Mississippi State
36-15, 0
#21 Georgia (DH-1)
36-18, 0
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Runs R | Hits H | Errors E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Georgia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Mississippi State | 3 | 3 | 1 | 3 | X | 10 | 11 | 0 |
Flesher's Pitching; Bell's Career Day Lead No. 24 MSU To Split With 21st-Ranked Georgia
April 19, 2008 | Softball
? Official Statistics (Game 1)
? Official Statistics (Game 1) (PDF)
? Official Statistics (Game 2)
? Official Statistics (Game 2) (PDF)
STARKVILLE, Miss. - Brittany Bell went 3-for-3 and hit her first career home run, and Misty Flesher tossed a one-hit shutout as No. 24 Mississippi State (36-16, 10-11 SEC) powered past 21st-ranked Georgia 10-0 in five innings in the opening game of a three-game set at the MSU Softball Field. State was unable to complete the doubleheader sweep, however, as UGA (37-18, 10-11 SEC) rallied to take a 6-2 win in the second game and force the rubber game Sunday.
Bell, a freshman from Brandon, Fla., also scored twice and stole a base in the doubleheader. Her stolen base pushed the Bulldogs into a tie with last year's squad for the single-season school record with 116.
State's 11-hit attack proved plenty for Flesher as she struck out two while throwing her second consecutive series-opening shutout to move to 16-7 on the year.
Fellow newcomer Courtney Nesbit added a pair of hits, three RBI and a run scored in the opener against her home-state school, while seniors Courtney Bures and Nakita Boyce also contributed multiple hits for the Bulldogs in game one.
Bures drove in two runs in the first game to tie the school's career RBI record, and she broke the mark, which was set by Iyhia McMichael
from 2001-04, in game two with her fourth home run of the year, a solo shot over the wall in right field.
In the series opener, State scored in all four innings, including three runs in each the first, second and fourth frames. Ali Bainbridge scored MSU's first run as she drew a walk, one of seven free passes issued by UGA in the game, advanced on a Bures fielder's choice and came home on a Jessie Bailey bases-loaded walk. Nesbit put State up 3-0 with a line-drive single to right field that scored Bures and Hayle Guess, who walked.
Bell sparked the three-run second inning as she took a 3-1 offering from UGA starter Sarah McCloud (13-4) over the wall in center field. Boyce followed with a single up the middle and she stole second. She moved to third on a Bainbridge base hit and scored as Bures lined a shot to center field. Bailey reached on a two-out error that loaded the bases and kept the inning alive, and Nesbit drew State's second bases-loaded walk of the game to score Bainbridge and give MState a 6-0 lead.
Mississippi State extended the lead to 7-0 with a run in the third as Bell led off the inning with a double and scored on Bures' two-out double to the wall in left-center. MSU added the final three runs in the fourth as Jessie Bailey walked and Nesbit singled. Both scored on pinch-hitter Jessie Spain's triple to the wall in center field. Spain capped the scoring as she came home on Brittany Bell's single down the line in left field.
The home-standing Bulldogs took advantage of a UGA error to jump out to a 1-0 lead in the second inning of game two. Guess led off the inning as she reached on a dropped pop-fly by Georgia third baseman Alisa Goler. She moved to third on Jessie Bailey's hard-hit double and scored on a Courtney Nesbit ground-out to short.
“It really looked like two different teams out there today,” Miller said. “Hopefully we can come out like the first game tomorrow. Ithought we really swung the bats well all through the line-up in the opening game, and Misty threw another great game for us. We were impatient at the plate in the second game, and we have to learn from that and get the job done tomorrow.”
The visiting Bulldogs took their first lead, one they would not relinquish, with a pair of runs in the third off MSU starter Kelsey
Nurnberg. UGA added two more runs in the fourth to chase the MState junior hurler from the game. Nurnberg fell to 16-8 as she allowed four
runs, three earned, on seven hits with three strikeouts in three and two-thirds innings.
Elizabeth Woolven entered in relief and allowed a run in both the fifth and seventh innings, giving up six hits and a walk over the final three and a third.
Bures hit her fourth home run of the season, a solo shot to right, in the fifth inning, but McCloud, who took the loss in game one, tossed a hitless final two innings to earn her first save of the season. Christie Hamilton picked up the win to move to 8-2 on the year, giving up two runs, one earned, on four hits with three strikeouts over five innings.
The two teams will meet in the rubber match Sunday at 1 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on WMSV 91.1 and online at http://www.wmsv.msstate.edu/.
Admission to all MSU home softball games is free.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Flesher, Misty (16-7)
L: Sarah McCloud (13-4)
Batting:
2B: Boyce, Nakita 1 ; Bures, Courtney 1 ; Bell, Brittany 1
3B: Spain, Jessie 1
HR: Bell, Brittany 1
RBI: Bures, Courtney 2 ; Bailey, Jessie 1 ; Nesbit, Courtney 3 ; Spain, Jessie 2 ; Bell, Brittany 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Boyce, Nakita 1 ; Bainbridge, Ali 2 ; Bures, Courtney 1 ; Guess, Hayle 1 ; Bailey, Jessie 1 ; Nesbit, Courtney 1 ; Spain, Jessie 1 ; Bell, Brittany 2
SB: Boyce, Nakita 1
