Saturday, February 12
Las Vegas, Nev.
11:00 AM
Mississippi State
0-3
5
vs
18
#10 Washington
3-0
1st innning1
2nd innning2
3rd innning3
4th innning4
5th innning5
RunsR
HitsH
ErrorsE
Washington
5
6
2
5
0
18
10
1
Mississippi State
0
1
4
0
0
5
9
2
Nesbit's Big Day Not Enough as Bulldogs Drop Tough Twinbill
February 12, 2011 | Softball
LAS VEGAS, Nev. – Senior Courtney Nesbit had four hits, including a double, triple and home run, as Mississippi State came up short in both games of a Saturday doubleheader at the Sportco Kick-Off Classic in Las Vegas. The Bulldogs dropped an 18-5 decision to No. 11 Washington in the opener before UC Riverside rallied in the bottom of the seventh to claim a heart-breaking 7-6 victory in game two.
Freshman Sam Lenahan also homered as part of a three-hit, four-RBI afternoon for the Bulldogs (0-4).
After failing to punch across any runs through the first two innings of the day's second game, State struck with two outs in the top of the third.
Shelby Fisher drew a one-out walk, and pinch-runner Brittany Gates, who had two hits in the game, moved to third when Ali Bainbridge lined a double down the line in left field.
Freshman Heidi Shape, a Duluth, Ga., product, continued her stellar start to the season, clearing the bases with a single to put the Dawgs up 2-0.
Lenahan scored Shape as she hit a line drive shot, her second home run of the weekend, over the fence in center field to extend the Mississippi State lead to 4-0.
UC Riverside cut the lead in half in the bottom of the third. Jojo Mendoza opened the frame with a single, and Kayla White scored pinch-runner Alexis Villamora with a base hit up the middle two batters later.
The Highlanders' last run came on an errant throw during a stolen base attempt that allowed White to score from third.
State had a chance to expand the lead in the top of the fifth as Nesbit led off with a triple down the line in right. The Bulldogs were unable to punch the run across, however, as a pair of infield fly-outs and a ground-out ended the threat.
The missed opportunity hurt State as UC Riverside got a two-run double from Brittany Keeney and an RBI single from Alexis Pickett, who had two hits and three RBI on the day, in the bottom of the frame to take a 5-4 advantage and chase Bulldog starter Misty Flesher from the game.
Flesher tossed 4.1 innings, giving up five runs (four earned) and eight hits with four strikeouts.
MSU answered though, plating the tying run in the top of the sixth. Chelsea Raines led off the inning with a double. She moved to third on a failed pickoff attempt and scored when Brittany Gates punched a ball through the right side of the infield.
After holding the Highlanders scoreless in the bottom of the sixth, State answered and regained the lead when Nesbit took an 0-1 offering from UCR reliever Amy Lwin and drove it just inside the foul pole in left field.
Mississippi State was unable to hold on, however, as UC Riverside won the game on Pickett's two-run single. Pickett led UCR at the plate, going 2-for-4 with three RBI.
Vry fell to 0-3 on the season as she surrendered the game's final two runs on three hits over the final two innings.
“I thought we did a good job getting the lead, but we let them back in it instead of putting the game away,” MSU head coach Jay Miller said. “You let teams hang around and bad things happen. That is something that we have to work on to improve as a team.”
In the opener against the nationally-ranked Huskies, Lenahan collected two hits and drove in a pair of runs for the Bulldogs, and Nesbit hit one of State's three doubles as part of a two-hit effort.
Washington (3-0) jumped out quickly, plating five runs in the top of the first inning. Shawna Wright put UW on the board with a bases-loaded groundout. Jerrin Fa'asua followed with a sacrifice fly, and run-scoring base hits from Whitney Jones and Kaitlin Ingelsby capped the frame.
In the second, the Huskies took advantage of walks to plate six runs and extend the lead to 11-1 off Bulldog starter Lindsey Dunlap.
“We didn't give ourselves much of a chance. I thought we battled back well and swung the bats well,” Miller said. “We just can't give up as many free passes as we did.”
The Bulldogs started scratching back the next inning. Lenahan sparked the frame by beating out a ground ball to short. Junior Ka'ili Smith advanced her to second when her ground ball found a hole on the right side of the infield.
Two batters later, Raines bounced a ball up the middle, bringing Lenahan around from second.
Lenahan sparked the Dawgs again in the third. Fisher led off with a base hit through the left side. Two batters later, Nesbit lined a double to put Bulldogs at second and third.
After Heidi Shape walked to load the bases, Lenahan found the gap in left-center to plate pinch-runner Jessica Offutt and Nesbit. Smith plated another run with a ground ball to second base, and sophomore Jessica Cooley capped the four-run burst with an RBI double to cut the Washington lead to 13-5.
