MSU, No. 11 LSU Face Off For #SBW16
April 14, 2016 | Softball
STARKVILLE, Miss. – Coming off a come-from-behind road victory, the Mississippi State softball team (22-18, 2-10 SEC) returns home for Super Bulldog Weekend and a Southeastern Conference series with No. 11 LSU (30-12, 5-10 SEC).
For State, the top-15 Tigers mark the fifth of six 2015 Women's College Series participants the Bulldogs have on their 2016 regular season schedule.
The three-game weekend series will open Friday night with a 5:34 p.m. CT first pitch on SEC Network+. The action will continue Saturday at 7:02 p.m. CT and conclude Sunday at 3:32 p.m. CT as games two and three can be seen nationally on SEC Network.
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 Friday on SEC Network+ through WatchESPN.com and the Watch ESPN app, while Saturday and Sunday's contests will be nationally televised on SEC Network. Live stats will also be available for all three games and can be found at HailState.com.
Watch Friday's Game
Watch Saturday's Game
Watch Sunday'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 six remaining SEC home games. The more games you attend, the more chances you have to win. Attend six games, get six stamps and have your name entered six times into the drawing. You control the odds!
Friday:
- FREE Nusz Park drinking glasses
- FREE Kids' Zone with two inflatables
- T-shirt toss & prizes given out throughout the game
- Postgame autographs
Saturday:
- FREE Kids' Zone
- FREE 25 years of MSU Softball decals
- Postgame Fireworks
- Postgame autographs
Sunday:
- Kids' Day at the Park: free kids' zone and postgame base-running with the team
- Ovarian Cancer Awareness Game: teal Bulldog Softball tank tops while they last
- Pics with Bully
- Postgame autographs
LAST TIME OUT
State snapped a losing skid Wednesday with a 3-2 win over LA Tech in which freshman Sabrina Turner's 11-pitch at bat that turned into a walk that sparked a rally. Junior Caroline Seitz delivered the knockout blow with a two-run double with two outs that capped the three-run fifth inning and served as the game-winning hit.
TEAM & PLAYER NOTES
· The Bulldogs are No. 38 in the most recent RPI ranking of the season and over the remainder of its regular-season schedule, State will play 12 games against teams with top-14 RPIs, including six on the road vs. Florida (2) and Kentucky (14).
· MSU's strength of schedule this season is seventh in all of Division I.
· In the midst of season five of the Vann Stuedeman era, State has amassed a total of 59 comeback victories under Stuedeman with ninth of those having come this season.
· Senior Kayla Winkfield has reached base in 10-straight games and is hitting .429 over that stretch with 15 hits and seven runs scored. The star shortstop has also posted a slugging percentage of .514 and on-base percentage of .459 over that span.
· Freshman Sarai Niu not only ranks first at MSU in HBP with 15, but she also ranks first in the SEC and eighth in the nation with 0.45 HBP per game.
THE BULLDOGS VS. THE TIGERS
State and LSU last met April 8, 2015 for what went down as a non-conference midweek when the Tigers were ranked No. 1 in the nation. MSU won 9-4 after holding leads of 5-0 and 9-2 over the course of the night. Then-sophomore Alexis Silkwood powered the Bulldogs with a complete-game performance in the circle and a 3-for-4 showing at the plate with two RBI on a two-run homer.
ON DECK FOR MSU
The Bulldogs will face off against Southern Miss Tuesday, April 19 at 6 p.m. CT in a contest that will air through SEC Network+. This will mark the second meeting this season between the two sides as State took game one 6-1 in a February 20 neutral-site affair in Mobile, Alabama.
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.”
