Bulldogs Begin Eight-Game Road Trip At Southern Miss
May 25, 2016 | Softball
State, Golden Eagles To Square Off In First Of Two Single Game Dates This Season
STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Having wrapped up a grueling start to its Southeastern Conference slate - one that included series against four teams ranked in the national top 14 - Mississippi State will step out of conference for the second time in eight days Wednesday evening as the Bulldogs pack up their show and head to Southern Miss for a 6 p.m. contest against the Golden Eagles at the USM Softball Complex.
The game will mark the first of two single game dates between the squads this season, with the second falling on the back end of State's roadtrip. The Bulldogs (20-16) and Southern Miss (14-17) will wrap up their series on the evening of Tues., April 6, when the teams meet again at Freedom Ridge Park in Ridgeland as part of the second annual M&F Bank Fastpitch Classic.
Victimized in a three-game sweep at the hands of No. 14 Tennessee in Starkville this past weekend, State showed continued signs of upset potential, especially in the series finale in which the Lady Vols stunned the Maroons with a trio of runs in the eighth inning. Southern Miss will enter Wednesday night's contest riding a three-game skid as well after dropping every game of its Conference USA set at South Florida.
"As the weekend went on, we did a much better job of adjusting at the plate," said Mississippi State head coach Jay Miller of State's series with the Orange. "We gave ourselves a chance to win, especially in that game on Sunday that went into extra innings.
"We have to get over that hump now. It seems like, when we hit the ball, we don't play defense or get the pitching. When we play defense and get the pitching. we don't hit the ball. It always seems like something is missing. I think we're real close to putting everything together though. We jusy need to get on a little roll here and hopefully we can start that at Southern Miss on Wednesday and at Kentucky this weekend."
Prior to getting swept by South Florida, USM had proven victorious in nine of its previous 12 outings after beginning the season 5-11. A solid team at the plate, the Golden Eagles have turned in a collective .285 clip at the plate. The Black and Gold's top eight hitters are all hitting .273 or better, led by junior Diane Hammes who has tallied a .330 (30-for-91) average this season to go along with three home runs and 15 RBI. Hammes is supported by three others hitting .302 or better.
From the circle, the Golden Eagles' three-armed staff has allowed its opponents to hit .325 ?€" a number which includes 59 extra-base hits. Danielle Hatfield (4-3, 3.58 ERA) paces the staff in both win-loss percentage and earned run average, but fellow senior Jessica Holaway has worked the most number of innings and will come into Wednesday holding a 5-5 record and a 3.70 ERA. Holaway has started and got the decision in four of the last five meetings between State and the Golden Eagles.
Although holding a commanding 20-8 series lead, Mississippi State has split the last eight meetings with the Black and Gold, including the last meeting in which Southern rallied for five runs in the top of the seventh to take the inaugural M&F Bank Faspitch Classic by an 8-5 count. Fifty percent of State's 28 series meetings with Southern Miss have been decided by two runs or less.
"We are like the World Series for them," Miller said. "This is one of their biggest games of the year in a lot of respects. You know that they are going to get up for us and you know that they are going to be ready to play. We've got to be ready as well."
Following Wednesday's non conference action, State will hit the road again this weekend, traveling to Lexington, Ky., to take on the Kentucky Wildcats in a three-game series at the UK Softball Complex. State will wrap up its SEC part of its road trip, April 2-3, in a three-game set at Auburn.
