No. 16 Bulldogs Shutout No. 22 South Carolina
MSU pitcher Josey Marron throws complete game shutout
COLUMBIA, S.C. – Mississippi State has notched plenty of dominant wins against non-conference opponents, but none in games against SEC foes. That changed Friday night.
The No. 16 Bulldogs(27-9, 7-6 SEC) captured a 6-0 win against No. 22 South Carolina (27-11, 3-7 SEC), highlighted by a dominant performance inside the circle by Josey Marron. At one point during the game Marron had retired 13-straight batters and finished with seven strikeouts and allowed only three hits.
"Josey really commanded all of her pitches well,” MSU coach Samantha Ricketts said. “She was spinning the ball in different zones and different speeds. Even when she got behind, she had no problem attacking right back, getting soft contact and feeding her infield. I thought it was a really complete game by her."
The Bulldogs’ offense scoring runs early certainly didn’t hurt Marron. Madisyn Kennedy hit a two-out solo home run in the first inning and Salen Hawkins’ two-out RBI single gave the Bulldogs a 2-0 lead after two innings.
"We put runs on the board early and that kind of helped settle in on defense,” Marron said in her post-game press conference. “Our defense is lockdown day-in and day-out, and I trust every single one of them. They will make any play when called upon.”
Kennedy’s first inning home run was her 15th at the season, which leads the SEC (Georgia’s Jayda Kearney is second with 14 homers). It also extended her streak of games reaching base to 23.
“The goal was to go out there and score first, and I thought Madi did an excellent job in her plan," Ricketts said. "Up and down the lineup a lot of people were contributing.”
Lexi Sosa, in a pinch hit at-bat, extended MSU’s lead to 4-0 with a two-run single off the outfield wall. MSU plated two more runs in the sixth inning. Paige Cook hit an infield single to score Sierra Sacco and Jessie Blaine nearly hit a grand slam, but the ball bounced off the top of the outfield wall to drive in one run and give MSU a 6-0 lead.
Marron allowed just one hit in the final two innings to secure the win for MSU. It was Marron’s fifth career complete-game shutout and third this season.
The Bulldogs and South Carolina resumes their three-game series at 1 p.m. Friday and will air live on SEC Network.