Mississippi State
11-10
Florida State
12-10
Bulldogs Rally to Defeat Florida State 9-8 in 10 Innings
March 11, 2011 | Softball
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - Briana Bell and Erin Nesbit scored on an errant throw in the 10th inning as the Mississippi State softball team rallied from a five-run deficit to defeat Florida State 9-8 Friday afternoon in the opening game of the Easton SEC/ACC Challenge in Tuscaloosa.
The deciding runs came after Florida State broke a 7-7 deadlock with a run in the top of the 10th. With Briana Bell at second via the international tiebreaker, Chelsea Raines capped a three-hit afternoon as she punched a base hit past a drawn-in Seminole infield that moved Bell to third.
Sophomore Jessica Cooley, a native of nearby Birmingham, then hit a slow dribbler in front of the plate. Bell got caught in a rundown, and while trying to retreat to third, the throw from FSU third baseman Briana Hamilton sailed into left field, allowing her to score the tying run followed immediately by Erin Nesbit with the winner.
"It was a crazy finish. I still don't know what happened on that last play, but we got two runs and I'll take it," MSU head coach Jay Miller said. "We played a great game out there tonight. We made some early mistakes to let them get some extra runs, but Misty did a great job shutting them down. The way our team battled back in the seventh inning shows a lot of character, and that is a good sign for this ball club."
Mississippi State won its fifth-straight game to improve to 11-10 on the year. FSU fell to 12-10 with the setback.
Junior Misty Flesher turned in another spectacular relief effort, improving to 4-1 as she allowed three unearned runs while striking out a career-high 11 over eight innings.
Raines' three-hit day also included a double and her third home run of the season. Freshman Sam Lenahan belted her fourth home run of the year, and she added her seventh double as part of a three-hit, three-RBI afternoon.
Senior Ali Bainbridge went 2-for-4 at the plate, including her team- and SEC-best ninth double.
The Bulldogs' furious rally came after Florida State jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the second inning on a Hamilton two-run home run, a base hit by Courtney Senas and a Robin Ahrberg double.
Bainbridge's one-out double in the third inning started the rally for Mississippi State. Two batters later, Ka'ili Smith brought her home as she hit a ground ball that the diving FSU second baseman was unable to corral.
Lenahan cut the FSU lead to 5-2 as she opened the bottom of the fourth inning with a towering shot, her fourth of the season, over the wall in center.
After FSU took advantage of a pair of miscues in the top of the sixth to extend the lead to 7-2, Chelsea Raines sparked the Dawgs' five-run seventh with a leadoff home run over the foul pole in left field.
Three batters later, Bainbridge kept the Bulldogs alive with a two-out base hit. Heidi Shape was then hit by a pitch, and Smith walked to load the bases.
A Courtney Nesbit two-run single made it a 7-5 game, and Lenahan tied the game as she cleared the bases with a double to right-center.
Raines again ignited the Dawgs in the eighth as she opened the inning with a double. Cooley sacrificed her to second, and a walk to pinch hitter Shelby Fisher and an intentional base on balls to Bainbridge loaded the bases with one out. Mississippi State was unable to plate the winning run, however, as FSU got a fly out to shallow left field and a ground out to end the inning.
Florida State went up 8-7 in the top of the 10th on an Amber Bryant single before the Bulldogs' clinched the win in the bottom of the frame.
Sophomore Kylie Vry went the first two innings and was touched for five runs and six hits. FSU starter Sarah Hamilton took the loss to fall to 5-7 on the year. She went six innings over two different stints and allowed four runs (two earned) and six hits while striking out six.
The Dawgs take the Rhoads Stadium field twice on Saturday. State opens the day against North Carolina at 11 a.m. before meeting the Seminoles again at 6:30 p.m.
Mississippi State 9, Florida State
8 (Mar 11, 2011 at Tuscaloosa,
Ala.)
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Florida State....... 050 002 000 1 - 8 11 1 (12-10)
Mississippi State... 001 100 500 2 - 9 13 3 (11-10)
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Pitchers: Florida State - Hamilton, Sarah; Bullock, Morgan(7); Nori, Jessica(9) and Lapicki, Jen
; Ahrberg, Robin. Mississippi State - Kylie Vry; Misty Flesher(3) and Sam Lenahan.
Win-Misty Flesher(4-1) Loss-Hamilton, Sarah(5-7) T-2:57 A-0
HR FS - Hamilton, Briana (2).
HR MS - Sam Lenahan (4); Chelsea Raines (3).
Bullock, M faced 1 batter in the 8th.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Flesher, Misty (4-1)
L: Hamilton, Sarah (5-7)
Batting:
2B: Ahrberg, Robin 1 ; Lapicki, Jen 1
HR: Hamilton, Briana 1
RBI: Brown, Tiffani 1 ; Ahrberg, Robin 2 ; Hamilton, Briana 2 ; Bryant, Amber 1
SH: Bullock, Morgan 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Brown, Tiffani 1 ; Senas, Courtney 1 ; Lapicki, Jen 1 ; Hamilton, Briana 1 ; Austin, Kirstin 1 ; Bullock, Morgan 2 ; Hensley, Kelly 1
SB: Senas, Courtney 1 ; Bullock, Morgan 2
CS: Brown, Tiffani 1
HBP: Hensley, Kelly 1
Batting:
2B: Bainbridge, Ali 1 ; Lenahan, Sam 1 ; Raines, Chelsea 1
HR: Lenahan, Sam 1 ; Raines, Chelsea 1
RBI: Smith, Ka'ili 1 ; Nesbit, Courtney 2 ; Lenahan, Sam 3 ; Raines, Chelsea 1
SH: Cooley, Jessica 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Bainbridge, Ali 2 ; Shape, Heidi 1 ; Offutt, Jessica 1 ; Nesbit, Courtney 1 ; Lenahan, Sam 1 ; Bell, Briana 1 ; Raines, Chelsea 1 ; Nesbit, Erin 1
HBP: Shape, Heidi 1
