Bulldogs Travel To Hattiesburg For Rematch With Southern Miss
May 25, 2016 | Softball
The Bulldogs (29-8) and Golden Eagles (17-21) will renew their rivalry for the 34th time Tuesday evening in a 6 p.m. contest at the USM Softball Complex. Game action can be followed in-progress via a live stats link at the official Internet home for the MSU athletic department, www.MStateAthletics.com. The game will also be broadcast live from the facility on WMSV 91.1 FM with Stephen Cole handling all the balls and strikes and Todd Anderson providing color commentary.
Southern Miss snapped MState's school record 13-game home winning streak with a 2-0 victory over the Bulldogs earlier this month in Starkville. In that outing, USM righthanders Krystal Crooks and Lacey Gros combined for a three-hit shutout and the Golden Eagles plated a pair of runs off an errant throw in the top of the fifth to provide the game's only runs. The triumph helped the Golden Eagles snap a three-game losing streak to the Bulldogs.
Mississippi State has dropped two of three meetings with the Golden Eagles in Hattiesburg, but took the last match-up at the USM Softball Complex on a 5-2 decision last season. The Bulldogs lead the overall series by a 23-10 count, including a dominant 16-2 run against USM from 1982-86.
On the shoulders of 24 hits, including 13 in the nightcap, State swept a pair of outings with visiting Middle Tennessee, 9-3 and 13-1, on Tuesday afternoon in Starkville. Southern Miss plated 28 runs in a three-game series win at UTEP over the weekend, including a 14-1 win in the opener of the set. The Golden Eagles are scheduled to kick off a seven-game homestand with a doubleheader against Nicholls State on Wednesday evening.
We were a little impatient at the plate the first time we played them and we got a little bit ahead of ourselves and pressed a little bit, said Mississippi State head coach Jay Miller. We made some defensive mistakes that cost us some runs and we just couldn't get on track offensively. Hopefully that's something we can change when we go down there. I thought we did a lot better in (Tuesday's) games in terms of being patient at the plate and doing the thing we need to do to be successful.
(Hattiesburg) is a tough place to play at. Their fans come out and they are very supportive and vocal. It's been a very tough place for us to play at over the years.
Southern Miss has dropped six of 10 meetings since making the trip to Starkville three weeks ago, while State has compiled a 10-4 record in that same time frame. The Golden Eagles have a .250 team batting clip and a 3.10 cumulative ERA over the last three weeks, while the Bulldogs are hitting .290 and have a team pitching mark of 1.28.
Following Thursday's action in Hattiesburg, the Bulldogs will return home again this weekend when they suit up to host SEC East rival Florida (27-12, 6-5 SEC) in a three-game series at the MSU Softball Field. First pitch of Saturday's series opening doubleheader has been slated for 1 p.m., with Sunday's finale also scheduled for a 1 p.m. start time. Admission to all 2006 MSU Softball home games is free.
