Mississippi State
6-5
Bowling Green
0-6
MSU Softball Splits Phyllis Rafter Memorial Opening Day
February 25, 2011 | Softball
WOODSTOCK, Ga. - Stephanie Becker and Kylie Vry hurled Mississippi State to a 3-2 win against Bowling Green, and Courtney Nesbit hit two home runs in a 6-5 setback to Mercer as the Mississippi State softball team split Friday's opening day of the Phyllis Rafter Memorial in Woodstock, Ga.
A native of nearby Acworth, Courtney Nesbit belted her third and fourth home runs of the season while driving in four runs in the nightcap. Her two-home run effort was State's first since Katie Cooley hit a pair against Southern Mississippi in 2007.
Fellow senior Ali Bainbridge notched a pair of doubles and an RBI against Mercer, but despite the efforts of the two MSU seniors, the Dawgs (6-6) left nine runners on base and struck out 10 times at the plate while committing three miscues defensively.
"We couldn't pick up a ground ball in the second game. You can't give teams extra chances. I thought we didn't do a very good job at the plate," MSU coach Jay Miller said. "We had 10 strikeouts and left nine runners on base against Mercer, and we had the people we wanted at the plate in key situations.
"Courtney Nesbit did a nice job today with a couple of home runs that kept us in the game, but overall, it was not a very good job offensively or defensively in the second game," Miller said.
Junior Ka'ili Smith paced the Dawgs at the plate in the opening game as she collected two of State's six hits. Freshman Sam Lenahan doubled and drove in a run, and Erin Nesbit and Chelsea Raines also added RBI against the Falcons.
"We put some runs on the board early against Bowling Green, and we just sat on it," Miller said. "Stephanie pitched great, and Kylie came in and shut them down. It was a good win with a good performance on the mound."
Game 1
Becker notched her third win of the season against just one loss as she went 5.1 innings and allowed two runs and six hits while striking out five against Bowling Green.
Vry entered the game in the sixth with State ahead 3-2 and the tying run at second. The Des Moines, Iowa, native slammed the door on the Falcons, retiring all five batters she faced, including two via strikeout, to notch her first save of 2011.
Mississippi State took advantage of walks and timely hitting in the first inning to give the pitchers all the run support they would need. Bainbridge led off the game with a base hit, and she took second on Smith's opposite-field base hit two batters later.
A walk to Courtney Nesbit loaded the bases, and Lenahan put the Dawgs on the scoreboard with a free pass of her own. After Erin Nesbit drew a two-out walk to make it a 2-0 game, Raines capped the three-run frame as she beat-out an infield single that scored Courtney Nesbit.
Erin Greenwalt failed to make it out of the first inning, and fell to 0-3 as she allowed three runs and two hits. Melissa Bott went the rest of the way, holding MSU to four hits while striking out four.
Becker cruised in the circle until she hit trouble in the sixth. A leadoff walk to pinch-hitter Katie Yoho and a one-out base hit by Rachel Proehl led to a Paige Berger base hit that cut the MSU lead to a single run.
Vry kept the tying and lead runs stranded as she got a fly-out and ground-out to end the inning.
Game 2
In the second game, Mercer (9-4) claimed an early 1-0 advantage with a two-out base hit by Kristin Marko that scored Anna Johnson after she reached on an error and stole second.
Playing minutes from her home in Acworth, Courtney Nesbit answered in the top of the third with a three-run home run, her third of the year, to give State a 3-1 advantage.
Bainbridge ignited the inning with a leadoff double. Two batters later, Smith drew a one-out walk and Nesbit followed by drilling a 1-2 pitch over the wall.
The lead was short-lived, however, as Mercer used a pair of long balls to regain the lead at 4-3. A one-out walk to Johnson brought Sara Stukes to the plate, and she belted a two-run shot over the wall in left-center to knot the game 3-3 and bring Vry into the game for MSU starter Misty Flesher.
Stukes, who played alongside the Nesbit sisters at Harrison High School, matched her former teammate with a 2-for-4, 4-RBI plate effort.
Vry immediately registered the second out of the inning, but the Bears' Randi Rea gave her team the lead back with a round-tripper to right field.
After picking up the save in the opening game, Vry suffered the loss in the nightcap after being touched for three runs (one earned) on five hits over 3.2 innings in relief of starter Misty Flesher.
Flesher was tagged for a pair of earned runs (three total) and three hits while striking out two over the opening 2.1 innings.
State knotted the game at four in the top of the fourth. Freshman Jessica Offutt was hit by a pitch, and after stealing second, she scored the tying run on Bainbridge's second double of the game.
Mercer answered right back in the bottom of the fourth. With two outs, Bailey and Woody reached on back-to-back singles. An error by MSU third baseman Heidi Shape loaded the bases, and Stukes put MU ahead 6-4 with a two-run double.
State had a chance to tie or take the lead in the sixth. With one out, Offutt drew a walk and stole second. Two batters, later, Bainbridge and Shape drew back-to-back free passes to load the bases. A strikeout, however, left the bases loaded.
Courtney Nesbit cut the lead to 6-5 as she opened the seventh with a line drive over the wall in left field off Mercer reliever Kari Chambers. A walk to Lenahan brought starter Jenni Holtz back into the game, and got a ground-out and fly-out to earn the victory and improve to 6-1 on the year.
The Bulldogs return to action with a doubleheader on Saturday. State challenges Georgia State at Noon CT before wrapping the two-game set against host Kennesaw State at 2:30 p.m.
Mississippi State 3, Bowling
Green 2 (Feb 25, 2011 at Woodstock,
Ga.)
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Bowling Green....... 000 002 0 - 2 6 0 (0-6)
Mississippi State... 300 000 X - 3 6 0 (6-5)
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Pitchers: Bowling Green - GREENWALT, Erin; BOTT, Melissa(1) and STRATTON, Erika.
Mississippi State - Stephanie Becker; Kylie Vry(6) and Sam Lenahan.
Win-Stephanie Becker(3-1) Save-Kylie Vry(1) Loss-GREENWALT, Erin(0-3) T-1:40 A-0
Weather: 60 degrees,
sunny and windy
Mercer 6, Mississippi State 5 (Feb 25, 2011 at Woodstock, Ga.)
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Mississippi State... 003 100 1 - 5 5 3 (6-6)
Mercer.............. 103 200 X - 6 8 0 (9-4)
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Pitchers: Mississippi State - Misty Flesher; Kylie Vry(3) and Sam Lenahan. Mercer -
HOLTZ,Jenni; CHAMBERS,Kari(8) and MARKO,Kristin.
Win-HOLTZ,Jenni(6-1) Loss-Kylie Vry(2-4) T-2:10 A-135
HR MS - Courtney Nesbit 2.
HR MER - STUKES,Sara; REA,Randi.
CHAMBERS faced 2 batters in the 7th.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Becker, Stephanie (3-1)
L: GREENWALT, Erin (0-3)
S: Vry, Kylie (1)
Batting:
2B: ARNEY, Andrea 1
RBI: BERGER, Paige 2
Base Running:
RUNS: PROEHL, Rachel 1 ; YOHO, Katie 1
CS: PROEHL, Rachel 1
Batting:
2B: Lenahan, Sam 1
RBI: Lenahan, Sam 1 ; Nesbit, Erin 1 ; Raines, Chelsea 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Bainbridge, Ali 1 ; Smith, Ka'ili 1 ; Nesbit, Courtney 1
