STARKVILLE, Miss. – Auburn's latest attempt at another come-from-behind victory came up just a little short Friday night as the Tigers fell to Mississippi State 7-6.
A six-run bottom of the third inning for Mississippi State (20-8, 1-3) gave the Bulldogs enough breathing room to withstand a sixth-inning rally from Auburn (26-5, 3-1), before MSU starting pitcher Alyssa Loza (7-1) closed out the game with a perfect top of the seventh.
"We didn't play any defense and didn't pitch very well during that inning," Auburn head coach Mickey Dean said on the third inning. "I thought our hitters did a great job tonight. Defense is played with your feet and we didn't do that tonight."
Auburn took the lead in the top of the second with three-run inning highlighted by a solo home run from Tannon Snow. Justus Perry plated Brittany Maresette on a run-scoring triple, before Perry scored on a Bulldog fielding error. Mississippi State responded with a single run in its half of the second, but Casey McCrackin extended the Tiger lead back to three following a solo home run in the third.
Mia Davidson sparked the Bulldog third with a two-run home run that chased Tiger starting pitcher Lexie Handley with no outs in the inning. Ashlee Swindle (5-3) entered from the bullpen, but Mississippi State continued its offensive outburst with four more runs on three more hits to take a 7-4 lead.
Kendall Veach hit her team-leading 14th home run of the season in the top of the sixth to inch Auburn to within a run. The Tigers were on the verge of taking the lead later in the inning, but Aspyn Godwin, who entered the game as a pinch-hitter, popped out with runners on second and third to end the inning.
"We have to be consistent and just continue to do things that we normally do," Dean said.
The two teams will continue its three-game series Saturday afternoon with first pitch scheduled for 1 p.m. The game can be seen on SEC Network +.