Bulldogs Host Midweek Tilt With Southern Miss
May 25, 2016 | Softball
The Bulldogs (18-3) and Golden Eagles (12-15) will renew their rivalry for the 33rd time in a series currently led by the Maroon and White, 23-9. Every play of the contest can be followed via a live in-game stats link at the official Internet home of the Mississippi State athletic department, www.MStateAthletics.com. Admission to all 2006 MSU Softball home games is free.
It's sort of a rivalry game for both teams, said Mississippi State head coach Jay Miller. We are two of the big three Division I schools in the state of Mississippi. It's a fun game to play and we enjoy competing with them. Having gone to the home-and-home doubleheader a couple of years ago, whether it's here or us going down there, the games are fun to watch and very competitive.
Some of the players have played with and against each other and are very familiar with one another in that respect. Plus, I've known (USM head coach) Gay (McNutt) for years since she was a player at Texas A&M, so it's fun to renew that acquaintance as well.
Ripe from a weekend that saw Mississippi State compete with some of the nation's best while battling a sneaky flu bug that affected nearly half of the squad, the Bulldogs will face a red-hot Southern Miss squad on Tuesday as well. After dropping eight of their first nine outings of the season, the Golden Eagles have rebounded to win 11 of their last 17, including an upset win over then-#7 Alabama in Hattiesburg on February 22.
State extended its school-record winning streak out to 16 with a 3-0 victory over #13 Washington in its Compass Bank Invitational opener on Friday afternoon, before having the streak snapped on the shoulders of a tough 1-0 loss to 18th-ranked Baylor later that evening. The Bulldogs rebounded with a pair of wins against a surprisingly strong Bowling Green squad to close out the weekend with a 3-3 mark. BGSU upset the Huskies on Sunday as well.
Sporting a .241 team batting clip, USM will be led into Starkville by sophomore outfielder Jennifer Fox who maintains a .347 (26-for-75) average with eight extra-base hits, 16 RBI and 11 runs scored. Two other players * Allison Bullard and Charity Butler * carry hitting clips at or above .305, while Ashley Brenan has scored a team-best 17 runs to go along with a .813 stolen base percentage (13-for-16).
From the circle, freshman righthander Lacey Gros (8-8, 3.27 ERA) has made appearances in 18 of 27 outings for the Golden Eagles this season and leads a contingent of five arms that have combined to record a 3.48 cumulative ERA. That same staff is 1-3 with a respectable 2.15 ERA against SEC squads on the campaign though.
