of an Olivia Golden RBI single to left.
MSU broke the tie in the second inning, as Amanda Ivy doubled to score Emily Heimberger, making it 2-1 for the Bulldogs.
After a scoreless third, La. Tech tied things up with its second home run of the day, a leadoff solo shot to right field. Tech’s lead was once again short lived, as a Reggie Harrison RBI double in the bottom of the fifth tied things up at 2-2.
Tech broke things open in the sixth when it drove home two runs on a single through the right side with two on. Down 4-3 in the seventh and three outs to work with, the Bulldogs showed why late innings are their innings. Harrison led things off with a double to right center. With Maddie Dorsett in to pinch run, Golden delivered her second RBI of the day, a double to center to tie things up at 4-4. The Lady Techsters got the next batter to pop up, bringing up Morgan Bell. The junior sealed the game with her second base hit of the day, a single to left, scoring Golden and giving MSU the 5-4 walk-off win.
In Friday’s second game, the Bulldogs got off to a fast start thanks to the bat of Calyn Adams. The MSU catcher blasted her second-career home run and first of 2017 with a solo shot to right center.
State held the 12th-ranked Sooners scoreless in the first and second, but the home team was able to get on the board in the third. Oklahoma plated four runs thanks to a triple, a couple of base hits and a Bulldog error.
An MSU error led to the Sooners’ fifth run of the day, as the home team upped its lead to 5-1 in the bottom of the fifth.
The Bulldogs did not go away quietly despite being down, as Ivy and Moore started the top of the sixth with back-toback singles. With the bases loaded, Oklahoma’s shortstop booted a ball, allowing MSU to score a run and cut the lead to 5-2. A sacrifice fly from Golden scored Robinson to trim Oklahoma’s lead to 5-3.
State kept the Sooners scoreless in the sixth and looked to finish the rally in the seventh, but Oklahoma was able to keep the Bulldogs at bay and sealed the 5-3 win.
Moore, who went 4-for-7 for the day and now holds a career-high seven-game hitting streak, led MSU offensively. Harrison and Golden each had three hits over both games, with three doubles and four RBI combined. Ivy, Bell and Adams each turned in an RBI as well.
The Bulldogs will return today for a matchup with the UAB Blazers to wrap up their time in the Midwest. First pitch from the ASA Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City, Okla., is set for noon.
Track and Field
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Hailing from Pamplona, Spain, Nicolas Quijera just captured his first victory at Mississippi State.
The junior tossed 73.54 meters (240-02 ft) at the meet hosted by the University of Florida. His teammate Curtis Thompson took second with a throw of 72.54 meters (23800 ft).
“I am glad to see Nico get his first win as a Bulldog,”
MSU coach Steve Dudley said. “We expect big things out of him and his career, so we are happy to see that he is already succeeding this early in his MSU career. It is really exciting to see how our javelin group is developing, and we look forward to bigger and better things from them in the future.”
Women’s Tennis
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – For the first time in program history, the 25th-ranked Mississippi State women’s tennis team (11-4, 4-3 Southeastern Conference) shut out the 23rd-ranked Tennessee Volunteers (14-7, 1-6 SEC) 4-0 at Tennessee’s Barksdale Stadium. The road victory for MSU was also its first in Knoxville since 1987.
The Bulldogs won their first doubles point on the road this season to take the early 1-0 lead. On court 3, MSU’s pair of Madison Harrison and Sara Lizariturry made quick work of
Tennessee’s Ariadna Riley and Johanna Silva 6-1. Following on court 1, the Bulldogs’ 11th-ranked duo of Jasmine Lee and Lisa Marie Rioux downed the Volunteers’ 52nd-ranked Brittany Lindl and Eve Repic 6-2 to clinch the doubles point and give MSU a 1-0 lead.
Court 2 was suspended with the Bulldog tandem of Jennifer Brown and Khrystyna Vozniak trailing 5-4.
As the visiting underdog, State carried its momentum strongly into singles play, taking all six of the first sets.
On court 3, for her first conference victory of the season, State’s Harrison overpowered Tennessee’s Sadie Hammond in straight sets 6-1, 6-0 to extend the Bulldog lead to 2-0. Following in her own straight-set victory, MSU’s 32nd-ranked Lee defeated her seventh ranked opponent this season in Tennessee’s 58th-ranked Lindl 6-2, 6-1 at the top position in the lineup.
To clinch the match, the Bulldogs’ true freshman Rioux ousted the Volunteers’ Repic in straight sets 6-4, 6-2 at the No. 2 spot, clinching the 4-0 victory for MSU.