Bulldogs Back On Road To Battle Southern Miss
May 25, 2016 | Softball
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STARKVILLE, Miss. - After a week that saw it post a trio of wins over nationally ranked league opponents in the midst of a nine-game homestand, the Mississippi State softball team will take to the road once again as the Bulldogs head to Hattiesburg, Miss., to begin a four-game road trip at Southern Miss Wednesday evening.
Having already defeated the Golden Eagles (19-21) by a 9-0 count earlier this season in Starkville, the Bulldogs (24-18) will step out of conference to complete the home-and-home doubleheader with its intrastate foes. First pitch of the twilight matchup has been set for 6 p.m. at the Southern Miss Softball Complex.
The game can be heard live over the airwaves on WMSV 91.1 FM with Anthony Craven calling all the balls and strikes. The contest can also be followed in progress via a live stats link at the official home for the Mississippi State athletic department, www.MStateAthletics.com.
State is coming off a season-long nine-game homestand in which the Maroon and White posted a 6-3 clip with every victory coming in SEC play. The Bulldogs began the stand by posting a series sweep of Kentucky and closed it out with its first series victory over 25th-ranked LSU in school history before taking game two of its set with 23rd-ranked Auburn.
I felt we've gotten some progression from them over the past couple of weeks and I have been pleased for the most part, said Mississippi State head coach Jay Miller. However, when you have the opportunity to take a couple more and you lose them, it gets a little frustrating. But, overall, we did what we needed to do to get back into the SEC race a little bit and move up in the standings.
Like in its last meeting with the Maroon and White, Southern Miss will be led into Wednesday's matchup by a strong batting order which has been paced by a trio of hitters at or above the .311 mark. Second baseman Charity Butler leads the way on a .367 batting average with 15 RBI and 18 runs scored while Jessica Huerta, who missed most of the last game after colliding with one of her teammates in the first inning, has posted a bulk of the Golden Eagle power at the plate, tallying 16 extra-base hits and 26 RBI on a .361 batting average.
Freshman righthander Krystal Crooks, who did see any action against the Bulldogs earlier this season, currently paces USM's five-armed staff with a 10-6 record and a 3.08 ERA. Danielle Wymer, who took the loss against the Maroon and White after allowing four runs in two and one-thirds innings of work, ranks second on the team with an 8-11 record and a 4.13 ERA.
Southern Miss has dropped six of its last eight outings, including coming out on the wrong end of a three-game series at Louisville this past weekend. Since dropping its game in Starkville, the Golden Eagles have posted a10-13 clip.
In the contest between the two clubs just less than five weeks ago at the MSU Softball Field, Jennifer Jessup and Courtney Bures both hit home runs behind a three-hit shutout from senior righthander Melissa Massey to help Mississippi State cruise to the most lopsided win in its 31-game series with the Golden Eagles. Miller feels that, this time, the game could go a little differently in a hostile environment.
We've always had a tough time playing down in Hattiesburg, he said. Their fans are pretty rowdy and they get up for us. It's a tough place to go to and we have struggled down there in the past. We played them pretty strong earlier this year at our place, but you can't take that as a barometer of how it is going to be Wednesday.
Following Wednesday evening's contest in Hattiesburg, MSU will close out its short roadtrip this weekend when it heads to Tuscaloosa, Ala., for its annual clash with 11th-ranked Alabama at the Alabama Softball Complex. The two will renew their rivalry for the 31st time in a 1 p.m. Saturday afternoon doubleheader before closing out the weekend set on Sunday at 1:30 p.m.
