It seemed as if five was some sort of magic number for the Mississippi State softball team over the weekend.Then again, it might better be described as a tragic number.
The No. 23 Bulldogs (32-14, 6-10 SEC) were swept by the No. 3 Florida Gators (42-2, 14-1 SEC) over the Saturday-Sunday stretch, as the Gators won each contest by precisely five runs.
The first and third games of the series were 5-0 shutouts, both won by Florida ace Stacey Nelson (27-2), who went the distance in both contests.
The Bulldogs mustered two runs in the second game and led the Gators through five innings, but a two-run sixth inning by the Gators put them ahead for the rest of the contest as UF went on to win 7-2.
Mississippi State sixth-year head coach Jay Miller said he was clearly frustrated with the weekend and was glad it was over, following Sunday’s shutout loss.
“We dug ourselves into a hole, and it’s tough to get out of that,” Miller said. “We can’t do that and expect to [win].”
The anchor for the MSU ballclub all season long has been the pitching core, but even the duo of Kelsey Nurnberg and Misty Flesher couldn’t do much to tame Florida.
“Give credit to Florida’s hitters, too,” Miller said. “They got runners on base and drove them in, over and over. That’s why they are where they are.”
The lone bright spot in the Bulldogs’ lineup over the weekend was sophomore catcher Chelsea Bramlett, of Cordova, Tenn.
Bramlett, State’s leadoff batter, had a 5-for-7 day Saturday and hit the ball solidly Sunday as well.
“She did a really good job,” Miller said. “She hit some balls hard right at some people, and if they had been moved either way three feet, they were good base hits. She gave us some opportunities and did a pretty good job at that.”
Bramlett said she was disappointed that the Dawgs came out of the series with three losses, but her disappointment was even more fueled because of her belief that the games could have been won, or at least closer.
“They’re very beatable,” Bramlett said. “They came through in crucial times and scored runs, and we didn’t. They’re good. They hit up and down the lineup and had good defense, but they can be beaten.”
Senior centerfielder Hayle Guess, of Moss Point, agreed that the Bulldogs could have put up a better fight. Guess broke up a no-hitter Sunday in the fourth inning.
“They’re a great team, but we are too,” Guess said. “We had every opportunity they did. They took advantage of it, and we didn’t. That’s the difference between them and us, and that’s the reason the way the series ended the way it did.”
After a frustrating weekend, the Bulldogs now turn their attention to a mid-week, non-conference game against Ole Miss in the Merchants and Farmers Bank Fastpitch Classic.
The Bulldogs and Rebels will tussle Tuesday in Ridgeland at 6:30 p.m.
The Dawgs’ next series will take place on Saturday and Sunday in Columbia, S.C., against the Gamecocks of South Carolina.