Softball Welcomes #12 Tennessee To Town For Facebook Friday
March 23, 2012 | Softball
Starkville, Miss - Mississippi State softball (18-12, 3-7 SEC) will gear up for its third Southeastern Conference showdown at home when it welcomes the No. 12/11 University of Tennessee (20-7, 4-4) to the MSU Softball Stadium Friday for a three-game set.
The league series, which is MSU's third at home in March against a top-15 squad, begins with a 5:30 p.m. first pitch on Facebook Friday, and is followed by 1 p.m. contests on both Saturday and Sunday. Live video and audio streaming of the entire weekend will be available online to HailStateTV subscribers (www.HailState.com/hstvlive).
"We are going to need Starkville's support to fill up our stands and represent our state this weekend," head coach Vann Stuedeman said. "Tennessee has two tremendous pitchers in the sister duo of Ellen and Ivy Renfroe, as well as a triple-threat hitter in Raven Chavanne. It is going to be an exciting weekend."
Facebook Friday will start with MSU soccer team captain Madison McKee throwing out the first pitch and Miss MSU Stephanie Stanford singing the national anthem. Fans that post on MSU softball's Facebook wall during the game will have a chance to win autographed softballs, sit in the softball suite for the rest of the game and take home many more prizes. Along with writing on our wall, fans can earn prizes all weekend with the popular Bulldog Bingo and Movie Trivia events. As always, softball aficionados will also have the chance to win a Vanntastic t-shirt with every extra-base hit.
On Saturday, the Bulldogs will honor all the young softball players in Mississippi's College Town, as kids from Starkville Parks and Recreation will take the field with Starkville's team for the national anthem. Sports coordinator Sheila Runnels will throw out the first pitch. Following the game, all of the children and fans in attendance will have an opportunity to get autographs from their favorite players.
In the series finale, which all elementary schools are invited to attend, the first pitch will be thrown out by Ward-Stewart Elementary assistant principal Gabrielle Mills.
In the last pitch at the MSU Softball Stadium, redshirt sophomore shortstop Erin Nesbit drilled a one-out RBI double in the bottom of the seventh for a thrilling 4-3 come-from-behind victory against the UAB Blazers. State was again anchored in the circle by junior Stephanie Becker, who gave up one run on three hits in 6.1 innings of work to improve her record to 10-5 on the year. The Chicago southpaw fanned seven Blazer batters without issuing a free pass.
At the plate, MSU relies on the dynamic duo of redshirt senior designated player Brittany Bell and junior Jessica Cooley. Bell has continued her tear to start her final season, ranking 16th in the country with a .561 on-base percentage (second in SEC) and 27th in slugging percentage (.795). Both marks currently rank second in the SEC. After starting the conference slate with a .067 batting average (1-for-15) and a 0.67 slugging percentage through her first six games, Cooley has heated up in her last four SEC contests, going 6-for-13 (.462) with a .692 slugging percentage. The left fielder is currently tied for the league lead with nine home runs this season.
The Lady Vols are coming off an impressive win as well, defeating top-ranked Alabama Wednesday night to snap the Tide's 26-game winning streak. At the plate, the Big Orange has been led all year by sophomore infielder Madison Shipman, who has produced a .344 batting average and leads the team with 28 driven in.
In the circle, the Lady Vols are anchored by a sophomore as well in right-hander Ellen Renfroe. The Jackson, Tenn., native leads the SEC in innings pitched (119.2 ) and strikeouts (159 ), while owning 15 of UT's 20 wins.
Following the weekend series against Rocky Top, MSU will travel to Itta Bena, Miss., for a 5 p.m. midweek matchup versus the Devilettes of Mississippi Valley State. For more information regarding MSU softball, follow the team on Twitter at @MStateSB and like the team at Facebook.com/MStateSB.
