Bulldogs Back Home To Take On No. 14 Tennessee
May 25, 2016 | Softball
State, Lady Vols To Renew Back And Forth Series
STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Surging from a very productive road swing, the Mississippi State Softball team will continue its string against nationally ranked SEC foes this weekend as the Bulldogs return home to battle No. 14 Tennessee in a three-game set at the Mississippi State Softball Field.
The Maroons (20-13, 2-7 SEC) and the Big Orange (23-8, 4-4) will renew their 17-game old series beginning in a noon Saturday doubleheader, with the two teams closing out their set on Sunday with a single game set for 12:30 p.m. Admission to all 2004 Mississippi State Softball home games is free and game action can be followed via a live stats link at Mississippi State's official athletic department website, www.MStateAthletics.com.
On the strength of a victory over sixth-ranked Georgia, as well as a doubleheader sweep of homestanding Chattanooga, the Bulldogs will return to Starkville on a recent surge. State rallied with five runs in the sixth inning of its series opener with Georgia to knock off the defending SEC Champions, then traveled to Chattanooga, Tenn., on Tuesday and pounded out a combined 18 hits in its twinbill with the Lady Mocs to remain perfect all-time against the perennial Southern Conference champions.
"Overall, I think it was a good road trip. If we can go 3-2 the rest of the year, I think we'll be in pretty good shape," said Mississippi State head coach Jay Miller. "I think that we are getting better defensively because I think we are talking and starting to communicate a little better. The younger kids are growing up a little bit. I feel pretty good with where we are right now."
Completing a nine-game SEC road swing in Starkville this weekend, the Lady Vols come in on a three-game conference losing streak after dropping all three games of it series at Alabama last weekend by a single run. Like the Bulldogs, the Big Orange already have a pair of top 25 victories to their credit this season, including a doubleheader split with third-ranked LSU in Baton Rouge, La.
Riding the talent of rookie lefthander Monica Abbott, Tennessee has climbed to No. 14 in the latest NFCA/USA Today and ESPN.com/USA Softball national rankings. Abbott (20-4, 0.83 ERA) has tallied 89 percent of Tennessee's victories this season due to sometimes overpowering and off-balance pitching that has allowed her team to win the close contests.
Tennessee's offense has produced more than enough runs for itself this season as well. Paced by the exploits of a quartet of .300 hitters, the Lady Vols have outscored their opponents by a combined 147-53 this season, including a 44-8 combined count in the first and fourth innings. Freshman Lindsay Schutzler has scored the bulk of UT's runs and leads the team with a .372 (35-for-94) clip, but a bulk of the danger will come from the 3-4-5 spots where the remaining .300 hitters ?€" Lauren Mattox, Kristi Durant and Amber Rhinehart ?€" have combined for a .333 average (83-for-249) with 21 extra-base hits (10 HR) and 64 RBI. In addition, opponents have shied away from first baseman Angela Brewer as the redshirt senior is hitting .273 with 11 extra-basers (3 HR) and 22 RBI.
"It's going to be a tough challenge for us with Tennessee coming in this weekend," Miller said. "They have a great freshman pitcher in Monica Abbott and they swing the bats very well."
A back and forth series currently led 9-8 by Mississippi State, Tennessee took the bookends of its Knoxville series against MSU last season, including a 16-2 victory in the series finale. The Orange collected at least ten hits in each of the trio of games and hit better than .400 to offset a strong surge from MSU's SEC-leading batting order. The output bucked the trend of a series that has featured six games decided by two runs or less.
The Bulldogs are 4-2 against Tennessee at home and are 7-3 against UT over the last 10 outings. Tennessee will mark State's fourth-straight nationally ranked conference opponent this season.
"I think we are doing a lot better job on the mound this year," Miller said. "The kids are competing better and the freshmen are growing up. They have been through the wars of the SEC in the last few weeks and realize, when you make a mistake, you're going to pay for it. Hopefully, we can minimize those mistakes and come out and stay strong on the mound."
