No. 18 MSU Softball Team Blanks UAB 7-0 Tuesday Night

Tuesday, March 4

Starkville

6:00 p.m.

Mississippi State

17-4

UAB

13-10

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
UAB	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	1
Mississippi State	1	1	1	1	0	3	X	7	8	0

No. 18 MSU Softball Team Blanks UAB 7-0 Tuesday Night

March 04, 2008 | Softball

Box Score

By: hailstate.com

? Official Statistics
? Official Statistics (PDF)

STARKVILLE, Miss. ? Kelsey Nurnberg and Elizabeth Woolven combined for a three-hit shutout, and Courtney Bures collected a pair of hits and drove in a run as the 18th-ranked Mississippi State softball team defeated UAB Tuesday night in near-freezing temperatures at the MSU Softball Field.

The Bulldogs, who stayed at No. 18 in the latest ESPN.com/USA Softball Poll and dropped one place to 19th in the newest USA Today/NFCA ranking, moved to 17-4 on the year with the victory. The Blazers fell to 13-10 overall.

Nurnberg allowed a hit and struck out five over four innings to improve to 9-2 overall. Woolven, a Nettleton, Miss., native, picked up her second save of the year as she scattered a pair of hits and struck out three over the final three innings.

In addition to Bures' continued solid hitting, sophomore Chelsea Bramlett scored twice as she went 1-for-3 on the night. Bramlett got the Bulldog offense going as she led off the game with a single and scored in the first inning. State scored the leadoff batter the first four innings of the contest en route to building a 4-0 advantage.

After reaching on a single to center field in the first, Bramlett stole second and third and scored as Blazer catcher Andrea Rogers' throw was deflected into left field. The Bulldogs expanded the lead to 2-0 in the second as freshman Ali Bainbridge walked and stole second. After moving to third on a Hayle Guess ground-out, the Vestavia Hills, Ala., native scored on Brittany Bell's one-out single to shortstop.

Nakita Boyce kicked off the third inning for MState with a base hit up the middle. The senior advanced to second on Bures' ground-out to second, and after moving to third on a passed ball, she scored on Sammie Jo Bailey's ground-out to short. Guess extended the MSU lead to 4-0 in the fourth as she walked and stole second. After taking third on a passed ball, Gina McCloud scored Guess with a base hit up the middle.

"We had great pitching again today from Kelsey and Elizabeth," MSU head coach Jay Miller, who earned his 900th career win last weekend, said. "Kelsey came out strong, and Elizabeth did a nice job of shutting them down the rest of the way. We talked this week about scoring every inning, and our offense did a nice job throughout the order. Gina McCloud came up with a big hit and a walk for us today. It was a solid win for us today. With the cold weather, I thought our team did a nice job of coming out and fighting and not letting the conditions take us out of our game."

Despite having all the offense the defense would need, the Bulldogs tacked on three more in the home half of the sixth. Freshman Jessie Spain led off with a single but was put-out on Brittany Bell's fielder's choice to short. Bell stole second and advanced to third on an illegal pitch. Bramlett followed with a walk, and after stealing second, she moved to third on a wild pitch while Bell scored.

Following a walk to pinch-hitter Megan Bateman, Bures made it a 6-0 game with her run-scoring single that scored Bramlett. Two hitters later, Bainbridge capped the State scoring with a line drive into center field that plated Bateman with the game's final run.

Jennifer Nelson (7-7) took the loss for UAB as she allowed four runs, three earned, on five hits with six strikeouts. Kayla Harris pitched the final inning, surrendering the three runs on three hits.

The Bulldogs stay at home this weekend, hosting Austin Peay, Louisiana Tech and Charleston Southern in the 2008 Bulldog Classic Mar. 7-9. Games begin daily at 10 a.m., while the Bulldogs will play each day at 2 p.m. and 4 p.m.