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STARKVILLE, Miss. ? Mississippi State junior preseason all-American Chelsea Bramlett collected a pair of hits, but the Bulldogs were unable to capitalize as they dropped a tough, 4-0 decision to Kennesaw State Friday afternoon in the season opener at the Bulldog Round-Robin on the MState campus.
The Bulldogs (0-1) had chances in the game, but they left six runners on base, with five of those coming in scoring position. KSU got all of its offense in a four-run third inning.
In addition to Bramlett's two hits, the Cordova, Tenn., native also stole three bases on the day, bringing her career total to 95. Sophomore Ali Bainbridge, freshman Courtney Moore and senior Sammie Jo Bailey each singled in the game, and sophomore Brittany Bell added a double.
Sophomore Elizabeth Woolven (0-1) suffered the loss as she allowed the four unearned runs on three hits with four strikeouts. Fellow sophomore Misty Flesher and senior Kelsey Nurnberg combined to allow two hits with six strikeouts the last three frames.
“For the first day, I was pleased with our pitching. We didn't take advantage of opportunities offensively,” MState head coach Jay Miller said. “We made some base-running mistakes that took us out of a couple of innings. We just didn't capitalize on chances today. Kennesaw State played very well. They got some big plays to get out of a couple of jams, and their pitchers did a nice job of keeping us off-balance. We have to come out strong tomorrow and score some runs.”
Kelsey Kulk reached on an error in the decisive inning. After Klair Wells and Jessica Cross were each hit by a pitch, Jenna Closner plated two runs with a double down the right field line that deflected off the glove of a diving Bainbridge. Jacki Warren scored the final two runs with her two-out single to right-center.
State returns to action at the Bulldog Round-Robin on Saturday, taking on Louisiana-Monroe at 2 p.m. and Iona at 4 p.m. KSU will meet Iona at 10 a.m. and the Warhawks at noon. Admission to all MSU home softball games is free.
