Bulldogs Continue Seven-Game Homestand Against South Carolina
May 25, 2016 | Softball
The Bulldogs (25-7, 2-1 SEC) will renew their rivalry with South Carolina (21-10, 1-5) for the 31st time in a 1 p.m. Saturday afternoon doubleheader before closing out their weekend set with the series bookend on Sunday at 1 p.m. The first 50 fans to enter the ballpark for Saturday's opener will receive a gift pack courtesy of the MSU athletic department.
WMSV 91.1 FM will broadcast all three games live from the facility with Stephen Cole handling all the balls and strikes. Every pitch can also be followed in progress via a live stats link at the official Internet home of the Mississippi State athletic department, www.MStateAthletics.com.
South Carolina holds the all-time series lead by a 20-10 count including a 7-3 edge in Starkville. The Gamecocks have taken four of the last six meetings at the MSU Softball Field, but the teams split four meetings last season, including a 4-1 MState victory in an elimination contest in the SEC Tournament.
State pounded out 15 hits and crossed the plate 11 times in registering a twinbill sweep of the Delta Devilettes on Tuesday to begin their current homestand. South Carolina is fresh off home success as well, taking both ends of a Tuesday double dip with the College of Charleston, including a four-run comeback effort in game one.
I was disappointed with the way that we competed offensively and defensively against Valley, said Mississippi State head coach Jay Miller. I thought that we got quality pitching that kept us in the ball game, but I don't think we gave our pitchers the support we needed to. That is something that we have been working on to get ready for this weekend.
South Carolina is very well-coached in that they don't make a lot of mistakes and they don't beat themselves. They are always going to play you tough, so you have to play well and eliminate errors if you are going to be successful against them.
A balanced squad, the Gamecocks will be led into Starkville by an efficient offense, as well as with plenty of options from the circle. Sophomore outfielder Lisa Longo leads the USC effort in the batting order, having maintained a .318 (28-for-88) batting average with eight extra-base hits, 14 RBI and 11 runs scored, but is joined by two of her teammates hitting at or above the .293 mark. Freshman Ashton Payne (.295, 10 RBI) is the team's leading run producer with 21 on the strength of a perfect 12-for-12 mark on stolen base attempts, while junior McKenna Hughes (.293, 15 RBI) is tops in the RBI column on the shoulders of a team-best four home runs.
From the circle, the best option for USC looks to be freshman Christie Hamilton (10-6, 1.43 ERA) who has struck out 100 batters in 83 innings of work while holding opponents to a .193 batting clip. However, the Gamecocks do have three other options, including sophomore Kate Pouliot (3-1, 1.60) who possesses a strikeout-to-walk ratio of better than 7-to-1 (53-to-7).
Following this weekend's action, the Bulldogs will close out its seven-game homestand with a 2 p.m. Tuesday afternoon doubleheader against Middle Tennessee. State will then head to Hattiesburg on Wednesday for a 6 p.m. contest against Southern Miss, before returning home again next weekend for a three-game series against Florida.
