Bulldogs Head To Final Pre-Conference Tournament
May 25, 2016 | Softball
State opens the tournament Friday afternoon against Tennessee Tech at 1:30 p.m. MSU defeated the Golden Eagles, 10-1 in six innings, last week at the NFCA Leadoff Classic. Immediately following its game with TTU, State will battle Toledo at 3:45 p.m. On Saturday, MSU faces UT-Martin at 9 a.m., and host UT-Chattanooga at 3:45 p.m. The Bulldogs close out the Tournament on Sunday at 10:15 a.m. against Austin Peay.
Chelsea Bramlett looks to keep her strong start to her collegiate career going. The freshman leads MSU in hitting with a .429 batting average. She also leads the conference in hits (27), runs (21) and stolen bases (16).
Kelli Miller comes into the Frost Classic with a 5-3 record and a 1.29 ERA. In 43.1 innings of work, the senior has struck out 25 batters.
Tennessee Tech, 9-7 on the year, is coming off a 3-2 outing at the NFCA Leadoff Classic. The Golden Eagles defeated No. 21 Nebraska, Seton Hall and No. 20 Florida State. Tech then swept a doubleheader at Alabama A&M, 14-1 and 13-0. TTU is led offensively by Beth Boden. The junior is hitting .354 with three home runs, six doubles and ten RBI. Senior Bonnie Bynum heads up the Golden Eagles pitching staff, holding a 6-4 record with a 2.11 ERA, while striking out 70 batters.
Toledo enters the Tournament having not played in ten days. The Rockets opened the season at the Bama Bash, finishing 1-3. UT defeated Radford, while falling to Michigan State and twice to Alabama. Toledo is led offensively by Brie Ford, who's hitting .333 with two runs. From the pitching circle, Sierra Pereira is 1-0 with a 6.68 ERA.
UT-Martin, 8-5 on the year, is coming off a 3-3 showing at the Northwestern State Invitational. The Skyhawks defeated Colgate, Alcorn State and Northwestern State before falling in the tournament championship to No. 9 Louisiana-Lafayette. UTM is led offensively by Savannah Roberts. The sophomore is hitting .459 (17-37) with six runs, four doubles, two home runs and a team-leading 15 RBI. Kara Harper leads UT-Martin from the mound, owning a 2-1 with a 2.70 ERA, while striking out 11 batters.
UT-Chattanooga enters the UTC Frost Tournament 7-7 on the year. The Moccasins went 4-1 last week at their own Panera Bread Invitational, defeating St. Francis, Vermont, Akron and Miami (OH). UTC then split a midweek series with UAB. UT-Chattanooga is led by infielder Alyssa Edwards. The senior is hitting .378 with three runs and ten RBI. From the pitching circle, Brooke Loudermilk is 5-2 in eight appearances with a 2.47 ERA and 60 strikeouts.
Austin Peay, 4-2 on the season, comes off a 2-2 showing at the Mercer Classic. The Lady Govs earned victories over Mercer and George Washington, while falling to Oakland twice. APSU is led offensively by Daniella Hooper, who's hitting .524 with four runs, three doubles and eight RBI. From the pitching circle, Natasha Anderson is 3-1 with a3.66 ERA and 28 strikeouts.
Following this week's action, the Bulldogs return home for midweek games against Indiana State (March 6, 4 p.m.) and Samford (March 7, 3p.m.) before opening conference play at Alabama, March 10-11.
