Bulldogs Head East For Two vs. Georgia Southern
April 24, 2015 | Softball
STARKVILLE, Miss. – Having closed out the 2015 home slate, the Mississippi State softball team (32-16) hits the road for its last five regular-season games, starting with two against Georgia Southern (12-33) this weekend at Eagle Field at GS Softball Complex.
WEEKEND SCHEDULE
Saturday: at Georgia Southern – 2 p.m. CT
Sunday: at Georgia Southern – 11 a.m. CT
FOLLOW LIVE
The voice of Bulldog softball, Anthony Craven, will have the call on all three of the games with a live audio stream through HailStatePLUS.
LAST TIME OUT
The Bulldogs played their final home game of the season vs. Memphis on Wednesday and took the affair 11-3 in five innings. Freshman Cassady Knudsen threw her first-career complete game, while sophomores Amanda Ivy and Caroline Seitz led the way offensively as they drove in four and three runs, respectively. The win improved MSU to 23-4 this season in non-conference play.
TEAM & PLAYER NOTES
· The Bulldogs have 14 come-from-behind wins in 2015 and 49 in the Stuedeman era.
· State is a perfect 18-0 when scoring first this season.
· MSU is 31-8 when scoring three or more runs and 28-9 when holding opponents to five or fewer runs. State is 7-12 vs. ranked opponents this season.
· With six regular-season games remaining in 2015, MSU has already shattered its 2014 totals for home runs (46), doubles (74), triples (14), hits (410), runs scored (294) and RBIs (265).
· The Bulldogs rank seventh in the Southeastern Conference in batting average (.319), fourth in hits (410), second in doubles (74), third in triples (14) and tied for second in double plays (18).
· In the most recent NCAA RPI rankings, April 20, State fell seven spots to No. 30. The Bulldogs have seven wins over teams ranked in the top 27 and have three upcoming vs. No. 32 South Carolina.
· On four occasions this season, a Bulldog has recorded four RBIs in a game with all four times having come off the bat of Ivy.
· On Senior Day, senior Katie Gentle went 2-for-2 with two home runs, one of which was a grand slam, for a total of six RBIs vs. No. 12 Tennessee. She became the second Bulldog to go yard twice in a game this season.
· Senior Julia Echols went 5-for-5 on Saturday, April 11, at Mizzou, tying a program record for hits in a game. The record was initially set in 1998 by Shawna Feldt at Georgia Tech.
· Sophomore Alexis Silkwood, who won two-straight SEC Pitcher of the Week honors (March 30 & April 6), ranks second in the conference in batters struck out (180), first in wins (22), first in innings pitched (192.0) and tied for fifth in saves (2). Silkwood's 22 wins is also fourth in all of Division I.
· Sophomore Katie Anne Bailey ranks tied for second in the league in triples (6) and leads the league in runners caught stealing (13).
· Seitz ranks tied for third in the SEC in doubles (14), tied for 11th in home runs (12) and 13th in RBI (47), she also leads the team in all three categories.
SCOUTING THE EAGLES
A member of the Sun Belt Conference, Georgia Southern is 4-17 in league play this season and is in the midst of a seven-game losing skid. The Eagles are 0-4 against Southeastern Conference teams so far in 2015 with losses two Georgia, South Carolina and two to Kentucky.
ON DECK FOR THE BULLDOGS
State will have the week off to wrap up the spring academic semester before heading back east to wrap up the regular season with a three-game SEC weekend series at South Carolina.
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."
