Mississippi State
12-13, 2-1
#2 Florida (DH-1)
26-1, 3-0
Bulldogs Fall Twice to No. 2 Gators on Wednesday
March 16, 2011 | Softball
GAINESVILLE, Fla. - Freshman Sam Lenahan and sophomore Jessica Cooley each collected hits in game one, and Ali Bainbridge paced the Mississippi State softball team with two hits in game two as the Bulldogs fell 8-0 and 18-1 to No. 2 Florida Wednesday afternoon in Gainesville, Fla.
The pair of setbacks drop MSU to 12-14 overall and 2-2 in SEC play. Florida improved to 27-1 and 4-0 in the conference with the win.
In the opener, State found itself in a 5-0 deficit following the bottom of the first. Michelle Moultrie and Aja Paculba singled to opening the inning. Moultrie came home on a Kelsey Bruder base hit, and after Brittany Schutte walked to load the bases, Megan Bush lined a grand slam to left field off Bulldog starter Misty Flesher.
Flesher fell to 4-3 as she surrendered five runs and four hits while facing the first five batters of the game. Becker worked the final four frames, allowing three runs (two earned) and three hits while striking out five.
Florida extended the lead to 7-0 in the bottom of the second as Paculba singled and Bruder lined a two-run home run to right off Becker.
Mississippi State opened the third inning with leadoff singles by Lenahan and Cooley. The Bulldogs, however, were unable to capitalize as three ground-outs left Cooley stranded at third base.
The Gators plated their final run in the bottom of the third as Moultrie reached on an error that scored Cheyenne Coyle, who opened the frame with a walk.
Hannah Rogers tossed a two-hit shutout and struck out three in the opener to pick up the victory. She drew the start again in game two and allowed an unearned run and four hits over four innings to earn the win and run her record to 13-1.
"We are really disappointed with the way we competed today. You have to play your best to beat Florida, and we were far from that," MSU head coach Jay Miller said. "The key now is to bounce back for Arkansas at home. It gives us a chance to stay ahead of someone in the SEC race, and that's what we need to do. It's going to be a big series for us, and we are excited to get back and play in Starkville."
Florida struck with three first-inning runs off Bulldog starter Shana Sherrod to take the early advantage in game two.
A Bruder double sparked the Gators to five runs in the second, and she struck again in the third, hitting a three-run home run off MSU reliever Kylie Vry to go ahead 11-0.
The Dawgs managed to get on the scoreboard in the top of the fourth. With one out, Chelsea Raines singled to right field. Briana Bell followed with a ground ball to third, but the throw to second sailed away as Paculba lost the ball in the sun, allowing Raines to take third.
Shelby Fisher then lined a base hit to center field, bringing Raines to the plate before Bell was thrown out trying to score.
Florida added seven more runs in the bottom of the fourth. Schutte capped the scoring with a three-run home run off Sherrod, who returned to the circle in relief of junior Lindsey Dunlap.
Sherrod fell to 1-1 as she was touched for nine runs (eight earned) over two innings. Vry tossed 1.2 innings and was touched for six runs while striking out a pair. Dunlap allowed three runs and struck out one while waking three in 0.1 innings of work.
State plays its first three-game league series this weekend as Arkansas comes to the MSU Softball Field. Friday's series opener begins at 5 p.m., while the games on Saturday and Sunday both start at 1 p.m.
Sunday's series finale will be televised live by Fox Sports Net.
Florida 8, Mississippi
State 0 (Mar 16, 2011 at Gainesville, Fla.)
(Game 1)
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Mississippi State... 000 00 - 0 2 1 (12-13, 2-1 SEC)
Florida............. 521 0X - 8 7 0 (26-1, 3-0 SEC)
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Pitchers: Mississippi State - Misty Flesher; Stephanie Becker(1) and Sam Lenahan. Florida -
Hannah Rogers and Brittany Schutte.
Win-Hannah Rogers(12-1) Loss-Misty Flesher(4-3) T-1:21 A-0
HR UF - Kelsey Bruder (7); Megan Bush (12).
Weather: 77 degrees, sunny
M. Flesher faced 5 batters in the 1st.
Florida 18, Mississippi
State 1 (Mar 16, 2011 at Gainesville, Fla.)
(Game 2)
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Mississippi State... 000 10 - 1 5 1 (12-14, 2-2 SEC)
Florida............. 353 7X - 18 15 2 (27-1, 4-0 SEC)
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Pitchers: Mississippi State - Shana Sherrod; Kylie Vry(3); Lindsey Dunlap(4) and Sam Lenahan.
Florida - Hannah Rogers; Ensley Gammel(5) and Brittany Schutte.
Win-Hannah Rogers(13-1) Loss-Shana Sherrod(1-1) T- A-836
HR UF - Kelsey Bruder (8); Brittany Schutte (10).
Weather: 76, mostly sunny
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Hannah Rogers (12-1)
L: Flesher, Misty (4-3)
Batting:
HR: Bruder 1 ; Bush 1
RBI: Bruder 3 ; Bush 4
Base Running:
RUNS: Michelle Moultrie 1 ; Paculba 2 ; Bruder 2 ; Brittany Schutte 1 ; Bush 1 ; Cheyenne Coyle 1
