A game-ending double by Courtney Bures handed the MSU softball team its second mercy-rule victory of the 2007 season.The Bulldogs (8-3) toppled the Delta Devilettes of Mississippi Valley State by a score of 10-2 Wednesday night in five innings.
The hit by Bures was her only one of the contest, but the All-American finished with 4 RBIs in the game.
Freshman catcher Chelsea Bramlett led the Bulldogs offensively, going 3-for-4 on the evening with one RBI and two runs scored.
Junior left fielder Nakita Boyce, in her first game in Starkville since suffering a broken nose Feb. 10 against Iowa State, finished 1-for-4 on the game with a fielder’s choice and 2 runs scored.
Boyce said that though she isn’t completely recovered yet, she feels much better than she has since the injury occurred.
“I’m doing all right,” Boyce said. “My nose is a little sensitive at times, but it doesn’t bother me. I’m not afraid to do the things I was doing before such as diving, so that’s good. I think I’m almost just as good as I was before.”
Fresh off the dominant performance over MVSU, the Bulldogs will continue their season this weekend in Columbus, Ga., participating in the 20-team NFCA Leadoff Classic.
MSU’s opponents for the weekend include No. 20 Florida State, Seton Hall, Tennessee Tech and No. 21 Nebraska. Sunday, MSU will compete in bracket play, and opponents are yet to be determined.
The level of bracket competition MSU will play in will be determined by how well it plays in round-robin play.
“We expect to play some tough games in Columbus,” Boyce said. “We know there are going to be some tough teams down there, so, just like in Vegas, we hope to come out strong and play hard.
“We made some mistakes last weekend, so we hope we can get all those mistakes out of the way now and come play the game we know how to play.