Mississippi State Softball: Bulldogs Survive Boston College Eagles

Mississippi State Takes an Early Lead And Hold on to Win 4-3

Vann Stuedeman and the Mississippi State softball team was challenged this evening. With the Boston College Eagles softball team in town for a midweek tilt, Mississippi State came away with a 4-3 win.

The Bulldogs started scoring early as MSU put all 4 of their runs up in the first inning. With two already in scoring position, Sarai Niu would single to get a 1-0 lead. Emily Heimberger then followed that up with a single of her own out into left field, bringing home another run and pushing the lead to 2-0.

Morgan Bell then closed out the inning for Mississippi State, getting the lead to 4-0 with a 2 RBI double.

The Eagles wouldn’t be behind 4-0 for very long though. As the top of the second inning came along, Boston College chipped into the lead. MSU’s lead was cut in half with a bases loaded single. Then, with a 4-2 lead for MSU in the 5th inning, the Bulldogs lead would then be 4-3 after another RBI single. That’s as close as Boston College would get, however.

In the game, senior Cassady Knudsen shined. The star pitcher threw for 6.0 innings and though she gave up 3 earned runs, Knudsen also struck out 10 along the way. Fellow senior Holly Ward would relieve her for the final frame and would keep Boston College off the board. In doing so, Ward earned her 2nd save of the year.

With the win, Mississippi State is now 17-3 on the season, a fantastic start to the year. But beyond that, Mississippi State’s head coach Vann Stuedeman is now the second winningest coach for the Bulldogs.

As the season continues, Stuedeman will have more than plenty of chances to make her ascent to number one on that list. She won’t get to 296 this year, but she can add to it this weekend. The Bulldogs will host Illinois for two games, one Friday and one Saturday, and then play UMass Lowell, once Saturday and then on Sunday.