April 16, 2007

Mississippi State Game Notes
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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The UAB softball team will break from conference play to travel to Starkville, Miss. for a matchup against the Mississippi State Bulldogs on Tuesday at 6:00 p.m. The Blazers (27-22, 8-9 C-USA) will look to avenge their 5-0 loss to the Bulldogs (27-19, 9-10 SEC) from earlier this season.

UAB is coming off two losses to Conference USA foe UCF, while Mississippi State also dropped two games to Southeastern Conference opponent LSU over the weekend.

Mississippi State has owned the series against UAB, leading 7-1 and outscoring the Blazers 48-11. The Blazers only win against the Bulldogs came in 2003, when UAB knocked off Mississippi State 3-0 in Starkville, Miss.

Before their most recent meeting in March, the two teams had not met since 2005, when the Bulldogs won both meetings over the Blazers by a combined score of 19-4. Mississippi State has reeled off five consecutive wins over the UAB, decisively taking each matchup by at least five runs.

Scouting Mississippi State: The Bulldogs return 15 letterwinners, including eight position starters and four pitchers, off of last season's squad that finished 33-28. State was selected to finish fifth in the SEC West in a preseason poll of the league's coaches. Mississippi State junior shortstop Courtney Bures was one of the 50 players named to the USA Softball National Collegiate Player of the Year watch list and leads the Bulldogs with 41 RBI this season. Bures is hitting .351, behind freshman Chelsea Bramlett, who leads the team with a .401 batting average. In the circle, senior Kelli Miller leads the way with an 11-8 record and 1.62 ERA. Three other pitchers have seen considerable time in the circle, including senior Sara Hickerson (5-5, 1.36 ERA), sophomore Kelsey Nurnberg (7-2, 2.29 ERA) and senior Stephanie Comeaux (4-4, 4.17 ERA).