Feb. 22, 2015
| 2 | 10 |
| Sunday, Feb. 22, 2015 | |
MSU Softball Field | Starkville, Miss.
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STARKVILLE, Miss. - The Penn State softball team played errorless ball Sunday, in its series finale with Mississippi State but it wasn't enough as the Bulldogs completed a series sweep of the Lions by a 10-2 score in just five innings.
For the second time in as many days, the Nittany Lions got out to an early lead over the home standing Bulldogs, as Kristina Brackpool (Valencia, Calif)., continued her hot offensive streak, lining an RBI single into left in the first, which allowed Lexi Knief (Ramsey, N.J.) to score.
Mississippi State would not trail for long though as it quickly tied the game in the bottom half of the first as a pair of singles scored the Dog's first run.
MSU took the lead in the following inning off of back-to-back RBI doubles, which made it 3-1 and then freshman Jessica Cummings (Owing, Md.) took over for starter Marlaina Laubach (Northampton, Pa.) with one out.
Two straight wild pitches from Cummings allowed another run to come home, giving Miss State a commanding three run advantage.
The Lions had their chances to make up the deficit, stranding runners in scoring position to end both the second and third innings. They finally got their second run across the plate in the fourth on an RBI single to right by designated player Mia Monopoli (San Francisco, Calif.), which made it 4-2.
Mississippi State added an insurance run in the fourth off of a pair of singles and two walks, which knocked Cummings out of the game.
In her first relief appearance of the season, Marissa Diescher (Livingston Manor, N.Y.), came into the contest with two outs in the inning but a pair of doubles from the MSU battery plated five runs and made it 10-2.
The series sweep drops Penn State to below .500 for the first time all season, but despite the losses, there were some offensive bright spots Brackpool continued her hot hitting, going 5-7 with three RBI and two runs scored. The Lions also popped a pair of home runs during Saturday's doubleheader.
Penn State will next be in action this coming weekend as it plays five games in three days at the Citrus Classic in Orlando.