State would be unable to get any closer, however, as Washington punched five runs across in the fourth inning to extend the lead to 18-5.
Dunlap suffered the loss in her inaugural start of the season. The Hueytown, Ala., native allowed 11 runs on three hits and 10 walks in two innings of work. Sophomore Stephanie Becker tossed the final three frames, allowing seven runs (four earned) and seen hits with a pair of strikeouts and four walks.
State closes the season's opening weekend Sunday, taking on Illinois-Chicago at Noon CT. The Bulldogs open the home slate next weekend, hosting Butler, Louisiana Tech and Southern Illinois in the Bulldog Round-Robin.
Washington 18, Mississippi State 5 (Feb 12, 2011 at Las Vegas, Nev.)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Washington.......... 562 50 - 18 10 1 (3-0)
Mississippi State... 014 00 - 5 9 2 (0-3)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Pitchers: Washington - Jones, Whitney; Clifton, Jenna(3) and Wright, Shawna; Smith, Taylor.
Mississippi State - Lindsey Dunlap; Stephanie Becker(3) and Samantha Lenahan.
Win-Jones, Whitney(1-0) Loss-Lindsey Dunlap(0-1) T-2:25 A-0
UC Riverside 7, Mississippi State 6 (Feb 12, 2011 at Las Vegas, Nev.)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Mississippi State... 004 001 1 - 6 12 1 (0-4)
UC Riverside........ 002 030 2 - 7 11 1 (1-3)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Pitchers: Mississippi State - Misty Flesher; Kylie Vry(5) and Samantha Lenahan. UC Riverside -
McDonald, Jordyn; Lwin, Amy(4) and Pickett, Alexis.
Win-Lwin, Amy(1-2) Loss-Kylie Vry(0-3) T-1:58 A-0
HR MS - Courtney Nesbit; Samantha Lenahan.
Freshman Sam Lenahan also homered as part of a three-hit, four-RBI afternoon for the Bulldogs (0-4).
After failing to punch across any runs through the first two innings of the day's second game, State struck with two outs in the top of the third.
Shelby Fisher drew a one-out walk, and pinch-runner Brittany Gates, who had two hits in the game, moved to third when Ali Bainbridge lined a double down the line in left field.
Freshman Heidi Shape, a Duluth, Ga., product, continued her stellar start to the season, clearing the bases with a single to put the Dawgs up 2-0.
Lenahan scored Shape as she hit a line drive shot, her second home run of the weekend, over the fence in center field to extend the Mississippi State lead to 4-0.
UC Riverside cut the lead in half in the bottom of the third. Jojo Mendoza opened the frame with a single, and Kayla White scored pinch-runner Alexis Villamora with a base hit up the middle two batters later.
The Highlanders' last run came on an errant throw during a stolen base attempt that allowed White to score from third.
State had a chance to expand the lead in the top of the fifth as Nesbit led off with a triple down the line in right. The Bulldogs were unable to punch the run across, however, as a pair of infield fly-outs and a ground-out ended the threat.
The missed opportunity hurt State as UC Riverside got a two-run double from Brittany Keeney and an RBI single from Alexis Pickett, who had two hits and three RBI on the day, in the bottom of the frame to take a 5-4 advantage and chase Bulldog starter Misty Flesher from the game.
Flesher tossed 4.1 innings, giving up five runs (four earned) and eight hits with four strikeouts.
MSU answered though, plating the tying run in the top of the sixth. Chelsea Raines led off the inning with a double. She moved to third on a failed pickoff attempt and scored when Brittany Gates punched a ball through the right side of the infield.
After holding the Highlanders scoreless in the bottom of the sixth, State answered and regained the lead when Nesbit took an 0-1 offering from UCR reliever Amy Lwin and drove it just inside the foul pole in left field.
Mississippi State was unable to hold on, however, as UC Riverside won the game on Pickett's two-run single. Pickett led UCR at the plate, going 2-for-4 with three RBI.
Vry fell to 0-3 on the season as she surrendered the game's final two runs on three hits over the final two innings.
“I thought we did a good job getting the lead, but we let them back in it instead of putting the game away,” MSU head coach Jay Miller said. “You let teams hang around and bad things happen. That is something that we have to work on to improve as a team.”
In the opener against the nationally-ranked Huskies, Lenahan collected two hits and drove in a pair of runs for the Bulldogs, and Nesbit hit one of State's three doubles as part of a two-hit effort.
Washington (3-0) jumped out quickly, plating five runs in the top of the first inning. Shawna Wright put UW on the board with a bases-loaded groundout. Jerrin Fa'asua followed with a sacrifice fly, and run-scoring base hits from Whitney Jones and Kaitlin Ingelsby capped the frame.
