MSU battles back to beat LSU in nine

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – After seeing the game tied in the bottom of the seventh inning, Mississippi State battled back to win 7-4 in nine innings against No. 18 LSU in the Southeastern Conference Tournament.

State (33-23) took an early lead on a two-run home run from Shea Moreno in the first inning. The Tigers (34-21) tied the game in the second on a two-run homer of their own. Speed and small ball scored two more runs for MSU in the third.

“I'm just really proud of the way the team continued to fight out there,” MSU head coach Samantha Ricketts said. “We did a great job setting the tone early with Shea's home run and Mia (Davidson) finding her way on base in front of her. The middle of the lineup did a great job of picking us up all day long. Annie Willis had another quality start and Kenley (Hawk) came in and held the line like she needed to, and what a great job by Aspen Wesley to come in with bases loaded, no outs and strike out the side and finish it off for us. A good team win, using people for defensive subs, pinch hits and different pitching appearances–just an overall great team win.”

Willis kept LSU in check until she was lifted with two on and one out in the sixth. The Tigers again tied the game with one out in the seventh.

After back-to-back singles, Davidson drove in the winning run with a base hit through the left side in the top of the ninth. Moreno then brought home another run with a base hit before a third insurance run scored on Chloe Malau'ulu's sacrifice fly.

Wesley pitched the extra frames after coming in two runners on and nobody out in the eighth. She struck out the side in that inning and retired the side in order in the ninth to earn the win.