No. 24 Bulldogs Head to Oxford for Weekend Showdown
March 19, 2015 | Softball
STARKVILLE, Miss. – Continuing an in-state rivalry in which no love is lost, the No. 24 Mississippi State softball team (21-6, 3-3 SEC) will continue Southeastern Conference play this weekend with a three-game set vs. Ole Miss (15-12, 0-6 SEC) at the Ole Miss Softball Complex.
WEEKEND SCHEDULE
Friday: at Ole Miss – 6 p.m. CT (SEC Network+)
Saturday: at Ole Miss – Noon CT (SEC Network)
Sunday: at Ole Miss – 4 p.m. CT (SEC Network)
FOLLOW LIVE
All three of the weekend contests will air on either SEC Network or SEC Network+, both of which can be seen through WatchESPN.com and the Watch ESPN app. SEC Network is accessible through your cable provider, but SEC Network+ is exclusive to digital platforms.
The voice of Bulldog softball, Anthony Craven, will have the call on all three of the games with a live audio stream through HailStatePLUS.
Watch Friday's Game | Watch Saturday's Game | Watch Sunday's Game
LAST TIME OUT
Playing a non-conference game for the first time in 13 days, MSU displayed the ability of its offense when firing on cylinders with 16 runs on 18 hits in a 16-1 win over Southeastern Louisiana in five innings on Tuesday.
12 different Bulldogs recorded a base hit and five recorded multiple-hit games. With an opportunity for underclassmen to receive playing time, freshman Morgan Bell recorded her first-career home run and freshman Carmen Carter recorded her first-career hit in her first-career at bat.
TEAM & PLAYER NOTES
· This season, State is 11-0 when scoring first, 16-1 when scoring six or more runs and 19-1 when holding opponents to five runs or less.
· The Bulldogs have ten come-from-behind wins in 2015 and six walk-off wins.
· MSU is 17-2 this season when recording seven or more hits in a game and 11-0 when recording 10 or more hits.
· State is 4-4 against teams ranked in the top 25 at the time of competition.
· After MSU had gone 1,479 days without a walk-off home run, the Bulldogs had two over a seven-day stretch, both over ranked SEC foes (March 8 vs. No. 8 Georgia & March 15 vs. No. 19 Texas A&M).
· State ranks second in the SEC in hit by pitch (35), stolen bases (59) and steal attempts (68). MSU ranks third in the league in doubles (45) and fourth in batting average (.335).
· MSU has had four games nixed that were on the initial schedule. Feb. 15 vs. Lamar, March 1 vs. Georgetown, March 10 at Lipscomb and March 11 at Samford.
· Sophomore pitcher Alexis Silkwood is tied for third in the nation in victories by a pitcher (15), she had 14 wins in all of last season.
· Silkwood leads the SEC in wins (15) and is tied for first in the SEC in batters struck out (121).
· Sophomore Amanda Ivy is tied for second in the MSU record books for grand slams (2), both of which have come this season. Ivy also leads State in batting average (.397).
· Sophomore Mackenzie Toler has reached base in 11-straight games, a present team high. Ivy has reached base safely in nine straight.
· Having gone from pinch hitter in 2014 to offensive leader in 2015, sophomore Katie Anne Bailey leads the Bulldogs in hits (33), runs (23) and triples (5), while she is tied for first in doubles (7) with sophomore Caroline Seitz. Bailey's five triples rank second in the SEC and third in all of Division I.
· Seitz's team-high eight home runs and 26 RBIs have her tied for 11th and 15th in the SEC in those categories, respectively.
· Junior Loryn Nichols' flawless 20-for-20 effort at stealing bases has her second in the SEC in steals.
SERIES HISTORY
The Bulldogs lead the all-time series 37-20 and have won the last eight meetings between the two sides. State and Ole Miss did not meet last season, but their last meeting in 2013 came in Starkville with MSU having swept the three-game series. State is 15-10 vs. the Rebels in Oxford and haven't lost in Oxford since March 20, 2010.
SCOUTING THE REBELS
In the midst of its first season under new head coach Mike Smith, Ole Miss is 3-7 in its last 10 games and has been unsuccessful in getting its first SEC win this season through the first six attempts. The Rebels are aggressive on the base paths as they rank third in the SEC in steals (54) and steal attempts (65).
ON DECK FOR THE BULLDOGS
MSU will play two more against a program of the Magnolia State as State will travel for a doubleheader with Southern Miss on Wednesday, March 25 at the Southern Miss Softball Complex. Game one will begin at 4 p.m. CT with the second game to begin approximately 30 minutes after the conclusion of game one.
SOCIAL MEDIA
For more information on the MSU softball program, follow "HailStateSB" on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. You can also find all-access coverage of the Bulldogs on SnapChat by searching for "HailStateSnap."
