State To Clash With Rebels In Pivotal Home Series
May 25, 2016 | Softball
SEC Softball Standings
Bulldogs Head Into Final Week Of Conference Slate
STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Having proven victorious in six of their last eight outings, the Mississippi State Softball team will return home this week as the Bulldogs host a rare midweek set against cross-state rival Mississippi in a pivotal Southeastern Conference series for both teams.
Separated by just one-and-a-half games in the latest SEC standings, the Bulldogs (28-22, 9-15 SEC) will look to keep a stranglehold on the eighth and final seed for the 2004 SEC Tournament to be played May 13-16 in Tuscaloosa, Ala. The two squads will meet each other for the 26th and 27th times in a 5 p.m. Tuesday evening doubleheader at the Mississippi State Softball Field and will follow with the series finale on Wednesday which has also been slated for a 5 p.m. first pitch
All three games of the set can be followed via a live statistics link at the official Internet home of Mississippi State athletics, www.MStateAthletics.com.
Mississippi State will return home for the first time in more than a week following a series victory at Arkansas in which the Bulldogs swept Saturday's doubleheader in Fayetteville, Ark. The Rebels (13-31, 6-15), who have conference series remaining at seventh place South Carolina and at second place Tennessee still remaining, will roll into Starkville having dropped all three games of its home series with current SEC leader LSU this past weekend.
Mississippi State leads a very competitive series by a 16-9 count, but the Rebels have snagged the last two meetings, both of which were won on walk-off home runs in Oxford. The Bulldogs are 9-2 in the series in games played in Starkville, with the Bulldogs last home loss to the Rebels coming in the form of a 6-0 decision on March 18, 2000.
"Overall, we have been playing our best ball of the season over the last couple of weeks," said Mississippi State head coach Jay Miller. "On Sunday, we had a little breakdown, defensively, in the sixth inning, but we played well enough to win. We didn't capitalize on some offensive situations that we had been and I thought we were a little tentative at the plate. But, overall, I have been pleased with where we are at after the last two weeks."
Having hit just .196 as a team, the Rebels have stayed competitive with outstanding performances from the pitching circle. Rookie Mary Jane Callahan (9-14, 1.86 ERA) has worked a majority of the innings for the Rebels this season and has limited opponents to a .228 batting clip by striking out 162 in 181 innings of work. Mississippi will support Callahan with sophomore Dana Brill (4-14, 2.81) who has limited opponents to a .293 batting average en route to eight complete games.
Offensively, the Rebels are led by the usual suspects. Junior DeDe Justics, who almost single handedly beat the Bulldogs last season with walk-off homers in games two and three of the Oxford set, leads her squad with a .295 (33-for-112) with 11 homers and 26 RBI. Senior Britte Hardy, who was 7-for-12 at the plate in Mississippi's series against LSU, follows closely behind Justice with a .289 (39-for-135) average that includes five extra-base hits and 19 runs scored.
"Their catcher, DeDe Justice, is a great talent," Miller said. "She beat us in two ballgames last year on big home runs in the last inning. We need to be careful with her and, hopefully, not get into a situation where she can beat us. Other than that, whenever you play Ole Miss, the records go out the window and things like that. You're going to have a battle in each and every game. That is what we are expecting from Ole Miss."
To counter the Rebel pitchers, State will bring the nation's 19th best scoring team into the series, led by Iyhia McMichael who has managed a phenomenal .472 (67-for-142) hitting clip with 32 extra-base hits, 34 RBI and 63 runs scored. Behind her, the Bulldogs are loaded, carrying three more regular starters hitting at or above .340. Waterman paces the RBI column (42) for the Maroon and White, while also hitting .340 (52-for-153) with 14 extra-base hits and 20 runs scored.
"These last 10 games are important for a variety of reasons," Miller said. "Right now, we are in eighth place and they only take eight to the SEC Tournament. Ole Miss is right behind us in ninth and, obviously, they are trying to get there as well. It is a key series that could solidify our ranking in the SEC and put us in the SEC Tournament.
"After that, Florida and Georgia Tech are both ranked teams. So, it's an opportunity for us to play quality competition at home. Those are games that help our RPI and will help us in consideration for postseason. If we can win some of those games, it gives you a leg up and a better shot of getting selected as an at-large team for the NCAA Tournament."
