Rebels Drop A Pair At Mississippi State

STARKVILLE, Miss. Mississippi State received outstanding pitching performances from both Lindsey Dunlap and Kelsey Nurnberg to lead the Bulldogs to a doubleheader sweep of Ole Miss Saturday afternoon from the MSU Softball Field.  The Bulldogs took game one 6-2 before winning the second game by a final score of 8-0.

Mississippi State (26-26, 8-19 SEC) struck first with a run in the bottom of the first inning of game one on an RBI single from right fielder Brittany Bell.  Bulldog catcher Chelsea Bramlett led off the frame with a bunt single before swiping second base to move into scoring position.  Bell followed with a single back up the middle to drive home Bramlett with the game’s first run.

The Bulldogs tacked on another run two batters later when first baseman Sammie Jo Bailey plated Bell with a double off the left field wall.  Ole Miss starter Becky Nye pitched out of the jam without further damage as she retired third baseman Jessie Bailey on a harmless fly out to shortstop to strand Sammie Jo Bailey at second.

MSU added three more runs in the bottom of the fourth to up its lead to 5-0 as the Bulldogs capitalized on a pair of Rebel fielding miscues.  Mississippi State centerfielder Brittany Gates started the rally with a bunt single to the left side of the infield. 

On the following play, Bramlett put down a sacrifice bunt to third baseman Ashley Dowby, but an errant throw allowed Gates to reach third and Bramlett second safely.  Bell then hit a chopper through the left side to drive home Gates, while Bramlett came around to score as well on a fielding error on Alyssa McGovern.  Kaili Smith hit a single to put runners on the corners before Sammie Jo Bailey hit a sacrifice fly to drive in Bell to cap the scoring. 

Sammie Jo Bailey collected her third RBI of the game with a single into left field to drive in Bell from second base to give the Bulldogs a 6-0 advantage.  Bell drew a walk to lead off the bottom of the sixth inning and later moved to second on a groundout from Smith before coming around to score with her third run of the game. 

Ole Miss (23-29, 7-20 SEC) picked up a pair of runs in the bottom of the seventh on an RBI single up the middle from second baseman Lisa Conchos.  Rebels Amber Tramp and Corrine Doornberg hit back-to-back singles to put runners on first and second with no outs.  Both runners advanced one base on the flowing play on a groundout from Courtnie Ghinaudo before Conchos slapped the ball up the middle to up her season RBI total to 27. 

Dunlap (16-14) picked up the win for the Bulldogs after allowing two runs on seven hits in seven innings of work.  She tallied four strikeouts and walked four. 

Nye (15-19) suffered the loss for the Rebels after surrendering six runs (four earned) on nine hits in six innings in the circle. 

In game two, Mississippi State plated a run in the bottom of the first inning to jump out to an early 1-0 lead.  Bramlett was hit by a pitch on the first pitch of the game and awarded first base.  She immediately stole second base and came around to score later in the inning when Sammie Jo Bailey blooped a single into left field. 

The Bulldogs erupted for four more runs in the home half of the second inning to open up a 5-0 lead.  The frame starting seemingly harmless with a strikeout of Jessie Bailey, but three Ole Miss errors thereafter led to four unearned runs. 

Jessie Spain reached on the following play on a throwing error on the Rebel infield, and Courtney Nesbit also reached on a second throwing error on Ole Miss.  Allie Heon delivered an RBI single to score Spain for the first run of the inning and another Rebel error on the next play allowed Bramlett to also reach base and load the bases. 

A fielder’s choice on the next play from Bell allowed Nesbit to score before Smith drove home two more runs with a single back up the middle.  Bramlett added an RBI single in the bottom of the third on a slap hit the other way to put MSU up 6-0 after three innings. 

The Bulldogs scored for the fourth straight inning and tallied two more runs in the bottom of the fourth to increase their lead to 8-0.  Smith led off with a double off the left field wall and scored on the following play as Sammie Jo Bailey traded places with her with a double of her own.

Gates was sent to second base as a pinch runner and moved to third on a sacrifice bunt from Ali Bainbridge.  Gates scored on the ensuing play as Jessie Bailey laced a single back up the middle. 

Nurnberg (10-10) earned the win after giving up no runs while scattering two hits in five innings in the circle.  Perry (6-9) took the loss after allowing eight runs (four earned) on nine hits in four innings of work. 

Ole Miss puts the finishing touches on the regular season Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. when the Rebels face Mississippi State in the final game of a three-game series. 

RebelsCalendar

Team Stats

Lisa Conchos

Ashley Dowdy

Aly Presswood

Cali Overbeck

The University of Mississippi Athletics