Despite a strong effort from the Mississippi State (19-8, 1-2 SEC) pitching staff against one of the best hitting teams in the nation, the Auburn Tigers (25-4, 3-3 SEC) came out on top in a 2-0 pitcher's duel on Sunday.
Alexis Silkwood wound up getting the start in the circle on Sunday after an exhausting effort Friday night where she threw 216 pitches in 13.1 innings. Silkwood was unable to repeat such a dominant performance and was only able to go for 3.0 innings where she walked five and struck out four. Alexis faced 16 batters and struggled at times, but was successful in keeping the Tigers from causing too much damage.
In the fourth inning, freshman Regan Green would relieve Silkwood and would pitch for the the remaining 4.0 innings of the game. Green would strike out five of the 16 batters she faced and did not give up a run in her time in the circle.
Despite the series loss, Vann Stuedeman's very young team was able to hang in close with a top five program in the nation the entire weekend. The pitching performances from Regan Green, Holly Ward, and Alexis Silkwood held a team that had been scoring 10.5 runs per game to a total of eight runs in 28 innings.
After the game, freshman pitcher Cori Cooper was surprised by the return of her sister from three years of active duty in the Navy in Afghanistan.
The surprise @cori_cooper15 received after our game today puts things in perspective.#Family#HailStatehttps://t.co/CtlrpVjTZN
— MSU Softball (@HailStateSB) March 20, 2016
The Bulldogs will play Southeastern Louisiana on Tuesday at 5:30 and Central Arkansas on Wednesday at 6:30 in a short break from SEC play before heading up to Knoxville to take on No. 16 ranked Tennessee.