In the second, the Huskies took advantage of walks to plate six runs and extend the lead to 11-1 off Bulldog starter Lindsey Dunlap.
“We didn't give ourselves much of a chance. I thought we battled back well and swung the bats well,” Miller said. “We just can't give up as many free passes as we did.”
The Bulldogs started scratching back the next inning. Lenahan sparked the frame by beating out a ground ball to short. Junior Ka'ili Smith advanced her to second when her ground ball found a hole on the right side of the infield.
Two batters later, Raines bounced a ball up the middle, bringing Lenahan around from second.
Lenahan sparked the Dawgs again in the third. Fisher led off with a base hit through the left side. Two batters later, Nesbit lined a double to put Bulldogs at second and third.
After Heidi Shape walked to load the bases, Lenahan found the gap in left-center to plate pinch-runner Jessica Offutt and Nesbit. Smith plated another run with a ground ball to second base, and sophomore Jessica Cooley capped the four-run burst with an RBI double to cut the Washington lead to 13-5.
State would be unable to get any closer, however, as Washington punched five runs across in the fourth inning to extend the lead to 18-5.
Dunlap suffered the loss in her inaugural start of the season. The Hueytown, Ala., native allowed 11 runs on three hits and 10 walks in two innings of work. Sophomore Stephanie Becker tossed the final three frames, allowing seven runs (four earned) and seen hits with a pair of strikeouts and four walks.
State closes the season's opening weekend Sunday, taking on Illinois-Chicago at Noon CT. The Bulldogs open the home slate next weekend, hosting Butler, Louisiana Tech and Southern Illinois in the Bulldog Round-Robin.
Washington 18, Mississippi State 5 (Feb 12, 2011 at Las Vegas, Nev.)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Washington.......... 562 50 - 18 10 1 (3-0)
Mississippi State... 014 00 - 5 9 2 (0-3)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Pitchers: Washington - Jones, Whitney; Clifton, Jenna(3) and Wright, Shawna; Smith, Taylor.
Mississippi State - Lindsey Dunlap; Stephanie Becker(3) and Samantha Lenahan.
Win-Jones, Whitney(1-0) Loss-Lindsey Dunlap(0-1) T-2:25 A-0
UC Riverside 7, Mississippi State 6 (Feb 12, 2011 at Las Vegas, Nev.)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Mississippi State... 004 001 1 - 6 12 1 (0-4)
UC Riverside........ 002 030 2 - 7 11 1 (1-3)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Pitchers: Mississippi State - Misty Flesher; Kylie Vry(5) and Samantha Lenahan. UC Riverside -
McDonald, Jordyn; Lwin, Amy(4) and Pickett, Alexis.
Win-Lwin, Amy(1-2) Loss-Kylie Vry(0-3) T-1:58 A-0
HR MS - Courtney Nesbit; Samantha Lenahan.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Jones, Whitney (1-0)
L: Dunlap, Lindsey (0-1)
Batting:
2B: Ingelsby, Kaitlin 1 ; Smith, Taylor 1
RBI: Pohlman, Kimi 1 ; Salling, Jenn 1 ; Wright, Shawna 1 ; Fa'asua, Jerrin 1 ; Stuart, Morgan 1 ; Jones, Whitney 3 ; Clifton, Jenna 1 ; Ingelsby, Kaitlin 3 ; Smith, Taylor 3
SF: Fa'asua, Jerrin 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Pohlman, Kimi 1 ; Salling, Jenn 2 ; Williams, Niki 2 ; Wright, Shawna 1 ; Hayward, Victoria 1 ; Fa'asua, Jerrin 1 ; Stuart, Morgan 4 ; Jones, Whitney 3 ; Clifton, Jenna 1 ; Ingelsby, Kaitlin 1 ; Tuiasosopo, Ashley 1
SB: Stuart, Morgan 1
HBP: Hayward, Victoria 1 ; Stuart, Morgan 1 ; Jones, Whitney 1
Batting:
2B: Nesbit, Courtney 1 ; Lenahan, Sam 1 ; Cooley, Jessica 1
RBI: Lenahan, Sam 2 ; Smith, Ka'ili 1 ; Cooley, Jessica 1 ; Raines, Chelsea 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Offutt, Jessica 1 ; Nesbit, Courtney 1 ; Shape, Heidi 1 ; Lenahan, Sam 2
HBP: Bainbridge, Ali 1
Game Leaders
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
AB
3
R
2
H
2
RBI
2
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
2
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
INF/OF
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
INF/OF
/ Softball
P
/ SoftballOF/INF
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
OF
/ SoftballC/INF
/ Softball1B/OF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
INF/C
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
OF/C
/ Softball
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