Mississippi State softball had a busy Saturday out in West Texas. The 2-seed Bulldogs played a pair of games in the Lubbock Regional, dropping a winners' bracket game against Texas Tech in the afternoon and then pulling out a win Saturday night against Washington to stay alive and advance to the Sunday's regional final.
Texas Tech overpowers Mississippi State
In the season-opener, MSU defeated Texas Tech 3-1 in extra innings. The second matchup between these teams didn't resemble that at all. The Red Raider lineup exploded for 10 runs on 14 hits, including three home runs. A three-run shot in the 6th gave Tech a 10-1 run-rule win. Going up against the remarkable NiJaree Canady, State simply couldn't keep pace. The got runners on, including loading the bases in the 1st, but they couldn't bring them home. Texas Tech was in control throughout, and the Bulldogs stumbled into the losers' bracket.
Bulldogs win thriller against Washington to stay alive
The loss put Mississippi State in a rematch with Washington, who had defeated the Brown Bears earlier in the day to keep their own season alive. The rematch was a wild, back and forth affair. After losing a 3-0 lead to trail 5-3, it looked as though State had taken control for good with big 5th and 6th innings to lead 11-5. But in the bottom of the 6th, the Huskies stormed back to get within a run. Fortunately for the Bulldogs, their 11 runs was just barely enough, and they kept their season going. Jessie Blaine was the hero of the day, going 3-4 with a home run, an double, and five crucial RBI.
Mississippi State needs 2-0 Sunday to win Lubbock Regional
The Bulldogs remain with a chance at making a postseason run, but, obviously, they enter Sunday's regional final with no margin for error. Mississippi State will need to win twice in one day against Texas Tech in order to advance to a Super Regional. Considering the way Saturday's matchup against the Red Raiders went, Tech's rest advantage, and the number of pitches thrown by State on Saturday, that will be a tall task. But it's a chance nonetheless, and they're talented enough to prevail. They'll face Texas Tech at 2:00 PM CT on Sunday.