Bramlett Ties Career Steals Record As MSU Softball Drops Twinbill To Kentucky

Friday, April 24

Lexington, Ky.

3:00 PM

Mississippi State

24-24, 6-17

Kentucky (DH-1)

27-18, 9-13

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

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

Maroon-Out The Tigers As Bulldogs Host No. 20 LSU In Three-Game SEC Softball Series

Bramlett Ties Career Steals Record As MSU Softball Drops Twinbill To Kentucky

April 24, 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)

LEXINGTON, Ky. ? Two days after setting the school's single-season stolen base record, Mississippi State junior Chelsea Bramlett tied the career stolen base record as the Bulldogs dropped 10-3 and 4-1 decisions to Kentucky Friday afternoon in a Southeastern Conference doubleheader in Lexington.

Bramlett, who went 3-for-8 on the afternoon, stole her 48th base of the season in the day's opening game before matching former Bulldog all-American Iyhia McMichael with career steal No. 141 (her 49th of the year) in the third inning of game two.

The pair of losses drops MSU to 24-25 overall and 6-18 in SEC play. Kentucky improves to 28-18 and 10-13 in the league.

“We have to hit the ball. We didn't adjust at the plate in either game,” Bulldog head coach Jay Miller said. “We have to do a better job of executing offensively and taking advantage of opportunities to drive in runs. It's great to see Chelsea tie the career stolen-base record. She has had a tremendous career at Mississippi State, and to tie the record in her third season is an amazing accomplishment.”

State jumped to the early lead in the series-opener with a pair of runs in the top of the first inning. Bramlett reached on one of her two hits in the game, and after stealing second, she scored on Ka'ili Smith's one-out single up the middle, one of her two RBI in the game.

Sammie Jo Bailey got on base via fielder's choice, and the Bulldogs kept the inning alive as Ali Bainbridge reached on a fielding error by Brittany Cervantes. Jessie Bailey put MSU up 2-0 as she bounced a base hit up the middle that scored her sister Sammie Jo from second.

Kentucky answered in the bottom of the inning, however, tying the game with a two-out home run from Cervantes that scored Megan Yocke, who reached on a base hit up the middle.

The Wildcats broke the tie in the bottom of the fourth, sending all nine hitters to the plate in a six-run frame. UK starting pitcher Rachel Riley helped her own cause, hitting her second home run in as many games with a grand slam. Following an Annie Rowlands double, Molly Johnson, who went 2-for-4 with three RBI, tied Cervantes for the team lead in home runs with a two-run shot, her eighth of the season.

Riley improved to 3-4 with the victory in the circle. She allowed three runs (two earned) on six hits with a pair of strikeouts in the complete-game effort.

Mississippi State answered with a run in the fifth to cut the lead to 8-3. Bramlett reached on a bunt single in front of the plate. Brittany Gates, who led-off the inning with a base hit, was picked off when she over-ran second base on the play.

Brittany Bell dropped a base hit down the line in left field, moving Bramlett to third. Bramlett scored on a Smith ground-out to second base.

Lindsey Dunlap tossed the first five innings before giving way to Elizabeth Woolven. Dunlap fell to 15-14 as she surrendered eight runs on seven hits with two strikeouts and a pair of walks.

UK pushed the lead to 10-3 off Woolven in the bottom of the sixth, getting an RBI double from Johnson and a run-scoring base hit from Yocke.

In game two, it was a matter of missed opportunities for the Bulldogs, who left six runners on base, including four in scoring position. The Bulldogs' lone run came in the top of the seventh as sophomore Jessie Spain led off the inning with her second home run of the season, a solo shot over the wall in left field.

Ketucky's Chanda Bell, who returned to the circle for the first time since April 11, improved to 17-8 overall as she allowed the lone run on five hits with four strikeouts.

Senior Kelsey Nurnberg suffered the loss, surrendering four runs (three earned) on five hits with three strikeouts over the full six innings.

“It's nice to see Kelsey pitch a great game today,” Miller said. “I just hate that we couldn't get enough runs across for her.”

Bramlett, Bell, Smith and Jessie Bailey also added hits for State in the game.

UK scored a run in the first as Johnson was hit by a pitch to lead-off the game. She moved to third on consecutive sacrifices and put Kentucky up 1-0 on a wild pitch.

After leaving a runner in scoring position in the first, State left the tying run at third base in the second. Jessie Bailey started the inning with an infield single. She moved to second on a passed ball and took third on a Spain sacrifice bunt, but a strike-out and pop-out left her 60 feet from the plate.

State left the tying run at second again in the third, and the Wildcats capitalized in the home half of the frame to extend the lead to 2-0. Johnson led the inning off with a triple and scored on a Yocke one-out single to left field.

Sam Demartine, who went 2-for-3 in the game, pushed Kentucky's lead to 3-0 with a solo home run in the fourth. She plated UK's final run of the game in the sixth as she lined a two-out base hit and scored as Smith dropped a two-out Annie Rowlands fly ball in left field.

State and Kentucky close the series Saturday in a single game that is set for an 11 a.m. CDT first pitch.