Bulldogs Down Stony Brook 8-3, Have Historic Season Ended With 7-4 Loss To Hawai'i

Saturday, May 17

Tempe, Ariz.

6:30 p.m.

Mississippi State

41-21

Stony Brook

33-23-1

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
Mississippi State	0	0	0	0	6	0	2	8	12	0
Stony Brook	1	0	0	0	0	2	0	3	8	0

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
Mississippi State	1	0	1	0	2	0	0	4	10	0
Hawaii	3	1	1	0	2	0	X	7	7	1

Three MSU Softball Players Named Pre-Season All-SEC

Bulldogs Down Stony Brook 8-3, Have Historic Season Ended With 7-4 Loss To Hawai'i

May 17, 2008 | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

By: hailstate.com

? Official Statistics (Game 1)
? Official Statistics (Game 1) (PDF)
? Official Statistics (Game 2)
? Official Statistics (Game 2) (PDF)

TEMPE, Ariz. ? No. 25 Mississippi State had its outstanding 2008 season come to a close Saturday evening, dropping a 7-4 decision to No. 23 Hawaii in the semifinal of the 2008 NCAA Tempe (Ariz.) Regional. The Bulldogs forced the re-match after scoring six runs in the fifth inning en route to an 8-3 win that eliminated Stony Brook from the tournament at Farrington Stadium.

The Bulldogs end the season with a 41-22 mark, the second-most wins in school history. State, which advanced to an NCAA Regional for the seventh time and fifth in Jay Miller's six seasons as head coach, set the single-season school batting average record (.311) while breaking the stolen base record for the second straight year with 124 in 145 attempts.

"This is the best team we've had in my six seasons as head coach," Miller said. "We are getting the program where we want it to be, and I hope we continue to get better and improve on this season. We got some great leadership from our seniors this season, and our younger players gained some valuable experience which will help us down the road."

Senior Hayle Guess paced State's 12-hit attack against SBU, going 2-for-4 with three RBI and two runs scored. Freshman Ali Bainbridge collected her second multiple-hit game of the tournament, going 2-for-4 and driving in a run.

Senior Courtney Bures sparked State's offense against Hawaii, going 2-for-3 with a pair of RBI. Guess, Bainbridge and Bramlett each added a pair of hits in that game as well. Bramlett also stole two bases in the game, matching the school record 46 she set last season as a freshman.

The Seawolves, who ended their season 31-24-1, struck with a run in the first on Jade Clare's two-out single. Stony Brook maintained the lead until the fifth, when State's offense claimed the lead for good with six runs.

With one out in the inning, Jessie Spain and Brittany Bell reached on consecutive singles. Nakita Boyce scored Spain with the tying run on a bouncer that deflected into center field. Bell put MSU ahead for the first time as she scored on a Chelsea Bramlett base hit. Bramlett's base hit moved Boyce to third, and she scored as Guess dropped a bunt that SBU starter Alyssa Struzenberg had no play on.

Bainbridge extended the MState lead to 4-1 as she lined a single into center field, scoring Bramlett from second base and moving Guess to third. Guess and Bainbridge extended the lead to 6-1 as they scored on Bailey's base hit to center which chased Struzenberg from the game.

The six-run burst proved plenty for the Bulldog pitchers, as Misty Flesher earned her 20th win of the season after allowing a run on six hits with five strikeouts in six and two-thirds innings. Junior Kelsey Nurnberg hurled a third of an inning, giving up two runs on a pair of hits with a strikeout.

"I was very proud of the way we played this weekend and all year," Miller said. "You never want the season to end like this. It's kind of bittersweet. We competed well and couldn't have asked for anything more from our offense. Misty gave us a very tough, gutsy performance today."

Struzenberg allowed the six runs on nine hits over four and two-thirds innings to fall to 24-10.

After the Seawolves added a pair of runs in the bottom of the sixth to cut the lead to 6-3, State added two more runs in the top of the seventh as Guess blasted her seventh home run of the season, a line shot over the left field wall off SBU reliever Casey Jacobs, which scored Bramlett after she led off the inning with a walk. The seven home runs are the most in a season for the Moss Point, Miss., native.

Guess staked MSU to an early lead in the nightcap against the Rainbow Wahine, lacing a two-out double down the line in right and scoring on a Bures single to center field.

The lead was short-lived, however, as Hawaii plated three in the home half of the opening frame on Kate Robinson's three-run home run over the scoreboard in left field, her 21st of the year.

Robinson picked up the win to move to 18-9 on the year. She gave up four runs on nine hits with two strikeouts in four and two-thirds innings.

Jessica Morton tossed the final two and a third innings to earn her fourth save of the year.

After UH extended the lead to 4-1 with a Tanisha Milca solo home run in the second, State cut into the deficit in the third as Bell belted her second home run of the season, a solo shot out left field. Hawaii gained the run back in the home half of the inning as Brandi Peiler drove a home run over the left-field wall.

State cut the lead to a single run at 5-4 with two runs in the visitor's half of the fifth inning. With one out in the inning, Bell drew a walk and moved to third on Boyce's line drive double off the wall in right field. Bramlett then laid down a bunt, and Bell beat Robinson's throw to the plate to make it a 5-3 game. After Boyce was put out on a fielder's choice at the plate, Bures drove a single through the right side that scored Bramlett and cut the lead to a single run.

Just as in Friday's opener, MSU couldn't keep Hawaii's bats silenced.

The Rainbow Wahine answered State's two-run fifth with two of their own in the home half of the frame on Clare Warwick's two-run blast, the team's fourth round-tripper of the game.

After earning the win against Stony Brook, Flesher suffered the loss in the second game to finish her rookie season with an MSU freshman second-best 20-10 mark. The Lone Grove, Okla., native allowed the seven runs on seven hits with four strikeouts in the complete-game effort.