March 29, 2003
Game 1 Box Score
Game 2 Box Score
The University of Kentucky softball team was swept in a doubleheader today by Mississippi State at the Mississippi State Softball field in Starkville, Miss. The Wildcats (9-23, 1-13) nearly came back from a five-run deficit in the first game but ultimately fell, 7-6. The Bulldogs (26-14, 6-8) jumped out to 5-0 lead in the second game and ended up winning 7-0.
Game 1 – Cats’ Comeback Falls Short
In the opener, the Wildcats got on the board in the top of the first inning. Senior Nikki Jones reached base on a Bulldog error and advanced to third after a groundout by Megan Brooks and a wild pitch. Senior Lyndsey Angus got a free trip to first after being hit by a Jennifer Nelson pitch. Rachel Friberg then came up and knocked a single up the middle scoring Jones. A single by sophomore Jessica Nance scored Angus from second and gave Kentucky the early 2-0 lead.
MSU cut the lead in half in the bottom of the first when Iyhia McMichael scored from second on a Kentucky fielding error.
Bulldogs’ pitcher Jennifer Nelson helped her own cause in the bottom of the second. After two walks, she took an Amy Kendall pitch and cranked her first career home run over the right field fence giving Mississippi State the 4-2 lead. In the bottom of the third, a two-run double by MSU’s Lindsay Nelson put the Dogs up 6-2.
The Bulldogs scored anther run in the fourth and led 7-2 but the Wildcats continued to get their bats on the ball and it paid off in the top of the fifth. Singles by Brooks, Angus, Nance and Kendall scored three runs and cut the MSU lead to two.
The Cats struck again in the sixth. Megan Glenn ended her 11-game hitting draught by slapping a single that went off the leg of new Bulldog pitcher Courtney Frank and into left field. Glenn advanced to second on a passed ball and went on to third on an Amanda Brown groundout. The next batter, Nikki Jones, became the seventh UK hitter with a single in the game as she brought home Glenn with a base hit to right field.
A single by Amy Kendall was the only thing the Cats could get going in the seventh and they fell to the Bulldogs 7-6.
Game 2 – Dogs Use Five-Run Fourth to Get By Cats in Second Game
The second game of the doubleheader started slowly until Mississippi State broke it open in the fourth. Two Kentucky errors, combined with three MSU hits, including a three-run home run by Iyhia McMichael, led to five runs.
They scored another run in the bottom of the fifth to take the 6-0 lead. Kentucky threatened in the top of the sixth. With the bases loaded, Bulldogs’ pitcher Melissa Massey got Amy Kendall to ground out ending the inning.
MSU put another run across in the bottom of the sixth and held Kentucky in the top of the seventh to get the 7-0 win. The Wildcats managed only three hits against Massey, two of them by Nikki Jones.
The three-game series will conclude on Sunday at 1:30 p.m. ET. Live stats will be available on www.mstateathletics.com.
