Bulldogs, Rebels Square Off In Starkville This Weekend
April 01, 2016 | Softball
STARKVILLE, Miss. – With more than just a Southeastern Conference series on the line, the Mississippi State softball team (20-13, 1-5 SEC) will play host to in-state rival Ole Miss (26-9, 2-4 SEC) this weekend at Nusz Park.
The Bulldogs enter the weekend sitting at No. 33 in the most-recent NCAA RPI rankings, while the Rebels are No. 32.
The action will get underway Saturday with first pitch of game one set for 6:04 p.m. CT Scheduled for Sunday and Monday, game two and three will get underway at 6:02 p.m. CT as both are nationally-televised affairs.
TICKETS
Admission is free for all regular season games at Nusz Park.
FOLLOW LIVE
The voice of Bulldog softball, Anthony Craven, will have the call Saturday on SEC Network+ through WatchESPN.com and the Watch ESPN app. Sunday and Monday's contest will be nationally televised on ESPNU and SEC Network, respectively. Live stats will also be available for all three games and can be found at HailState.com.
Watch Saturday's Game
Watch Sunday's Game
Watch Monday's Game
PROMOTIONS (FREE Admission To All Regular Season Games)
“Punch Your Ticket to the SEC Tournament” – the Bulldogs are hosting the 2016 SEC Softball Tournament May 11-14 at Nusz Park and fans have a chance to win a pair of All-Tournament Tickets to the event. Fans can pick up a punch card at the marketing table in the Nusz Park concourse and get it stamped in the fifth and sixth innings of MSU's nine remaining SEC home games. The more games you attend, the more chances you have to win. Attend nine games, get nine stamps and have your name entered nine times into the drawing. The odds are in your favor.
Saturday:
- Scout Day
- FREE Hail State Frisbees and MSU pencils
- T-shirt toss and gift card giveaways throughout the game
- Postgame autographs
Sunday:
- Kids Day (kids take the field with the team and run the bases postgame)
- FREE “Beat Ole Miss” buttons
- Res Life Night
- FREE pizza for students
- T-shirt toss and gift card giveaways throughout the game
- Postgame autographs
Monday:
- Dog Bone Claim (100 dog bones will be spread across the drill field Monday morning and fans that collect one can bring it to the game and exchange it for a prize – one per person)
- T-shirt toss and gift card giveaways throughout the game
- Postgame autographs
TEAM & PLAYER NOTES
· State has 15 games on its remaining regular season schedule vs. top-15 RPI teams.
· The MSU pitching staff has already recorded eight shutouts thus far after having recorded seven in all of 2015. The staff also has a 1.86 ERA which ranks fourth in the SEC and eighth in all of Division I. State ranks third the SEC in opposing batting average (.196).
· The Bulldogs had 15 comeback wins last season and already have eight this season, bring the grand total to 58 in the tenure of head coach Vann Stuedeman's tenure.
· Stuedeman is an impressive 22-2 against programs from the state of Mississippi since she took over at MSU in 2012 with a 7-2 mark versus OM.
· Junior Amanda Ivy has reached base in 12-straight games (reached in 25 straight during the 2015 season) and is riding a six-game hit streak, both of which are active team highs.
· Ivy is 17-for-40 (.425) this season with runners on and 10-for-28 (.357) with runners in scoring position.
· Junior Katie Anne Bailey leads MSU in batting average (.346), slugging percentage (.481), runs scored (21), hits (36), RBI (22), total bases (50) and sacrifice flies (3).
· Bailey is 18-for-40 (.450) in 2016 with runners on and 14-for-27 (.519) with runners in scoring position, both of which are team highs.
· Bailey and junior Caroline Seitz are tied for the team lead with 10 two-out runs batted in each.
· Freshman Sarai Niu not only ranks first at MSU in HBP with 13, but she also ranks first in the SEC and 11th in the nation in HBP per game with 0.41.
SERIES HISTORY
State leads the all-time series between the two sides 38-22 with a 21-6 advantage over the Rebels in Starkville. The Bulldogs swept the Rebels the last time the two met in Starkville in 2013, while OM took the series last year 2-1. MSU took game one Friday 8-6 with a seven-run seventh inning in which State was down to its final strike on three occasions.
ON DECK FOR MSU
The Maroon and White will take a break from league play to take on South Alabama for the second time this season and the first time at Nusz Park. First pitch between the two sides is set for Wednesday, April 6 at 6 p.m. CT with the contest to air on SEC Network+.
GET SOCIAL WITH STATE
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.”
