No. 22 'Dogs Battle Mississippi Valley State In Tuesday Double Dip
May 25, 2016 | Softball
State and Valley will meet one another for the sixth time in Starkville in a 5 p.m. first pitch. Both games can be followed in progress via a live statistics link at the official Internet home for the Mississippi State athletic department, www.MStateAthletics.com. Admission to all 2006 MSU Softball home games is free.
The Bulldogs (23-7) took their first SEC series of the season this past weekend in Fayetteville, Ark., by capturing both ends of a Saturday doubleheader, before dropping the series finale on the heels of three third-inning errors that led to a trio of Lady ?€˜Back runs. Saturday's twinbill sweep of UA was highlighted by junior righthander Stephanie Comeaux's second no-hitter of the season, as well as the first for the Bulldogs against an SEC opponent.
Mississippi Valley State (6-20) dropped its first 12 games of the current campaign but, especially as of late, has rebounded to post a 6-8 mark since, including capturing five of its last seven. The Delta Devilettes took all four games of its SWAC-opening series at Prairie View A&M over the weekend, outscoring the Panthers by a combined 39-9 in the process.
The Maroon and White has taken all five of its series meetings with Valley, with every victory coming by way of shutout. MState defeated the Delta Devilettes 15-0 and 8-0 in two meetings last season.
Our challenge now is playing the game at the best level that we can play at, regardless of the competition, said Mississippi State head coach Jay Miller. For the most part, we have done a good job with that this season. We lost concentration a little bit on Sunday (against Arkansas), but tomorrow will give us a chance of getting that concentration back and getting back on track a little bit as we get ready for South Carolina this weekend.
Sporting a .234 team batting clip, the Delta Devilettes have been paced offensively by first team preseason all-SWAC selection Balencia Young who is currently maintaining a team-high .324 (22-for-68) batting average with four RBI and 11 runs scored. Young, a North Little Rock, Ark., native, is also 11-for-17 on stolen base attempts. Junior Nakelya Moragne (.367, 2 RBI) is Valley's best power option with a pair of extra-base hits and a .467 slugging percentage.
Junior Jalana Brown, who was also selected to the preseason all-conference first team, has been the Delta Devilettes' best option from the circle where the Lithonia, Ga., native has posted a 3-7 record and a 3.83 ERA with 33 strikeouts in 67.2 innings pitched. Valley will likely go with Nicole Henderson (1-6, 5.46) in game two on Tuesday.
Following Tuesday's twinbill in Starkville, the Bulldogs will continue its homestand this weekend when it welcomes SEC East rival South Carolina (19-10, 1-5 SEC) to Starkville. MState and the Gamecocks will renew their rivalry for the 31st time in a 1 p.m. Saturday afternoon doubleheader before closing out the set on Sunday with a 1 p.m. single game.
