No. 25 Bulldogs Drop 9-7 Heartbreaker To No. 23 Hawaii In NCAA Tempe Regional Opener

Friday, May 16

Tempe, Ariz.

6:30 p.m.

Mississippi State

40-21

#23 Hawaii

39-19

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
Hawaii	0	1	0	4	0	1	3	9	13	2
Mississippi State	1	1	2	0	0	3	0	7	16	1

State Softball Splits Again In Hawai'i Tourney

No. 25 Bulldogs Drop 9-7 Heartbreaker To No. 23 Hawaii In NCAA Tempe Regional Opener

May 16, 2008 | Softball

Box Score

By: hailstate.com

? Official Statistics
? Official Statistics (PDF)

STARKVILLE, Miss. ? Chelsea Bramlett and Ali Bainbridge collected three hits apiece, but Mississippi State was unable to hold Hawaii's hot bats as the Rainbow Wahine took a 9-7 win Friday afternoon in the opening round of the NCAA Tempe (Ariz.) Regional at Farrington Stadium on the Arizona State campus.

State fell to 40-21 on the season, while Hawaii improved to 39-19 on the year.

Bramlett collected three hits in five at-bats and scored a run, while Bainbridge drove in two runs while scoring once on a 3-for-4 evening.

Senior Hayle Guess notched a pair of hits and scored twice, and Courtney Nesbit contributed a couple of hits as well. Nakita Boyce went 2-for-3 with a run, while Sammie Jo Bailey hit her third home run of the season.

State took a 1-0 first-inning lead after stifling a Hawaii threat in the opening half of the frame. Boyce led off with a walk, and Bramlett dropped a bunt single down the third base line. Guess moved both runners into scoring position with a sacrifice bunt, and Courtney Bures scored Boyce with a sacrifice fly to right field.

The Rainbow Wahine answered right back to tie the game with a two-out Richie-Anne Titcomb home run down the left field line. State regained the lead in the bottom of the second as Bailey blasted her third home run of the season, a solo shot over the wall in left field.

MSU extended the cushion to 4-1 with a pair of runs in the home half of the third. Guess led off with a single, stole second and scored on a Bainbridge base hit. Bainbridge moved to third as the throw to the plate bounced away from UH catcher Katie Grimes, and she scored on Jessie Bailey's single up the middle.

Hawaii rallied with a four-run fourth behind a two-run home run from Valana Manuma and a two-run double by Kaulana Gould. The Rainbow Wahine's four-run burst chased MSU starter Misty Flesher from the game after she allowed five runs on six hits with a strikeout. Kelsey Nurnberg gave up three runs on four hits over two innings to take the loss and fall to 17-10 on the year. Elizabeth Woolven tossed the final inning, allowing a run on three hits.

The Rainbows extended the lead to 6-4 with another run in the sixth, but the Bulldogs rallied with three of their own in the home half of the sixth inning.

"We did a nice job at the plate today," MState head coach Jay Miller said. "We just couldn't hold them back offensively and couldn't keep the ball in the park. We didn't do a good job in the circle tonight, especially in relief. I was really proud of the way our team fought back. Hopefully we can come out really strong tomorrow."

Brittany Bell led off the inning with a single, and with one out, Bramlett landed her third hit of the game, a bunt to third base. Guess followed with a base hit through the left side to load the bases, and Bures cut the UH lead to 6-5 with a single to right field. Hawaii right fielder Tanisha Milca tried to throw Bures out at first, but the ball skipped to the backstop, allowing Bramlett to score and knot the game at six apiece. Bainbridge gave the Bulldogs the 7-6 lead with her line drive to right that scored Guess.

The Bulldogs couldn't hold the lead, however, as UH got a home run from Kate Robinson, an RBI single from Titcomb and a run-scoring double from Audrey Andrade to cap the 9-7 victory.

Hawaii's seventh-inning rally gave Jessica Morton her eight win of the season. Morton allowed three hits over the final inning and two-thirds in relief of starter Kate Robinson who allowed seven runs, six earned, on 13 hits with six strikeouts in five and a third innings.

MSU will face the either Stony Brook or sixth-seeded host Arizona State in an elimination game Saturday at 6:30 p.m. CST.