MSU Softball To Meet Rebels In Non-Conference Game In Ridgeland Tuesday
April 07, 2008 | Softball
STARKVILLE, Miss. ? The Mississippi State softball team hits the road Tuesday, traveling to Ridgeland, Miss., to meet in-state rival Mississippi in a non-conference match-up in the M&F Fastpitch Classic at Freedom Ridge Park. First pitch between the two teams is set for 6:30 p.m.
The Bulldogs enter the mid-week showdown with a 32-14 overall mark, while the Rebels own a 16-22 overall mark. The meeting will be the fourth this season between the two teams, as MSU swept the season conference series three weeks ago in Oxford.
It will be the fourth straight meeting between the two squads in the Capital City area, with the Rebels owning a 2-1 advantage in games played at Freedom Ridge Park. MState holds a 26-15 overall lead in the series, having claimed the last five meetings.
Chelsea Bramlett leads the MSU offense into the showdown with the Rebels. Bramlett bumped her average to .448 after hitting .625 with an RBI, two runs scored and four stolen bases against Kentucky and third-ranked Florida. Bramlett moved closer to her school single-season stolen base record, standing just eight shy with 38 on the year. The Cordova, Tenn., native, who extended her hit streak to nine games last week, has driven in 23 runs while scoring a team-high 40 times.
Courtney Bures enters the week with a .372 average. The senior from Haymarket, Va., native tops the squad in RBI (31) and doubles (10).
Fellow senior Hayle Guess extended her hit streak to a career-best 13 games last week as he hit .357 with a double, an RBI and two runs scored. Guess, who is hitting .313 on the year, leads the team with five home runs while standing second in RBI (28) and runs (30).
State has been led in the circle this season by freshman Misty Flesher and junior Kelsey Nurnberg. Both tossed three-hit shutouts last week as MSU swept a two-game SEC series with Kentucky. Nurnberg has claimed a team-best 15 victories on the season with 81 strikeouts. Flesher has put together a 13-7 mark and has struck out team-leading 84 over 110 innings of work.
Tuesday's game will be the first of two for MSU in Ridgeland. State will return to Freedom Ridge Park on Apr. 17 for an exhibition game with the United States Olympic Team as part of the squad's "Bound 4 Beijing" tour.
State travels to Columbia, S.C., this weekend to meet South Carolina in a three-game league series.
