Boxscore

STARKVILLE, Miss. - A one-out RBI double in the bottom of the seventh inning sent Mississippi State to a 1-0 win over Louisiana Tech Sunday, spoiling what was almost a perfect day for the Lady Techster softball team at the Bulldog Round Robin Tournament.

Head coach Sarah Dawson's squad downed Bradley 6-4 in the first game of the final day of the three-day event and looked poised to pull the upset over the host school in its final contest.

However, Mississippi State catcher Jennifer Waterman doubled home first baseman Kate Jaspers with one out in the bottom of the seventh, sending the Lady Techsters home with a second-place finish and a 4-2 overall mark. The Bulldogs, who have participated in three of the last four NCAA Regionals, captured the tournament with a perfect 6-0 record while Bradley (2-4) and Jackson State (0-6) rounded out the four-team event.

"We did really well producing offensively, minus the two games against Mississippi State," Dawson said. "For so early in the season, I thought we executed well with some hit and runs; we just hit the ball well. Offensively, we looked good."

Mississippi State pitcher Melissa Massey scattered three hits over seven innings to lead the Bulldogs to the win while Tech senior pitcher Marla Pinkston picked up the hard-luck loss, allowing only the one run on eight hits over 6.1 innings of work.

"Marla had good command of her pitches this weekend," Dawson said. "She worked ahead in the count, and did a good job of getting her infielders some balls the could handle."

Jessica Elson, Casey Reiff and Ashley Aycock each recorded one hit during the contest.

Tech's biggest offensive threat of the game came with two outs in the top of the sixth when Elson doubled; however, she was stranded on second as the inning ended with a strikeout.

The final day of the event started off well for the Lady Techsters as Tech plated three runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to record a come-from-behind 6-4 win over Bradley.

With the Lady Techsters trailing 4-3 heading into the frame, junior outfielder Brittany Stanley led off with a single and then stole second. After an Amber Miles sacrifice bunt advanced Stanley to third, Elson drove her home with an RBI single, tying the score at 4-4.

Reiff then walked setting up the stage for senior Jennifer LaRussa's heroics as she drove home two runs with a double to left, giving Tech a 6-4 advantage. Pinkston struck out the side in the top half of the seventh to record the win, allowing only three hits in three innings of relief work.

Elson led Tech offensively with three hits and two RBIs while LaRussa also drove in two runs on two hits. Miles and Aimee Coleman each registered a pair of hits and scored a run for the Lady Techsters.

Tech opens the home portion of its 2004 schedule when its hosts Northwestern State Wednesday at 5 p.m.


Friday Louisiana Tech 30, Jackson State 0 (5)
Mississippi State 6, Louisiana Tech 1
Saturday Louisiana Tech 7, Bradley 0
Louisiana Tech 12, Jackson State 4
Sunday Louisiana Tech 6, Bradley 4
Mississippi State 1, Louisiana Tech 0