Mississippi State
14-2
North Carolina State
7-9
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | Runs R | Hits H | Errors E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mississippi State | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 5 | 0 |
| NC State | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
No. 18 MSU Blanks N.C. State En Route To Friday Split At Leadoff Classic
February 29, 2008 | Softball
? Official Statistics (vs. North Carolina State)
? Official Statistics (vs. North Carolina State) (PDF)
? Official Statistics (vs. Michigan)
? Official Statistics (vs. Michigan) (PDF)
COLUMBUS, Ga. - The No. 18 Mississippi State softball team split Friday's opening day of the 2008 NFCA Leadoff Classic, taking a 4-0 win over N.C. State before dropping a 2-0 decision to No. 11/12 Michigan.
Junior pitcher Kelsey Nurnberg hurled a three-hit, complete-game shutout in the opening win over the Wolfpack (7-9). Misty Flesher (5-2) suffered the loss against the nationally-ranked Wolverines (13-2), allowing two runs on six hits with five strikeouts over a valiant seven-inning effort. The top five hitters in the MSU (14-3) order each collected a hit against N.C. State, with seniors Courtney Bures and Hayle Guess each driving in a run and scoring one.
Bures also chipped in a hit against Michigan to cap a 2-for-5 afternoon at the South Commons Complex. Junior Sammie Jo Bailey went 2-for-3 at the plate against the Wolverines.
State jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first inning against N.C. State as sophomore Chelsea Bramlett led off the game with a single and stole second. She moved to third on Nakita Boyce's sacrifice bunt and scored on a wild pitch from NCSU starter Lindsay Campana (3-7).
State added another in the fourth when Bures led off with a single, moved to second on a Sammie Jo Bailey sacrifice and scored as Ali Bainbridge's bunt was thrown errantly into right field by the Wolfpack catcher.
MSU capped the scoring in the sixth as Boyce led off with a single and scored on Guess' triple to right center, her second of the year. Bures scored Guess with a sacrifice fly to center field.
"We received tremendous pitching today from Kelsey and Misty," MSU head coach Jay Miller said. "I hate that Misty threw a game like she did against Michigan and lost, but that's how the game is. We had some opportunities offensively in the second game but didn't come through. I thought we played well defensively, but we have to be more aggressive at the plate."
The State offense was unable to break through against UM starter Nikki Nemitz (5-2). Nemitz struck out six as she scattered three hits in the complete-game effort. Nemitz helped her own cause in the seventh by drawing a lead-off walk. After moving to second on a sacrifice bunt, she scored on Teddi Ewing's single to center field. Ewing stole second and third and scored on Molly Bausher's single off the fist of the bat that MSU shortstop Courtney Bures was unable to snag.
State returns to the field Saturday, taking on Syracuse at 12:30 p.m. CST and UC Santa Barbara at 3 p.m. CST.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Nurnberg, Kelsey (8-1)
L: Lindsay Campana (3-7)
Batting:
3B: Guess, Hayle 1
RBI: Guess, Hayle 1 ; Bures, Courtney 1
SH: Boyce, Nakita 1 ; Bailey, Sammie Jo 1 ; Bainbridge, Ali 1
SF: Bures, Courtney 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Bramlett, Chelsea 1 ; Boyce, Nakita 1 ; Guess, Hayle 1 ; Bures, Courtney 1
SB: Bramlett, Chelsea 1 ; Boyce, Nakita 1 ; Bainbridge, Ali 1
CS: Bainbridge, Ali 1
Batting:
SH: Ashleigh Davis 1 ; Claudia Cooper 1
Base Running:
SB: Shanna Smith 1
