Mississippi State
11-2
Mississippi Valley State
13-2
Three Home Runs Power No. 25 MState To 10-4 Win Over MVSU, Eighth Straight Win
February 25, 2009 | Softball
? Official Statistics (PDF)
ITTA BENA,
The Bulldogs moved to 11-2 on the year as they tied for the second-most home runs in a game in school history. Bainbridge staked MState to a 2-0, first-inning lead with her fourth home run of the season. The
Moore's first collegiate home run, a three-run shot in an eight-run third, capped a two-hit afternoon, while junior Chelsea Bramlett went 3-for-5, scored twice and stole four bases.
“We won the game, but we didn't play very well,” Bulldog head coach Jay Miller said. “We had a big inning, but I was disappointed with the way we swung the bats the rest of the game. We also have to learn to finish games. I was proud of the way we battled and won the game, and hopefully we'll learn from this game heading into the weekend.”
MVSU tied the game at two runs apiece in the home half of the first on Tianna Parks' two-run home run to straight-away center field.
The tie did not last long, however, as State exploded with the eight-run third. Jessie Spain was hit by a pitch to lead the inning off, and after Bainbridge singled,
Two batters later, Courtney Nesbit extended the lead to 6-2 as she hit her first career home run, a solo shot to left field. Brittany Bell followed with a walk, and Ka'ili Smith tripled to the wall in left to increase the advantage to 7-2.
Brittany Gates drew a walk to put runners at the corners, and the Bulldogs successfully executed a double steal that made it an 8-2 game. Bramlett kept the inning going with a base hit, and an errant throw on her attempted steal of second allowed Gates to score to increase the Bulldog lead to 9-2. Bainbridge capped the scoring as she plated Bramlett with a single to left.
The eight-run third propelled senior Kelsey Nurnberg to her sixth-straight win to start the season. The Ankeny, Iowa, native surrendered three runs and seven hits and struck out eight over 6 2/3 innings. Sophomore Elizabeth Woolven pitched a third of an inning, allowing a run on two hits with a pair of walks.
The Delta Devilettes added a run in the fifth on pinch-hitter Ta'Niya Wallace's two-out, RBI single, and tacked on two additional runs in the sixth.
The Bulldogs travel to
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Nurnberg, Kelsey (6-0)
L: Jansen (6-2)
Batting:
3B: Smith, Ka'ili 1
HR: Bainbridge, Ali 1 ; Moore, Courtney 1 ; Nesbit, Courtney 1
RBI: Bainbridge, Ali 3 ; Moore, Courtney 3 ; Nesbit, Courtney 1 ; Smith, Ka'ili 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Bramlett, Chelsea 2 ; Spain, Jessie 1 ; Bainbridge, Ali 2 ; Moore, Courtney 1 ; Nesbit, Courtney 1 ; Bell, Brittany 1 ; Smith, Ka'ili 1 ; Gates, Brittany 1
SB: Bramlett, Chelsea 4 ; Bell, Brittany 1 ; Smith, Ka'ili 1 ; Gates, Brittany 1
HBP: Spain, Jessie 1
Batting:
HR: Parks 1
RBI: Wallace 1 ; Parks 2 ; Jackson 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Hobbs 1 ; Randle 1 ; Parks 1 ; Brass 1
