Alabama Softball Defeats Mississippi State, 7-1, to Open Series

Friday, April 8

Tuscaloosa, Ala.

6:30 p.m

Alabama

Mississippi State

Alabama Softball Defeats Mississippi State, 7-1, to Open Series

4/8/2016 12:00:00 AM | Softball

April 8, 2016

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- Alabama softball jumped ahead of Mississippi State early in Friday's series opener at Rhoads Stadium, as the Crimson Tide ultimately defeated the Bulldogs 7-1.

Alabama (33-7, 6-4 SEC) scored three runs in the first inning and four more in the second, holding Mississippi State (21-16, 2-8 SEC) scoreless until the final inning. Reagan Dykes drove in five of the team's seven runs, a career-high for the freshman, on two hits. Haylie McCleney set the table with a 2-4 performance batting leadoff while Andrea Hawkins and Kallie Case helped turn the lineup over with multi-hit games in the bottom of the order.

Tide starter Sydney Littlejohn (15-2) remains undefeated in SEC play, earning her sixth conference victory with a complete-game effort in the circle. She allowed just one run on seven hits with no walks.

"Sydney did a great job in the circle tonight," head coach Patrick Murphy said. "Mississippi State hit one ball hard, the double in the gap, but other than that I think she controlled them. She made the right pitches when she needed to. It was a lot of swings-and-misses and mis-hits. She pitched well enough to win."

Bulldog starter Alexis Silkwood (1-5) was chased after just 2.1 innings with all seven runs, four earned, credited to her. Cassady Knudsen threw 3.2 scoreless innings behind her while second baseman Calyn Adams notched the team's only multi-hit performance, going 2-3.

McCleney set the tone immediately, leading off the bottom of the first with a double in the gap. After two quick outs, a fielding error would keep the inning alive and, after a walk to load the bases, Dykes would take advantage of the extended inning with a two-run single up the middle to give Alabama an early 2-0 lead. An RBI single by Hawkins would tack on another unearned run to push the Tide on top, 3-0.

With runners at the corners in the bottom of the second, Alabama would attempt a double steal and the MSU catcher would be called for interference, allowing Alabama to score and stretch the lead to 4-0. Back-to-back walks would load the bases and bring Dykes to the plate, who connected on a hard-hit double to the wall in left field, unloading the bases as Alabama now led 7-0.

Mississippi State would erase the shutout in the top of the seventh, scoring one on an RBI groundout, but the comeback was too little, too late as a groundout ended the game to secure the 7-1 Alabama win.

Alabama continues its series against Mississippi State tomorrow at 2 p.m. CT. The team will be celebrating Leona Lafaele's senior day with a pregame ceremony.