Bulldogs Drop Rain-Soaked Twinbill to No. 5/6 Florida

Saturday, May 1

Starkville

1:00 PM

Mississippi State

26-25, 7-16

#6 Florida (DH-1)

36-7, 16-4

Florida

Mississippi State

Bulldogs Host South Carolina in Wednesday Twinbill to Open SEC Play

Bulldogs Drop Rain-Soaked Twinbill to No. 5/6 Florida

May 01, 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. – The Mississippi State softball team dropped 8-0 and 9-1 decisions to No. 5/6 Florida in a Saturday doubleheader at the MSU Softball Field that saw nearly three hours of rain delays.

Chelsea Bramlett collected both hits for State (26-26, 7-17 SEC) in Saturday's second game that was delayed until 7:30 p.m. Ali Bainbridge, Brittany Bell and Jessie Spain collected the Bulldogs' three hits in a series opener that saw a 44-minute stoppage.

Florida (36-7 overall, 16-4 in league play) jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead in the opener before rain invaded the area for the first time on the afternoon.

After the delay, UF touched MSU starter Misty Flesher for three runs in the fourth inning behind a Michelle Moultrie double and a two-run single from Francesca Enea.

UF, who finished the game with 10 hits, added two more runs in the fifth on a Brittany Schutte home run and a Kelsey Bruder RBI single.

Florida starter Stephanie Brombacher (25-5) and Flesher (12-9) pitched complete games in the contest.

“From the weather to the pitching to the hitting, it just wasn't a good day for us today,” Mississippi State head coach Jay Miller said. “Against a top-five team like Florida, you have to take advantage of opportunities. We had runners in scoring position in both games but couldn't get anyone to step up and drive them in. We weren't able to take advantage of the chances we had, and you have to give credit to Florida's pitchers.”

The Gators took a 2-0 lead in the opening inning of the day's final game. Moultrie opened the game with a double. A walk and a hit batter loaded the bases, and Schutte and Megan Bush plated the runs with a pair of sacrifice flies.

The Bulldogs were unable to get any runs across with the bases loaded in the first, but State managed to cut the lead in half with a run in the bottom of the second inning. Reigning SEC Freshman of the Week Erin Nesbit was hit by a pitch to leadoff the frame. A pair of wild pitches moved her to third, and Bramlett brought her home with a ground-out to second base.

State was unable to get any closer, however, as Florida pushed the lead to 4-1 with two runs in the third inning. Bush hit a one-out home run, and Bruder closed the inning as she doubled and came home on a wild pitch.

Lindsey Dunlap surrendered a two-out home run to Aja Paculba in her final inning of work to extend the Gators' lead to 5-1. The Hueytown, Ala., native fell to 5-7 as she tossed four innings in the losing effort.

Freshmen Kylie Vry and Stephanie Becker worked the final inning for MSU. Vry, making her first appearance since March 31, was tagged for four runs before Becker came in and recorded the final two outs.

Mississippi State and Florida close the series with a 12 p.m. first pitch on Sunday. The game, which will be televised live on SportSouth, will be the Bulldogs' first StrikeOut Cancer game, and fans are encouraged to wear pink in support of the fight against breast cancer.

Admission to all MSU home softball games is free. A live audio stream of Sunday's game will be available online at www.mstateathletics.com/m2mlive.