Auburn Softball Team Rebounds With 3-2 Win Over Mississippi State
Box Score l Audio
April 2, 2004
AUBURN - Martha Phillips blasted a two-run homer in the bottom of the second to give 22nd-ranked Auburn a lead it would not relinquish in a 3-2 victory over Mississippi State on Friday night at Jane B. Moore Field.
Phillips sailed the 1-1 offering from Melissa Massey down the left field line over the foul pole in what turned out to be a controversial call from the Bulldogs stand point.
"It felt really good," said Phillips. "I was very comfortable at the plate tonight and saw the pitch very well. Coming off the Florida series, I have told myself to relax and to try and have fun. So that's what I tried to do"
The shot scored Kristina McCain, who reached on a walk, and gave the Tigers a 2-0 lead. It was Phillips fourth of the year and the eighth of her career, which is 10th best in Auburn history. She went yard from the seven spot in the order, where she batted for the first time this year.
"I think Martha's attitude coming in helped a lot today," said head coach Tina Deese. "Moving her down in the line up took some of the pressure off her a little bit. She's able to sit back and just swing. She did really well with that tonight."
Auburn improved to 27-7 on the year and 9-4 in the Southeastern Conference. Mississippi State fell to 22-19 and 4-12 in the league. The two teams will meet in a doubleheader on Saturday beginning at 2 p.m. The game can be heard on the radio at WAUD 1230-AM in the Auburn area as well as online at www.AuburnTigers.com.
The Tigers, which led 2-1 heading into the bottom of the sixth got a much needed insurance run courtesy of Sara Dean and McCain. Dean tripled to right field with one out and came home on McCain's infield single to second base.
"Sara Dean was Sara Dean again tonight," Deese said. "She comes to play every game and every at bat. I'm glad she was at third base in the sixth to get the crucial run."
Dean's triple was the fourth of her career, which tied the Auburn school record.
Mississippi State's Iyhia McMichael proved how valuable the run was when she took Kristen Keyes deep for a solo home run with two outs in the seventh. The blast extended McMichael's hitting streak to eight. However, Keyes shut the door by getting the next batter, Kate Jaspers to line out to left to end the game.
The two sixth inning hits, coupled with Phillips shot, were all the Tigers were able to muster of Massey. She struck out four and walked three in taking the loss to fall to 9-8 on the year.
Keyes earned the win to improve to 14-6. She allowed two runs on six hits and struck out eight while walking a pair.
"Kristen did a nice job keeping Mississippi State off balance," said Deese. "She wasn't as sharp as she has been, but she kept their players off base in key situations, particularly in the seventh with McMichael coming up."
Mississippi State got on the board in the third with an unearned run. Hayle Guess reached on a bunt single and went to second when she and second baseman Lolani Alvarez, who was covering first on the play, collided. The ball scooted into shallow right field. She came around on a Jaspers single.