Bulldog Bits

Men's Tennis

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – A tremendous effort from the 18th-ranked Mississippi State men's tennis team fell short on Sunday as the Bulldogs came up just shy of capturing the Southeastern Conference Championship crown with a 4-3 loss to 13th-ranked Georgia.

With the 4-3 defeat, MSU falls to 20-8 overall while Georgia improved to 17-7 this season.

“These are the kind of moments that make you feel alive,” State head coach Matt Roberts said. “We live for these situations and love competition. Even though the final result didn't go our way, I'm proud of how hard we fought and didn't give Georgia anything easily.”

The SEC finals appearance was MSU's fifth as a program and fourth against Georgia. The red and black Bulldogs lead the head-to-head SEC title matches 4-1 all-time.

MSU started out strong in doubles action to begin Sunday's match as the duo of Nuno Borges and Strahinja Rakic took care of their Georgia foes easily 6-1. The red and black Bulldogs struck back however as Georgia's Wayne Montgomery and Walker Duncan downed Mate Cutura and Vaughn Hunter, 6-3. All eyes turned to court one as the doubles point would be decided by the match's two ranked tandems.

No. 9 Niclas Braun and Trevor Foshey stormed back from an early 3-1 deficit against No. 2 Robert Loeb and Jan Zielinski. Braun and Foshey battled back to upset Lobe and Zielinski as the MSU pair won 7-5 to give State the early 1-0 lead.

Georgia bounced back nicely after dropping the doubles point as it took four of the first six singles sets to flip the match's momentum. The two Bulldog squads traded a pair of courts soon after as Georgia took a 6-2, 6-3 decision over Niclas Braun, before Simon Baudry gave MSU back the lead following a 6-2, 6-3 win on court six.

With MSU's lead at 2-1, Georgia evened it up once again after Giovanni Oradini dropped a hard-fought 6-3, 7-6(4) match to Duncan. Georgia used that surge of energy to take court two as Mate Cutura lost a tough, three-setter to No. 31 Montgomery.

Now trailing for the first time during the match, MSU rallied back against Georgia. After dropping the opening set, No. 3 Borges stormed back to take back-to-back sets over No. 49 Nathan Ponwith 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 to tie the match for the third time of the contest.

After falling in a tiebreaker in the opening frame, No. 111 Rakic was again in a fight on court three with No. 61 Emil Reinberg. The sophomore pushed back after falling behind early in the second set, as the match again fell into a tiebreaker. Despite showing tremendous grit and effort, Rakic couldn't overcome Reiberg as Georgia took the tiebreaker 7-6(6) and with it the SEC crown.

Softball

AUBURN, Ala. – In the final road contest of the 2017 regular season, the Mississippi State Bulldogs (34-18, 8-13 Southeastern Conference) rallied late but fell short, falling to the ninth-ranked Auburn Tigers (43-8, 15-6 SEC) 6-3 in Sunday's series finale.

Caroline Seitz led the way on Sunday, going 2-for-3, closing out her weekend with four hits, three RBI, two runs scored and a pair of home runs. She now has 13 multi-hit games this season, second on the team, and extended her career-high hitting streak to 13-straight games.

Bevia Robinson, Reggie Harrison, Olivia Golden and Amanda Ivy all tallied a hit for the day, with Golden and Ivy turning in doubles. Robinson's single in the sixth pushed her to a seven-game hitting streak, which ties her career high.

The Tigers jumped ahead early, with six runs over the first two frames. A two-run homer and RBI groundout gave Auburn a 3-0 lead after one. Another RBI groundout and a two-RBI single back to the pitcher gave the home squad a 6-0 advantage after two.

MSU cut into the lead in the fourth, starting off with a Seitz single. Harrison reached on a fielder's choice and was then driven home thanks to a double by Golden, dropping Auburn's lead to 6-1.

After a silent fifth from both sides, the Bulldogs chipped away again in the sixth, this time cutting the Auburn lead down to 6-3. Robinson opened the frame with a single to left center and a stolen base, her team-leading 29th of the year. A Kat Moore walk and Seitz single loaded the bases, setting up a Sarai Niu RBI groundout that scored Robinson. The third run came off a well-stuck infield single from Reggie Harrison, scoring Moore.

Cassady Knudsen, who relieved Holly Ward in the third, retired eight-straight to close out the game. MSU came to bat in the seventh looking to rally, but the Tigers kept the Bulldogs at bay, closing out a 6-3 series-finale victory.

Ward (7-8) drew the start for the Bulldogs, going two innings. Knudsen turned in four innings of work, striking out two and not giving up a hit.

The Bulldogs return home to close out the 2017 regular season, hosting the Kentucky Wildcats from May 5-7. The series first two games will be nationally televised on SEC Network, while Sunday's game will be live streamed on SEC Network +. All three games can be viewed online through WatchESPN.com or the ESPN app.