State To Continue SEC Gauntlet In Tuscaloosa
April 07, 2016 | Softball
STARKVILLE, Miss. – Following a weather-influenced midweek cancelation, the Mississippi State softball team (21-15, 2-7 SEC) will continue Southeastern Conference play with a trip to No. 4 Alabama (32-7, 5-4 SEC) for a three-game weekend at Rhoads Stadium.
The series will begin Friday at 6:30 p.m. CT with games two and three set for 2 p.m. Saturday and 1:30 p.m. Sunday.
TICKETS
Fans can purchase general admission tickets for adults ($10) and youth ($5).
FOLLOW LIVE
All three games will air on SEC Network+, exclusively through WatchESPN.com and the Watch ESPN app. Voice of State softball Anthony Craven will call the game on HailStatePLUS to provide fans with an additional way to follow the game. Live stats will also be available for all games and can be found at HailState.com.
Watch Friday's Game | Watch Saturday's Game | Watch Sunday's Game
LAST TIME OUT
The Bulldogs were scheduled to take on South Alabama Wednesday at Nusz Park, but inclement weather postponed the non-conference contest to Tuesday, April 26 at 6 p.m. CT.
The last time on the field, MSU took on in-state rival Ole Miss as the Rebels took two of three on the road in the three-game series. MSU took game two 1-0 with an RBI single from junior Amanda Ivy to score senior Kayla Winkfield from second in the bottom of the eighth. In game three, Winkfield had a career day at the dish by going 4-for-4 with three runs scored.
TEAM & PLAYER NOTES
· MSU is in its 25th season of varsity softball. The Bulldogs also fielded squads from 1982-86. In the previous 19 season stretch, MSU has advanced to the NCAA Tournament 12 times, including seven of the last nine and four consecutive postseason events.
· The Bulldogs are No. 35 in the third RPI ranking of the season and over the remainder of its regular-season schedule, State will play 15 games against teams with top-16 RPIs, including six on the road vs. No. 2 Florida, No. 4 Alabama and No. 16 Kentucky.
· State is 7-7 this season against teams that made the 2015 NCAA Tournament with 17 more such games remaining on the schedule. Nine of those games will be against teams that made the 2015 Women's College World Series, while six others will be against 2015 Super Regional teams.
· MSU's strength of schedule this season is 15, which stems from 32 of its 56 regular-season games being against 2015 NCAA Tournament teams.
· Juniors Katie Anne Bailey and Caroline Seitz are tied for the team lead with 10 two-out RBIs, while Seitz leads the Bulldogs in multiple-hit games with 11.
· Bailey is possibly the most dangerous hitter for MSU in 2016 as she enters the weekend 15-for-30 (.500) with runners in scoring position and 10-for-13 (.769) with a runner on third and less than two outs.
THE BULLDOGS VS. THE TIDE
UA leads the all-time series with MSU 53-10 and holds a 25-3 advantage in Tuscaloosa, but the two sides have won three games each over the past six meetings. The two sides last met during the 2014 season in Starkville as State won games two and three to take the series from then-No. 3 Alabama.
ON DECK FOR MSU
State will close out its four-game road trip with a non-conference midweek against LA Tech Wednesday, April 3 at 5:30 p.m. CT.
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.”
