Bulldogs Travel to No. 2 Florida for Wednesday Twinbill
March 15, 2011 | Softball
STARKVILLE, Miss. - Mississippi State takes a 2-0 Southeastern Conference mark on the road Wednesday as the Bulldogs venture to Gainesville, Fla., to challenge second-ranked Florida in a doubleheader that begins at 3 p.m. CT.
A free, live audio stream of the SEC doubleheader can be heard at www.mstateathletics.com/m2mlive.
The Dawgs take a 12-12 overall record back into conference action following a pair of wins against Florida State at the SEC/ACC Challenge in Tuscaloosa, Ala., last weekend.
Head coach Jay Miller's Mississippi State squad opened SEC action a week ago, sweeping a pair of games from South Carolina at the MSU Softball Field.
Wednesday's twinbill features two of the SEC's top teams when it comes to hitting extra bases. Mississippi State senior Ali Bainbridge, State's leading hitter with a .361 average, is tied with the Gators' Aja Paculba for second in the conference with nine doubles.
Bainbridge has also hit two triples and a pair of home runs. The Vestavia Hills, Ala., native has driven in eight runs and scored a team-best 24 times.
Seniors Chelsea Raines and Courtney Nesbit have also been major contributors to State's ability to hit the long ball this season. The pair received all-tournament honors last weekend after each hit a pair of home runs.
Raines has hit .348 this season while adding seven doubles and four home runs. Nesbit, a .342 hitter, leads the Bulldogs with seven doubles, three triples and 23 RBI.
Junior Ka'ili Smith continued her hot hitting in Tuscaloosa, tallying a .500 average en route to taking over the team's second-highest average on the season (.360). The Kapolei, Hawaii, native has hit a double and two home runs while adding 12 RBI and 13 runs.
Sophomore Kylie Vry and redshirt junior Misty Flesher have won four games each to lead the squad. Vry has struck out 55 over 73.2 innings. Flesher K'd a career-high 11 against Florida State last Friday. The Lone Grove, Okla., native now has 41 strikeouts this season while compiling a team- and SEC-best two saves.
The Bulldogs meet a Florida squad that is 25-1 overall and 2-0 in SEC action this season after sweeping LSU last week. The Gators won 24-straight games before having their streak halted by Nebraska over the weekend.
UF is hitting .355 as a team, led by Michelle Moultrie's .477 average. Megan Bush, a .451 batter, provides the power with 11 home runs and 38 RBI.
Stephanie Brombacher has posted a 14-0 mark in the circle. She has struck out 88 and allowed just eight earned runs for a 0.67 ERA. Newcomer Hannah Rogers boasts an 11-1 mark, and over 73.2 innings, she has surrendered six earned runs (0.57 ERA) while striking out 65.
The Bulldogs return home this weekend, hosting Arkansas in a three-game SEC series. Friday's opening game is set for a 1 p.m. first pitch, while the Saturday and Sunday game are scheduled for 1 p.m. starts. Sunday's game will be televised live by Fox Sports Net.
