SEC Tournament Game 10 Recap: Auburn 4, Mississippi State 3
5/15/2004 12:00:00 AM | Softball
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TUSCALOOSA, ALA - Auburn beat Mississippi State 4-3 here at the Southeastern Conference Softball Championships held at the Alabama Softball Complex this week.
"I am just very proud of the performance of the girls," Auburn head coach Tina Deese said. "They knew coming in that they were going to have to put runs on the board. I am just very proud of them. I thought the game was going to be run for run. We knew what we were up against."
Auburn moves on to face top seed LSU at 7:30 p.m. while the Bulldogs are eliminated. The Tigers scattered 10 hits and left 11 runners on base through the game, and picked up a run each in the sixth and seventh inning to come from behind to win. Mississippi State scored all three runs in the first two innings. Kristen Keyes goes to 26-10 with the win while Kelli Miller was charged with the loss, dropping her 11-9.
No. 2 seed Tennessee faces No. 3 Georgia at 5 p.m. today.
Game Notes
Auburn
--Paige Jones set a career high with seven total bases.
--Auburn claims sixth win in final at-bat this season.
--Holly Currie retired 12 of 13 batters after the McMichael triple
--Auburn posted its sixth come-from-behind win this season.
--The Tigers have won two games in the SEC Tournament for the third time and the first since 2001.
Mississippi State
--Kelli Miller's personal six-game winning streak was snapped.
--The MSU loss snaps their 10-game winning streak when scoring in the first inning.
--Iyhia McMichael reached base safely for 38th consecutive game with a triple in the second inning and raises NCAA-leading batting average to .483.
--MSU is now 1-1 all-time vs. Auburn in SEC Tournament games.
--The Bulldogs are now 10-14 all-time at the SEC Tournament
AUBURN QUOTES
Auburn Head Coach Tina Deese
"I am just very proud of the performance of the girls. They knew coming in that they were going to have to put runs on the board. I am just very proud of them."
"I thought the game was going to be run for run. We knew what we were up against."
#25 Paige Jones
On the Home Run
"I thought she was going to catch it at the fence. I about did cartwheels when I saw it go over the fence."
MISSISSIPPI STATE QUOTES:
Head Coach Jay Miller:
"It was a tough ballgame. We just struggled offensively. We couldn't get anything going. (Auburn pitcher Hollie) Currie did a great job. Really, we had a tough time making adjustments at the plate. A couple of miscues defensively put us in hot water. Little things like that make the difference."
OF Iyhia McMichael:
On an amazing backhanded catch:
"I was confident on that. I knew I had that ball all the way. That catch was a little boost for our team. We've had some struggles defensively so that helped us and gave us a second chance."
P Melissa Massey:
"I have a lot of bad outings as a pitcher so I just have to come back stronger next time."
