Spain's Double Lifts State To 5-4 Upset Of No. 9 Tennessee, Split Of Saturday Twinbill

Saturday, March 28

Knoxville, Tenn.

12:00 PM

Mississippi State

16-15, 1-9

#9 Tennessee (DH-1)

25-7, 3-4

Mississippi State

Tennessee

Spain Scores Winning Run As Bulldogs Split SEC Twinbill With Auburn; Bramlett Sets Record

Spain's Double Lifts State To 5-4 Upset Of No. 9 Tennessee, Split Of Saturday Twinbill

March 28, 2009 | 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)

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. ? Jessie Spain's RBI double with two outs in the top of the fifth inning lifted Mississippi State to a 5-4 upset of No. 9 Tennessee in the opening game of a Southeastern Conference doubleheader Saturday afternoon at Lee Stadium in Knoxville. The Bulldogs split Saturday's twin bill as UT answered with an 8-0 win in the second game.

After Tennessee scored three runs in the fourth to tie the opening game at 4-4, Sammie Jo Bailey reached on an error to open the decisive frame. Ali Bainbridge moved her to second with a sacrifice bunt, and after taking third on a wild pitch, Spain brought her home with a two-out line drive to left-center that bounced over a diving Nicole Kajitani.

“I thought we got good pitching from Kelsey and Lindsey in the first game, and we did a good job at the plate of getting some runs on the board and threatening every inning. We had opportunities to increase the lead, but we left a lot of runners on base,” MState head coach Jay Miller said. “I don't know where the bats and pitching went in the second game, but we have to come out strong tomorrow with a chance to win an SEC series against a top-10 team.”

The bottom three in the lineup for State (16-16, 1-10 SEC) ? Spain, Courtney Moore and Brittany Gates ? collected five hits, drove in two runs and scored twice. Moore and Gates each collected a pair of hits, while sophomore Brittany Bell drove in two runs.

After UT (26-7, 4-4 SEC) jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the second, State, who scored all five runs with two outs, responded with two runs in the top of the third. Moore sparked the frame with a one-out single to center field. Following a strikeout, Chelsea Bramlett, who extended her hit streak to eight games with hits in both contests, singled to left to put runners at first and second.

Bell knotted the game at a run apiece as she lined a shot to left-center that drove in Moore. Freshman Ka'ili Smith then capped the inning as she punched a single to left that brought home Bramlett and put State up 2-1.

State pushed the lead to 4-1 with another two-run burst in the fourth. Bainbridge led off the inning with a base hit up the middle, and she took second on a Jessie Bailey sacrifice. After a pop-out to the catcher, Moore put the Bulldogs up 3-1 with a double to the gap in right-center. Gates followed with an infield single, and she took second as UT shortstop Ashley Andrews tried to put Moore out at third.

Tennessee intentionally walked Bramlett, but Bell drew a walk from Lady Vol starter Cat Hosfield to score Moore and put the Bulldogs up 4-1.

UT answered in the home half of the fourth, scoring three runs to tie the game at four runs each. Jen Lapicki led off the inning with her fourth home run of the season. Kajitani followed with a hard live drive to right that deflected off Bell's glove, allowing her to reach second.

A walk to Andrews brought Lindsey Dunlap to the circle for State starter Kelsey Nurnberg. A wild pitch advanced the runners into scoring position. After Ashton Ward walked to load the bases, pinch-hitter Shelby Burchell lined a base hit through the right side of the infield that scored Kajitani to cut the State lead to a single run. UT tied the game two batters later as Jessica Spigner drew a bases-loaded walk.

The Bulldogs took the lead for good with Spain's fifth-inning double, and Dunlap held the Lady Vols off the scoreboard the rest of the way to pick up the win and move to 8-9 on the year. The Hueytown, Ala., native allowed a run over four innings while striking out one and walking four. Nurnberg tossed the first three innings, giving up three runs (two earned) on three hits with two strikeouts and three walks.

Hosfield went the distance in the losing effort for Tennessee. She allowed the five runs, four earned, on nine hits with seven strikeouts and four walks in falling to 18-6 overall.

Bramlett went 2-for-3 in the second game to pace an MSU offense that couldn't punch any runs across on Tennessee starter Danielle Pieroni, who allowed four hits and struck out three in the complete-game effort. Bainbridge and Jessie Bailey collected a hit each in the contest as well.

State had a chance to strike in the first inning but stranded a pair of runners. Bramlett led off with a single and was called out for leaving first base early. Smith drew a two-out walk and Sammie Jo Bailey was hit by a pitch. Bainbridge then lined a single through the right side, but Kajitani threw out Smith at the plate.

Tennessee took a 2-0 lead in the home half of the opening frame as Lillian Hammond singled and scored on a Jessica Spigner two-run home run with two outs.

The Lady Vols added five more in the fourth on a Grieve two-out single, Tiffany Huff's three-run double and a Spigner RBI-single. Spigner and Huff both went 2-for-3 with three RBI in game two.

Tennessee clinched the win in the fifth as Burchell singled and scored on a Kajitani double down the right-field line.

Nurnberg fell to 8-5 with the loss. She gave up six runs on 11 hits with a strikeout in 3 2/3 innings. Elizabeth Woolven was struck for two runs on two hits with a walk in a third of an inning.

Sunday's rubber game is set for a 12 p.m. CDT first pitch. The series finale will be regionally on SportSouth.