By Holly Weber, TTU Sports Information Coordinator
STARKVILLE, Miss.—Hannah Weaver pitching a complete game shutout over Georgia Southern (1-3) highlighted day two of Tennessee Tech softball's (2-2, 0-0 OVC) excursion at the Bulldog Classic. The Golden Eagles opened their doubleheader with a 4-0 win over the Eagles, and then later fell to host Mississippi State (3-0) 11-4.
Tech opened Saturday's contest against Georgia Southern with one down and two on in the first inning, Alyssa Richards came up to the plate. Richards shot a single up the middle driving in Sabrie Neeb giving Tech the early 1-0 lead.
Tech continued their scoring streak into the second. With two outs and two on, Neeb fired a single towards the shortstop. The Golden Eagles then took advantage of a fielding error by Georgia Southern's second baseman, which helped Tech drive in two more and take the 3-0 lead.
The Golden Eagles further secured their shutout in the sixth inning when Amity Brown advanced home on a wild pitch to round out a solid 4-0 victory for the Tech team. Weaver (1-0) pitched the complete game yielding no runs on five hits with five walks and four strikeouts. The Golden Eagles committed no errors in the contest while the Eagles suffered five.
In the second game of the day, Mississippi State scored first when the Bulldog's Katie Ann Bailey hit a double to left center to knock in two runs and take the 2-0 lead at the end of the second. Tech tied up the game in the top of the fourth when Gabby LaSala reached on a fielding error by Mississippi State's second basemen driving in Richards and Sabrie Neeb.
The Golden Eagles kept their momentum going into the fifth inning. Richards reached on a fielding error by Mississippi State's pitcher drawing in Perez. Then Bayli Cruse came up to bat with two down and two on to double to right field and draw in another run to give Tech the 4-2 lead midway through the fifth.
In the bottom of the fifth, the Bulldog's Morgan Bell hit a grand slam to right field to give Mississippi State the 6-4 lead over the Golden Eagles. The Bulldogs pulled away with the game in the bottom of the sixth when the Bulldog's Bailey singled to Liberatore to advance a runner to third and drive in a run. Bailey then stole second and with runners on second on third, MSU's Winkfield came up to the plate and hit a two-RBI triple to right field to pull ahead 10-6 with one down.
A quick pitching change brought in freshman Leigh Thomas for Liberatore. With Thomas on the mound, the Bulldog's Toler came to the plate and smacked a double to right center drawing in another run and giving Mississippi State the 11-4 lead. Thomas struck out the next batter to take the second out and got out of the inning when the Bulldog's Adams grounded out to second base.
Liberatore (1-1) suffered the loss going for 5.1 innings and yielding 10 runs on seven hits while striking out seven and walking five.
Tech closes out their stay at Mississippi State's Bulldog Classic on Sunday when they compete against Alabama A&M in a 1:30 p.m. contest at Nusz Park.
