Bulldog Softball Heads to No. 23 Kentucky for Three-Game Series
March 24, 2011 | Softball
STARKVILLE, Miss. - Mississippi State claimed a big sweep of SEC foe Arkansas last weekend, and now the Bulldog softball team looks to carry that momentum into this weekend's road series at No. 23 Kentucky.
The opening game of the three-game set is scheduled for 5 p.m. CT on Friday. The final two games are slated for Noon first pitches on Saturday and Sunday.
A free audio stream for each game will be available at www.mstateathletics.com/m2mlive.
State's first sweep of Arkansas since 2005 moved head coach Jay Miller's squad to 15-14 overall and 5-2 in league play.
The Wildcats suffered a 6-0 setback to Louisville on Wednesday to fall to 19-7 overall. Kentucky fell to 5-3 in conference play after dropping the final two games of last weekend's series against 24th-ranked LSU.
State holds a 24-13 record against Kentucky, but the Wildcats have won five of the last six meetings after MSU took 16 of the previous 17 contests. Mississippi State took last season's series finale 1-0 on a Ka'ili Smith walk-off home run in the bottom of the seventh inning.
Smith, a .389 career hitter against Kentucky, enters this weekend's set hitting .364 with a double, two home runs and 15 RBI. The junior from Kapolei, Hawaii, drove in all three of State's runs last Friday to become the 10th player in school history to reach 100-career RBI.
Her batting average this season is second only to senior Ali Bainbridge, who is batting .376 with a team-high 10 doubles. Bainbridge, who tops the Dawgs with 27 runs scored, tied last Sunday's game with her third home run of the season.
Senior Courtney Nesbit continued a career year at the plate against the Razorbacks, driving in both of State's runs in Saturday's series-clinching win. Batting at a .341 clip, the Acworth, Ga., native tops the Dawgs with seven home runs and 26 RBI. She has also tagged five doubles and three triples in her final season wearing the Maroon & White.
Sophomore Kylie Vry and junior Misty Flesher were stellar in the circle last weekend. Vry notched her fifth win of the season on Friday before collecting her second save of the season in Saturday's series-clincher.
The Des Moines, Iowa, native has compiled a 3.27 ERA and 69 strikeouts over 87.2 innings.
Flesher picked up wins on Saturday and Sunday to run her record to 6-3. The Lone Grove, Okla., native has also earned a pair of saves while striking out 48 over 61 innings.
The Bulldogs meet a UK squad that is paced offensively by .400 hitter Meagan Aull. Brittany Cervantes and Megan Yocke top Kentucky with eight and seven home runs, respectively. Cervantes has driven in a team-high 26 runs this year.
Chanda Bell tops the Cats in the circle with a 7-4 record and 114 strikeouts. Rachel Riley owns a team-low 1.74 ERA, and she has combined with Ellen Weaver for a 10-2 record.
