No. 17 Mississippi State was three outs away from sweeping a doubleheader and clinching the series over No. 1 Texas. But a seventh inning rally in the nightcap rally forced a rubber match on Sunday at 2 p.m. ET.
Game 1: Mississippi State 4, Texas 3
The two teams traded blows, entering the seventh tied at three. Samantha Ricketts called upon Paige Ernstes to pinch hit and Erstes played hero. She perfectly placed a ball down the left field line that found its way into the corner, letting pinch runner Abby Richardson score from first base to secure the first win.
Mississippi State manufactured a run in the second on a double steal play. Morgan Stiles hit a solo home run off of Texas starter Teagan Kavan in the second inning to double the Bulldogs’ lead. Kavan did settle in after that, allowing the Longhorns to potentially make a comeback.
And they did as they finally got to Raelin Chaffin. Leighann Goode hit a solo shot to open the sixth inning. The next two Texas batters also reached base. Mia Scott tied the game with a sacrifice fly and Reese Atwood came through with a two-out go-ahead RBI single.
Mississippi State wasn’t going to give in. The scarpy dogs came right back. Sierra Sacco reached second after Kaydee Bennett made a diving stop but threw the ball away. Nadia Barbary drove her in with a single to tie it again.
Chaffin pitched a clean seventh to allow the walk-off.
Game 2: Texas 7, Mississippi State 3
With a two-run lead Ricketts went back to Chaffin in relief, hoping to win the series. But the Longhorns made the adjustments. Atwood came through with an RBI single in the sixth to pull Texas within one.
In the seventh, Joely Mitchell hit a solo home run off of Chaffin to tie it. The Longhorns kept passing the bat. Kayden Henry hit their third straight single for the go-ahead RBI single. Scott hit her second home run of the game, a three-run blast to make it 7-3, the eventual final score.
Mississippi State hit a pair of solo home runs against Texas starter Mac Morgan in the second. Stiles and Lexi Sosa came through with the big swings. Citlaly Gutierrez came in after that and settled things down despite the Bulldogs adding a run in the third.
She went 4.1 innings, allowing one run on three hits with five strikeouts and honestly the best she’s looked recently. However, she did allow the first two runners on in the bottom of the seventh. Mike White didn’t risk it, going back to Kavan for the save. The Texas ace answered, striking out the first two she faced below rolling the game-ending groundout.
No. 11 Virginia Tech holds off No. 16 Stanford in series opener
Caelan Koch thought she had earned the game-tying walk until home plate umpire Eddie Hall called a late strike in the 3-1 count. Koch rolled over on the next pitch, leaving the bases loaded and No. 16 Virginia Tech secured the 4-3 win over No. 11 Stanford.
Pete D’Amour turned to closer Sophie Kleiman in the seventh after six innings of Emma Lemley. The Cardinal took advantage of it. First of the first rout batters in the inning singled to score the first run.
D’Amour turned back to Lemley to secure the win, which she did. Lemley earned her 12th win of the season, allowing two runs on four hits. Joie Economides drew a walk to load the bases with two outs before Koch’s grounder ended it.
Stanford got to the Virginia Tech ace the second time through the order. Taryn Kern led off the third innings with a solo homer. Kyra Chan singled in another run after Lemley walked a pair of Stanford batters.
After struggling to square up and even find a hit against Stanford freshman lefty Zoe Prystajko, the Hokies got on the board in the fourth. Jordan Lynch found the team’s first hit. Kylie Aldridge then drew a walk to give Zoe Yaeger a chance. She cashed in. Yaeger lined a ball down the left-field line that just stayed inside the foul pole for a three-run home run.
Virginia Tech added a much-needed insurance run in the sixth. Lynch and Aldridge led off the frame with a double and single. Lynch came in to score on a groundout, which ended up being the difference in the game.
The Hokies try to clinch the series on Saturday at 4 p.m. ET. Virginia Tech will likely start Emma Mazzarone (6-2, 3.29), while Stanford could start any of Prystajko, Kylie Chung or Alyssa Houston, who all threw in Friday’s contest.