Bulldogs Travel to South Carolina for Weekend Series
April 16, 2010 | Softball
STARKVILLE, Miss. – The Mississippi State softball team travels to Columbia, S.C., this weekend for a three-game Southeastern Conference series against the South Carolina Gamecocks. The series opens Saturday with a doubleheader beginning at noon CT. The final game of the set is scheduled for a 1 p.m. CT first pitch on Sunday and will be televised live by SportSouth.
The Bulldogs bring a 22-23 overall record and 3-14 SEC mark to the Palmetto State. South Carolina fell to 10-31 overall with a midweek loss to USC Upstate. The Gamecocks are 0-19 in conference play.
South Carolina leads the overall series 22-20, but the Maroon and White has dominated the series recently, winning 12 of the last 16 meetings. MSU took two of three games last season as part of Super Bulldog Weekend presented by Regions Bank. State swept the three-game series in its last trip to Columbia (2008).
Mississippi State enters the weekend hitting .299 as a unit, with senior All-American Chelsea Bramlett leading the way with an SEC-best .513 mark. A finalist for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award and USA Softball Player of the Year, Bramlett has collected three doubles, four triples and 20 RBI while scoring an SEC-best 51 times.
The Cordova, Tenn., native also tops the SEC and the nation in stolen bases with 51 in as many attempts. Going back to last season, Bramlett has successfully stolen a school-record 59-straight bases.
Fellow senior Jessie Bailey and sophomore Ka'ili Smith are tied for the second-highest average on the team (.343). Bailey has enjoyed a career year in her final campaign, tying for the team doubles lead with 11 while driving in 20 runs.
Smith, a 2009 All-SEC and All-Region selection, has continued the momentum she gained at the end of her freshman season. The Kapolei, Hawaii, native, who hit her first career home run against USC last season, has belted an MSU sophomore-record nine this season. She has also notched seven doubles and three triples while driving in an SEC second-most 46 runs.
In the circle, head coach Jay Miller will go with sophomores Misty Flesher and Lindsey Dunlap. Flesher paces the squad in most categories, winning nine games while compiling a 4.17 ERA and 57 strikeouts over 100.2 innings. Dunlap continues has tossed 57.0 innings and allowed 42 runs (39 earned) with 60 strikeouts.
The Bulldog hurlers face a South Carolina squad that has struggled at the plate this season. The Gamecocks are hitting .217 as a unit, with Laura Mendes pacing the team in nearly every offensive category. Mendes is the lone USC player above the .300 mark (382). She also leads South Carolina in doubles (13), triples (2), home runs (2) and RBI (28).
South Carolina was dealt a big blow in the circle when sophomore Audrey Broyles went down with a season-ending injury. Kelsey Goodwin and Ashley Chastain have seen the majority of the innings in her absence. Chastain has picked up four wins while being hit with a 5.05 ERA. Goodwin has yet to win in 12 decisions, allowing 63 runs (49 earned) and striking out 55 over 71.1 innings.
April Borchardt has collected USC's other three victories. She has thrown 44.1 innings and allowed 47 runs (34 earned) for a 5.37 ERA.
The Bulldogs bring a 22-23 overall record and 3-14 SEC mark to the Palmetto State. South Carolina fell to 10-31 overall with a midweek loss to USC Upstate. The Gamecocks are 0-19 in conference play.
South Carolina leads the overall series 22-20, but the Maroon and White has dominated the series recently, winning 12 of the last 16 meetings. MSU took two of three games last season as part of Super Bulldog Weekend presented by Regions Bank. State swept the three-game series in its last trip to Columbia (2008).
Mississippi State enters the weekend hitting .299 as a unit, with senior All-American Chelsea Bramlett leading the way with an SEC-best .513 mark. A finalist for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award and USA Softball Player of the Year, Bramlett has collected three doubles, four triples and 20 RBI while scoring an SEC-best 51 times.
The Cordova, Tenn., native also tops the SEC and the nation in stolen bases with 51 in as many attempts. Going back to last season, Bramlett has successfully stolen a school-record 59-straight bases.
Fellow senior Jessie Bailey and sophomore Ka'ili Smith are tied for the second-highest average on the team (.343). Bailey has enjoyed a career year in her final campaign, tying for the team doubles lead with 11 while driving in 20 runs.
Smith, a 2009 All-SEC and All-Region selection, has continued the momentum she gained at the end of her freshman season. The Kapolei, Hawaii, native, who hit her first career home run against USC last season, has belted an MSU sophomore-record nine this season. She has also notched seven doubles and three triples while driving in an SEC second-most 46 runs.
In the circle, head coach Jay Miller will go with sophomores Misty Flesher and Lindsey Dunlap. Flesher paces the squad in most categories, winning nine games while compiling a 4.17 ERA and 57 strikeouts over 100.2 innings. Dunlap continues has tossed 57.0 innings and allowed 42 runs (39 earned) with 60 strikeouts.
The Bulldog hurlers face a South Carolina squad that has struggled at the plate this season. The Gamecocks are hitting .217 as a unit, with Laura Mendes pacing the team in nearly every offensive category. Mendes is the lone USC player above the .300 mark (382). She also leads South Carolina in doubles (13), triples (2), home runs (2) and RBI (28).
South Carolina was dealt a big blow in the circle when sophomore Audrey Broyles went down with a season-ending injury. Kelsey Goodwin and Ashley Chastain have seen the majority of the innings in her absence. Chastain has picked up four wins while being hit with a 5.05 ERA. Goodwin has yet to win in 12 decisions, allowing 63 runs (49 earned) and striking out 55 over 71.1 innings.
April Borchardt has collected USC's other three victories. She has thrown 44.1 innings and allowed 47 runs (34 earned) for a 5.37 ERA.
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