Bulldogs Begin 10-Game Homestand Against UAB
May 25, 2016 | Softball
Live Game Stats
STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Coming off a promising weekend of play on the road, the Mississippi State softball team will return to Starkville this week as the Bulldogs begin a 10-game homestand by facing UAB in a twilight contest Tuesday at the MSU Softball Field.
Having already met on March 8 in Birmingham, Mississippi State (18-15) will welcome the Blazers (14-19) for the second half of a home-and-home doubleheader. Tuesday's non-conference match-up has been tabbed with a 6 p.m. first pitch and the game can be followed in progress via a live stats link at the official Internet home for the MSU athletic department, www.MStateAthletics.com. Admission to all 2005 Bulldog softball home games is also free.
Although suffering through its second consecutive conference series sweep on Saturday and Sunday in Knoxville, Tenn., against the sixth-ranked Lady Vols, MSU received a glimmer of hope with its play against the league's most prolific squad. The Bulldogs held down a lethal Tennessee batting order and forced beads of sweat from the brow of reigning SEC Pitcher of the Year Monica Abbott with late rallies in each of the first and third games of the set.
"You hope that we bounced back from a loss Thursday night with our performance against Tennessee, but it now depends on where we go from here," said Mississippi State head coach Jay Miller. "I thought we played with better consistency and we played a lot better from a defensive standpoint. I feel good with where we are at even though we lost a few. They key is though, what do we do with that from here on out."
In the earlier meeting between the Blazers and Bulldogs, State erased an early 2-0 deficit with eight third-inning runs en route to an 8-3 victory over the Green and Gold. In that game, the Maroon and White also got a 12-strikeout performance from sophomore righthander Stephanie Comeaux and shook off early miscues that led to a pair of UAB scores.
Like the previous meeting, UAB will be led into the contest by senior Sara Christophel who highlighted a 1-for-3 night at the plate with a solo home run two weeks ago against the Maroon and White. The Blazers, who are coming off a doubleheader sweep of Georgia State on Friday in Atlanta. The Green and Gold will carry a .215 hitting clip in Starkville.
From the circle, UAB could experiment a little this time around after freshmen Jennifer Nelson and Amanda Antonovich combined to walk 11 Mississippi State batters in the loss. State may see staff ace Erica Mascarenas (4-1, 1.65 ERA) who was battling an injury when MSU visited Birmingham.
"UAB is a quality team and you can't let your guard down against anybody you play," Miller said. "That's something we have struggled with a little bit throughout the course of the season. We need to keep that in mind when we come out Tuesday."
The Maroon and White will continue its 10-game homestand this weekend when it hosts Kentucky (12-22, 1-8 SEC) in a three-game set. The squads will renew their rivalry for the 22nd time on Friday at 6 p.m. before closing out the series with a 1 p.m. Saturday afternoon doubleheader.
