Road-Weary Bulldogs Begin Seven-Game Homestand Against No. 4 Tennessee
May 25, 2016 | Softball
STARKVILLE, Miss. - With the hopes that the home fires can cure their April blues, the Mississippi State softball team will return to Starkville for the first time in nearly three weeks when the Bulldogs begin a seven-game homestand on Saturday and Sunday by hosting fourth-ranked Tennessee in a three-game series at the MSU Softball Field.
The Bulldogs (30-22, 4-16 SEC) and the Big Orange (44-6, 15-6) will square off against one another for the 26th time in a series-opening 1 p.m. Saturday afternoon doubleheader, before wrapping up the set on Sunday with the weekend finale in a live television broadcast at 1:06 p.m.
All three games of the weekend string will be broadcast live from State's home facility on WMSV 91.1 FM with Stephen Cole handling all the balls and strikes. Sunday's game has been slated for a regional television broadcast on Fox SportsNet South as part of its SEC-TV package.
The Lady Volunteers lead the all-time series by a 15-10 count, including a 5-4 edge in Starkville. Tennessee has captured nine of the last 11 in the series, including four wins over the Maroon and White last season.
"Obviously, Monica (Abbott) is the premier pitcher in the conference because she has been so dominant on the mound for them," said Mississippi State head coach Jay Miller. "They also hit the ball extremely well throughout their lineup so you have to pitch smart against them and play very good defense.
"We are looking forward to coming back home after being on the road for so long. It doesn't get any easier for us though with Tennessee and Alabama coming in. Those are going to be tough, tough series and you have to play your best to compete. We've got a challenge ahead of us."
Toting the nation's top-ranked team batting average (.361), Tennessee features four batters hitting at or above the .408 mark, with three others carrying batting clips at .325 or better. Six of those individuals have tallied 29 or more RBI this season, including sophomore Tonya Callahan who paces the Lady Vols in home runs (10), while leading the SEC with 57 RBI. Senior outfielder Sarah Fekete has maintained a league-leading .500 (72-for-144) batting average (.500), while junior infielder Lindsay Schutzler ranks second among SEC leaders with 56 runs scored.
From the circle, the Big Orange has had very little weakness exposed. Toting the nation's top team earned run average as well, UT is led from the circle by junior southpaw Monica Abbott (32-5, 0.56 ERA) who leads the nation in victories, while ranking sixth in strikeouts per seven innings (12.1). Behind Abbott, sophomore righthander Megan Rhodes is 12-1 with a 1.29 ERA. Abbott has been the pitcher of record in 20 of UT's last 23 outings.
Following this weekend's action against Tennessee, State will continue its seven-game march at home against cross-state nemesis Ole Miss on Wednesday. First pitch of the series finale between the Rebels and the Bulldogs has been slated for 6 p.m. at the MSU Softball Field. Admission to all 2006 Bulldog softball home games is free.
