Mississippi State
15-3
Syracuse
0-11
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | Runs R | Hits H | Errors E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mississippi State | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 9 | 0 |
| Syracuse | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 3 |
Miller Earns Career Win No. 900 As Bulldogs Split At Leadoff Classic
March 01, 2008 | Softball
? Official Statistics (vs. Syracuse)
? Official Statistics (vs. Syracuse) (PDF)
? Official Statistics (vs. UC-Santa Barbara)
? Official Statistics (vs. UC-Santa Barbara) (PDF)
COLUMBUS, Ga. ? Mississippi State head softball coach Jay Miller earned his 900th career victory Saturday as his 18th-ranked Bulldogs defeated Syracuse 8-2 Saturday at the NFCA Leadoff Classic. State split for the second straight day, falling 5-2 to UC Santa Barbara in the nightcap in a tough, eight-inning thriller.
Miller now stands at 900-560 in his 26-year coaching career, and he has compiled a 191-145 mark in his six seasons with the Bulldogs.
State (15-4) received solid pitching for the second straight day, as Elizabeth Woolven hurled five innings of no-hit softball in relief in the opener against Syracuse (0-11) to move to 2-0 on the campaign.
Kelsey Nurnberg, who surrendered two runs on three hits in the first two innings against the Orange, came back in the second game and held the Gouchos (9-8) scoreless through the first seven innings.
"I'm still frustrated a little bit by the way we are swinging the bats," Miller said. "We didn't manage our plate appearances too well today, and we left a lot of runners on base. I was pleased with our pitching today from Kelsey and Elizabeth, and our defense did a nice job except for one inning. We had a lot of opportunities that we didn't capitalize one, so we have to work hard and learn from these games as we head into tomorrow."
The Ankeny, Iowa, native allowed five runs, with only one being earned, on eight hits as she fell to 8-2 on the campaign. Woolven surrendered a hit over the final two-thirds.
Courtney Bures paced the MSU offensive attack in the opening game of the day as she went 2-for-3, drove in a run and scored another. Senior Hayle Guess drove in a pair of runs against the Orange with her bases-clearing double down the right-field line that capped a three-run first inning.
Freshman Ali Bainbridge and Bures each drew two-out walks in that three-run first. Bainbridge scored on Sammie Jo Bailey's RBI single before Guess delivered her two-run double.
State added three more runs in the second. Courtney Nesbit led off the second with a base hit to center field, and after Lindsay Hunley reached on an error by the Orange second baseman, she advanced along with pinch-runner Brittany Bell on a passed ball. Chelsea Bramlett followed with a fielder's choice that scored Bell to make it a 4-0 game, and after Hunley extended the lead on a passed ball, Nakita Boyce capped the three-run inning with a base hit to left field.
After Syracuse added its two runs on a Jorden Rosen home run, MSU answered with a run in the top of the third. Guess led off with a walk, moved to third on a Nesbit single and a throwing error, and scored on Hunley's ground-out. MSU tacked on its final run in the sixth as Bainbridge delivered a two-out single, stole second and scored on Bures' second base hit of the day, a single to center field.
After the first game saw the Bulldog offense explode for eight runs on nine hits at South Commons Complex, the second game featured a pitcher's duel between Nurnberg and Lindsey Correa, who moved to 5-3 after surrendering two runs, one earned, on six hits in a complete-game effort.
With Jackie Conlin at second via the international tie-breaker, she moved to third as Nicole Churnock's bunt single and scored on a Christine Ramos sacrifice fly. Churnock, who had advanced to second, moved to third on a wild pitch and scored as she slid in just ahead of Jessie Bailey's throw on a Jessica Ziegler ground ball. In an attempt to throw out Ziegler at second, Bramlett's throw skipped into center field to score Ziegler from second. Tisha Duran ad Tiffany Wright followed with back-to-back singles, and two hitters later, Kelsey Anderson capped the five-run burst with her double to center field that was able to plate Duran and Wright before she was thrown out trying to advance to third.
State didn't back down, however, as the Bulldogs rallied to plate a pair of runs in the home half of the eighth. Brittany Bell scored from second as Bramlett doubled through the left side. She advanced to third on a Boyce ground-out and scored on a Bainbridge single. Bainbridge was thrown out trying to advance to second, and Bures grounded out to end the game.
The Bulldogs finish play at the Leadoff Classic on Sunday, taking on Massachusetts in a game set for an 11:30 a.m. CST first pitch.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Woolven, Elizabeth (2-0)
L: GARDNER, Brittany (0-3)
Batting:
2B: Guess, Hayle 1
RBI: Bramlett, Chelsea 1 ; Boyce, Nakita 1 ; Bures, Courtney 1 ; Bailey, Sammie Jo 1 ; Guess, Hayle 2 ; Hunley, Lindsay 1
SH: Hunley, Lindsay 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Bramlett, Chelsea 1 ; Bainbridge, Ali 2 ; Bures, Courtney 1 ; Bailey, Sammie Jo 1 ; Guess, Hayle 1 ; Bell, Brittany 1 ; Hunley, Lindsay 1
SB: Bramlett, Chelsea 1 ; Bainbridge, Ali 2
Batting:
HR: ROSEN, Jorden 1
RBI: ROSEN, Jorden 2
Base Running:
RUNS: KELLEY, Amy 1 ; ROSEN, Jorden 1
