Mississippi State rolled through the Cathedral City kickoff this weekend, winning all five of its games. The Bulldogs opened the 2008 season with a win over No. 20 Oregon, and followed with wins over Cal State Northridge, UC-Riverside, San Diego State and California.The Bulldogs outscored their opponents a combined 27-3 on the weekend. Sophomore Chelsea Bramlett led the charge, pacing the team in nearly every category. Bramlett led the Bulldogs with a .647 batting average, six runs batted in, one grand slam home run and tied for the most steals on the weekend with three.
Junior pitcher Kelsey Nurnberg picked up three wins and a save for the Bulldogs, allowing only one run through 21.2 innings. Freshman Misty Flesher was credited with two wins, against CSU-Northridge and UC-Riverside and a save against Cal. Head coach Jay Miller said he was pleased with the pitching effort in the opening weekend.
“Kelsey just shut people down,” he said. “Misty Flesher just dominated the mound.”
Mississippi State upset the No. 20 Oregon Ducks on Friday. Nurnberg threw a complete game shutout, allowing three hits while striking out five. The Bulldogs plated three runs, led by Sammie Jo Bailey, who drove in two runs. Brittany Bell scored the final run on a wild pitch by Oregon starter Melissa Rice. Miller said freshmen were a key in all three wins during the Cathedral City kickoff.
“Ali Bainbridge started every game and really did well,” he said. “I’m really pleased with our whole freshman class, and I’m expecting big things out of them.”
The second game of the doubleheader pitted the Bulldogs against the Matadors of Cal State Northridge. Flesher picked up the win in her first game as a Bulldog, allowing two runs in 6.1 innings. Flesher also pitched the first game on Saturday against UC-Riverside, allowing no runs on one hit through four innings. Bramlett added four RBIs with a grand slam in the fifth for State’s final runs of the game.
Nurnberg had another strong showing in the pitchers’ circle against San Diego State, throwing a complete game shutout. Bramlett led MSU offensively, going 4-for-4 with a team-leading two RBIs and one run scored.
The final game of the weekend against Cal was a defensive battle that took nine full innings to decide a winner. Starters Marissa Drewrey and Nurnberg each pitched eight scoreless innings. The Bulldogs broke the tie in the ninth when they plated four runs. Nurnberg gave up one run in the bottom, before relinquishing the circle to Flesher, who earned another save. Despite the 5-0 start, Miller said his current concern is offense.
“I’m a little concerned with our hitting,” he said. “Defensively, we played well though and made some big plays.