Courtesy of Mississippi State Athletics
STARKVILLE, Miss. – Home runs and a stellar pitching performance lifted Mississippi State (19-5, 2-2 SEC) past their second-straight top-20 opponent on Friday night in a 7-0 win over No. 19 Texas A&M (20-6, 2-2 SEC) at the MSU Softball Field.
Seniors Erica Gaul and Julia Echols both hit home runs and sophomore pitcherAlexis Silkwood stymied the Aggies, as State is now 3-3 this season vs. top-25 opponents.
“We had such a great performance tonight in every aspect of the game. Texas A&M is a great team, which makes this an even better win,” head coach Vann Stuedeman said. “We will have to bring it again tomorrow. This league is awesome.”
A two-out, two-run double from sophomore Amanda Ivy in the bottom of the second inning scored the first two runs of the game. After an RBI single by sophomore Katie Anne Bailey, senior Julia Echols crushed a home run over the left-center field wall to put the lead at 5-0 after two.
The Bulldogs pushed the lead to 7-0 in the fifth inning after senior first baseman Erica Gaul launched a homer over the left field fence, scoring sophomoreMackenzie Toler in the process.
Sophomore Alexis Silkwood (14-3) earned the win for the Bulldogs while pitching her ninth complete-game of 2015. Silkwood struck out seven TAMU batters, while having only walked five in seven innings of work.
Texas A&M senior pitcher Rachel Fox (12-4) took the loss for the Aggies. In 5.0 innings, she surrendered seven hits and seven runs, all earned, as well as two walks and five strikeouts.
“Thank you to the fans who braved the elements with us. Bulldog fans are incredible. A big thank you also to our grounds crew for getting our field ready to play today,” said Stuedeman.
Mississippi State continues their series against Texas A&M tomorrow at 1 p.m. CT. The game will be broadcasted online on SEC Network+.
For more information on the MSU softball program, follow “HailStateSB” on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. You can also find all-access coverage of the Bulldogs on SnapChat by searching for “HailStateSnap.”
