Softball: Feb. 19 Scoreboard
Southland Conference
Northwestern State 4, St. Louis 0
Mississippi State 4, Southeastern Louisiana 3
Northwestern State 4, St. Louis 0
JACKSON, Miss. – Northwestern State softball starter Shelby Sells tossed a complete-game, four-hit shutout and Cassandra Barefield tied the NSU career home run record mark of 38 in a 4-0 win against Saint Louis.
Barefield’s sixth inning leadoff solo shot tied the program record set by Erin Mancuso in 2002. It was one of two RBIs on the day for a NSU (4-8) team that was helped by four Saint Louis errors.
Three Billiken (3-3) errors came in the third inning, allowing the Lady Demons to score two runs after recording no hits and one walk.
For NSU, it was the second time in three games the Lady Demons played error-free softball.
Brittney Jones registered a team-leading two hits. Her three-game hit streak has upped her average from .238 to .296 this season.
Kaytie Proctor picked up her second RBI of the season via a fourth inning groundout that scored Jones.
Northwestern State continues play at the Jackson State Tournament on Friday with a noon matchup against Belmont and 2:30 p.m. game against Morehead State. The Lady Demons face Belmont at 10 a.m. and Morehead State at 2:45 p.m. on Saturday before closing out the weekend at 10:30 a.m. against host Jackson State on Sunday.
-
Return to top -
Mississippi State 4, Southeastern Louisiana 3
HAMMOND, La. – The Southeastern Louisiana softball team put a scare into Mississippi State before ultimately falling, 4-3, in its 2015 road opener Thursday afternoon at the MSU Softball Field.
Southeastern (4-4) had the tying run in scoring position in each of the final three innings, but could never pull ahead. Freshman shortstop Sydney Booker led the Lady Lions at the plate, hitting the first home run of her SLU career. Mississippi State improved to 10-1 on the season, as pitcher Alexis Silkwood (7-0) struck out 10 and scattered four hits in 6.2 innings of work.
MSU jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning against SLU senior Spencer Adkinson (0-2). Third baseman Caroline Seitz line a three-run home run inside the left field foul pole to stake the Bulldogs to the early advantage. MSU added to its lead in the bottom of the second inning, as shortstop Kayla Winkfield doubled and later scored on a sacrifice fly by left fielder Amanda Ivy to take a 4-0 lead.
Southeastern cut the lead in half in the top of the third inning. With two outs, freshman outfielder Kinsey Nichols reached on an error by Seitz. Booker followed with a bomb over the left field fence to cut the MSU advantage to 4-2.
From there, Adkinson and junior Taylor Bishop combined to hold MSU at bay. Southeastern made it a one run game in the top of the fifth without the benefit of a hit. Junior designated player Amber Sather walked and later scored when senior second baseman Vanessa Eng reached on a throwing error to cut the lead to 3-2. With runners on second and third and two outs, Silkwood retired sophomore pinch hitter Mychal Truxillo to end the inning.
SLU once again threatened in the bottom of the sixth inning, as back-to-back singles by sophomore outfielder Sloan Jenkins and junior outfielder Katie Lacour put a pair of runners on with one out. However, Nichols and Booker were retired to end the threat.
In the seventh, Sather reached second on a fielding error by centerfielder Loryn Nichols to start the frame. However, senior shortstop Megan Moore, Eng and junior pinch hitter Sydney McCullough each were retired, leaving freshman pinch runner Shelby Stewart stranded.
Southeastern will be back in action this weekend, competing in the UTSA Classic in San Antonio, Texas. The Lady Lions open the tournament with a 10 a.m. game versus Iowa State on Saturday.
-
Return to top -