No. 18 MSU Softball Team Opens SEC Slate Tuesday At Auburn
March 10, 2008 | Softball
STARKVILLE, Miss. ? The 18th-ranked Mississippi State softball teams opens the Southeastern Conference portion of its schedule Tuesday, traveling to Auburn for a three-game set at Jane B. Moore Field on the AU campus.
The Bulldogs and Tigers, who are opening SEC play against each other for the first time ever, will play a doubleheader beginning at 5 p.m. Tuesday. The two teams conclude the series Wednesday in a game slated for a 4 p.m. first pitch.
Tuesday's doubleheader also marks the first of State's 25-game radio broadcast schedule. WMSV 91.1, MSU's campus radio station, will carry Tuesday's second game and Wednesday's series finale. Fans outside the broadcast area can listen to the games online at www.wmsv.msstate.edu.
State returns to the road after a successful five-game home stand in which the Bulldogs (21-4) defeated UAB before claiming the Bulldog Classic title with a 4-0 mark.
MSU played stellar defense again this past weekend as it moved its fielding percentage to an SEC second-best .978 clip. MState also ranks second in chances and assists while holding the third-most putouts and the most double plays in the conference.
State's pitching staff looks to continue its solid start to the season as well. The Bulldog hurlers hold the league's fifth-best ERA (1.41) and the second-most wins (21). The Bulldogs and Tigers are tied for the second-most saves in the conference with nine each.
Kelsey Nurnberg aims to build on her solid pitching performance from the weekend. The Ankeny, Iowa, native picked up four wins last week to run her record to a career-best 12-2 and earn Bulldog Classic co-MVP accolades. Nurnberg holds a 1.58 ERA, and she has struck out 53 batters, which is just two off her rookie season total.
Sophomore Chelsea Bramlett earned MVP accolades as well after hitting .500, scoring eight runs, driving in another and going a perfect 8-for-8 on stolen bases. Bramlett continues to lead the Bulldogs at the plate, hitting a league second-best .466 (41-for-88) with 17 RBI and 23 runs scored. The Cordova, Tenn., native hit her third triple of the year in Sunday's win over Louisiana Tech, tying her with teammate Hayle Guess for the SEC lead.
Bramlett enters the first conference outing second in the SEC with a perfect 23-for-23 on stolen bases. Her consecutive steals mark rates as the fourth-best in MSU softball history.
Auburn enters the weekend with a 20-3 record after a 5-0 week that included winning the War Eagle Classic. AU has been paced at the plate by Taryn Gray, who is hitting .362 with a team-best 13 runs. She rates second on the squad in doubles (4) and third in RBI (11). Jorja Bell tops the squad with four home runs, and Tatiana Fernandez, a .291 hitter, has driven in a team-leading 14 runs on the year.
In the circle, four players have shared the pitching duties thus far in the season. Anna Thompson has compiled an 8-2 record and 1.39 ERA on the season, while Brittany Day holds a 4-1 mark and 1.33 average. Lauren Schmalz and Angel Bunner are both off to 4-0 starts with 0.48 and 0.88 earned-run averages, respectively.
