by Brian Ogden, Associate Director/Communications
STARKVILLE – Aspen Wesley (MBCI) controlled the circle all day. The Bulldog junior held South Alabama to three hits as Mississippi State won its final game of The Snowman, 5-0.
Wesley tossed a complete game, striking out four. Her only trouble came in the top of the seventh when the first two hitters reached on a walk and a single, but she retired the next three batters she faced to preserve the shutout.
“It was good to see the response after the game last night. We asked for energy and for everyone to work together. I thought we did a good job at that,” head coach Samantha Ricketts said. “The vibe felt a lot better this weekend. There was a lot of positivity and everyone was striving for that same goal that we had at practice. It’s good to see us going toward that upward trend and that we’re looking to learn and grow during the preseason. Overall, I’m happy with the performance on the weekend all around. I thought Aspen was in total control all day long. She was cruising. It’s good to see her in command. Defense was much improved. Our defense made some big time plays behind Aspen today.”
The Bulldogs (9-7) scored two runs in the bottom of the second inning on a squeeze bunt. Paige Cook‘s sacrifice bunt scored Madisyn Kennedy from third, and the throw to the plate got over the catcher’s head allowing Brylie St. Clair to score from second.
State added two runs on back-to-back homers from Mia Davidson and Matalasi Faapito in the third inning. In the sixth, pinch runner Phoebe Florian scored from first on a base hit from pinch hitter Addison Purvis when the ball was bobbled in left field.
