MSU Heads to Arkansas For Easter Weekend
April 03, 2015 | Softball
STARKVILLE, Miss. – With more than half of the regular season complete, the Mississippi State softball team (26-10, 5-7 SEC) will look to build on momentum heading into its Southeastern Conference series vs. Arkansas (14-21, 0-9 SEC) this weekend at Bogle Park.
WEEKEND SCHEDULE
Saturday:        at Arkansas – 1 p.m. CT (SEC Network+)
Sunday:          at Arkansas – 5 p.m. CT (SEC Network)
Monday:         at Arkansas – 6 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. Melissa Lee (pxp) and Amanda Scarborough (analyst) will call the action on Sunday and Monday.
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 Saturday's Game | Watch Sunday's Game | Watch Monday's Game
LAST TIME OUT
MSU is coming off a road contest at Lipscomb on Tuesday that State took 1-0 behind an RBI single from sophomore Mackenzie Toler and a stout defensive effort led by a complete-game shutout from sophomore Alexis Silkwood. The win moved the Bulldogs to 21-3 this season in non-conference games.
TEAM & PLAYER NOTES
·        The Bulldogs have 13 come-from-behind wins in 2015 and 48 in the Vann Stuedeman era.
·        State is a perfect 13-0 when scoring first this season.
·        With 17 regular-season games remaining in 2015, MSU has already tied its 2014 totals for home runs (34) and triples (10).
·        MSU is 25-5 this season when scoring three or more runs and 19-3 when scoring six or more. The Bulldogs are 14-0 when holding opponents to two or fewer runs.
·        In the most recent NCAA RPI rankings, March 30, State jumped four spots to No. 23. MSU is 4-3 vs. teams in the top 17 this season.
·        On Friday, March 27, the Bulldogs started a string of 15-straight games against teams in the top 75 with seven of those coming against teams in the top 10 and four vs. the top two teams.
·        MSU is sixth in the Southeastern Conference in batting average (.326), second in doubles (61), second in hit by pitch (49) and second in stolen bases (68).
·        Sophomore Amanda Ivy has reached base safely in 18-straight games, a team high, while senior Julia Echols and sophomore Katie Anne Bailey are in the midst of a 14-game reached base stretch.
·        Silkwood ranks first in the SEC in strikeouts (155) and first in wins (19). She has 15 complete-game efforts this season and has struck out five or more in 15 games this season.
·        Twice this season, Silkwood has struck out five or more batters and drove in two runs in the same game. Silkwood now has 32 career victories, ranking ninth in the MSU record books. She also has 322 career strikeouts, which ranks fifth in the MSU record books
·        Bailey leads the conference in runners caught stealing by with 11 and ranks second in the SEC and second in the country in triples (6).
·        Sophomore Caroline Seitz leads MSU in doubles (10), home runs (9), RBIs (34), total bases (77) and is tied for first in hits (40). Her doubles are third-most in the SEC, her home runs are tied for 11th and she ranks tied for ninth in total bases.Â
SERIES HISTORY
MSU holds a 31-24 advantage over Arkansas in the all-time series that dates back to 1997. The Bulldogs have won two-straight vs. the Razorbacks and seven of the last nine meetings. In their 2014 series in Starkville, State won games two and three by a combined score of 26-7, both via run rule, after having dropped the series opener.
SCOUTING THE RAZORBACKS
Winless through its first nine SEC games of 2015, Arkansas has dropped conference series vs. LSU, Georgia and Ole Miss. Senior Kasey Fagan made her return to the lineup against Ole Miss last weekend, starting all three games after having to miss the team's previous eight following an injury.
ON DECK FOR THE BULLDOGS
State will return home for a mid-week game that will be recorded as non-conference vs. No. 2 LSU on Wednesday, April 8 at 6 p.m. CT. The game will air on SEC Network+.
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."
