State Softball Drops Pair Of Tough Decisions To Kentucky

Friday, April 2

Starkville

4:00 PM

Mississippi State

20-17, 2-8

Kentucky (DH-1)

21-14, 6-8

Kentucky

Mississippi State

State Softball Drops Pair Of Tough Decisions To Kentucky

April 02, 2010 | 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)

STARKVILLE, Miss. - Mississippi State's late-inning rally came up short as the Bulldogs dropped a 5-4 decision to Kentucky Friday afternoon in the opening game of a three-game Southeastern Conference softball series at the MSU Softball Field. The Dawgs were unable to come up with the big hit in the nightcap, falling 2-0.

The pair of setbacks dropped MSU to 20-18 overall and 2-9 in league play. The Wildcats moved to 22-14 and 7-8 in the conference.

Brittany Bell and Ka'ili Smith paced head coach Jay Miller's squad with two hits on the afternoon, but State was unable get enough runs across for Misty Flesher and Lindsey Dunlap as they both turned in complete-game efforts.

After falling behind 5-0 entering the bottom of the sixth inning of the afternoon's opening game, Mississippi State rallied with a four-run bottom of the sixth to cut the lead to 5-4.

With one out, pinch-hitter Jessie Spain singled to right center. Brittany Gates returned to run at first base and scored as the next batter, Chelsea Bramlett, laced a triple to the wall in center field. Bramlett went hitless in the second game of the twin bill to snap an 11-game hit streak.

Ali Bainbridge singled home Bramlett to cut the deficit to 5-2, and she took second on a Bell base hit. Smith lined a shot off UK starter Chanda Bell that deflected into right field, and both Bainbridge and Bell scored the inning's final runs as Wildcat third baseman Kara Dill mishandled the throw at third base.

A pair of walks in the bottom of the seventh put the winning run on base for the Dawgs, but Kentucky's Bell got a fly ball on the infield to end the game.

Flesher fell to 8-5 as she surrendered the five runs, four earned, on nine hits while striking out four over the full seven innings. Bell improved to 12-7 for UK, giving up four runs, three earned, and six hits with 10 strikeouts.

In the nightcap, Lindsey Dunlap held Kentucky to two runs, one earned, and four hits, but fell to 3-4 on the year as she came up short in a pitcher's duel with Rachel Riley (8-5).

"I thought we did a much better job pitching today. Lindsey did a great job in the second game giving us a chance," Bulldog head coach Jay Miller said. "Offensively, we struggled to adjust to the rise ball in the first game and the drop ball in the second game. That's unusual because we have done a good job offensively all season. I think our hitting will bounce back, and we will be okay down the road if we can continue to get pitching like we had today."

Both pitchers held the opposing offenses hitless until the fourth, but the Wildcats took an early 1-0 lead as Molly Johnson walked to open the game and later scored on a Megan Yocke sacrifice fly to center field.

Yocke added Kentucky's final run in the fifth as she singled to score Natalie Smith, who reached on fly ball to left that MSU's Smith was unable to corral.

A Bell single in the fourth and a seventh-inning base hit accounted for State's two hits in the contest.

The Bulldogs and Wildcats close the series with a 1 p.m. first pitch on Saturday. Admission to all MSU home softball games is free, and a live audio stream will be available without charge on www.mstateathletics.com/m2mlive.