MSU Softball Team Hits The Road Tuesday To Face MVSU
March 31, 2008 | Softball
STARKVILLE, Miss. ? Fresh off winning the 2008 Bully Bash, the 21st-ranked Mississippi State softball team returns to the road Tuesday, traveling to Itta Bena, Miss., to take on Mississippi Valley State in a non-conference game set for a 6 p.m. first pitch.
The Bulldogs hit the road with a 30-11 mark and will face the Delta Devilettes for the fourth time this season and the third time in a four-day span. State defeated MVSU 10-1 in the opening game of the Bully Bash before claiming a 12-0 victory on Sunday to clinch the tournament title.
Misty Flesher picked up both decisions against Valley to improve her record to 12-6 on the year and earn Bully Bash Most Valuable Player accolades. The Lone Grove, Okla., native closed the weekend with a one-hit shutout against MVSU in which she came three outs shy of tossing a perfect game. In the tournament opener against Valley, Flesher matched a season high for strikeouts with nine in the winning effort.
The pair of Super Bulldog Weekend victories moves State to 11-1 all-time against the Delta Devilettes. State opened the 2008 home slate against MVSU on Feb. 13 and came away with a 10-0 victory behind a one-hit shutout from junior Kelsey Nurnberg.
Chelsea Bramlett continues to pace the Bulldogs at the plate this season, hitting at a .428 clip with a team high 38 runs and 34-of-35 stolen bases. Bramlett has hit two doubles, three triples and a pair of home runs, including the Bulldogs' second inside-the-park home run of the season, during the Bully Bash.
Senior Courtney Bures continues to climb the batting charts for the Bulldogs as she improved her average to .397 with a .500 (10-for-20) week at the plate that included eight RBI which moved her into second place on the all-time career RBI chart. Bures leads the team with 10 doubles and 29 RBI, and she has scored 26 times, third most on the team, while contributing a triple and a team second-best three home runs.
Freshman Jessie Spain also performed well at the plate for MSU last week. Spain hit .500 on the week and launched her first career home run against LSU on Wednesday. During the Bully Bash, Spain went 4-for-8 at the plate, drove in two runs, scored five times and collected a pair of doubles.
Following the mid-week outing at the Devilettes Complex, State returns home on Thursday to welcome Kentucky for a pair of Southeastern Conference games that are slated for 4 p.m. first pitch from the MSU Softball Field.
