Bulldogs Close Out Regular Season Play At Kentucky
May 25, 2016 | Softball
Mississippi State (30-28, 4-22 SEC) will renew its series with Kentucky (21-33, 4-23) for the 25th time when the two squads lock horns in Saturday's series-opening doubleheader at 1 p.m. EDT and will close out the regular season on both ends in Sunday's set finale which has also been slated for a 1 p.m. first pitch. State leads the all-time series with the Wildcats by a 16-8 count, including a 6-4 mark in Lexington. The Maroon and White have also captured nine of the last 10 series meetings, including a current four-game winning streak against UK.
All three games of the weekend set will 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. The game can also be followed via live in-game statistics, as well as streaming audio, links at the official Internet home of the MSU athletic department, www.MStateAthletics.com. Admission to the UK Softball Complex is free.
With both sides having their aspirations for an SEC Tournament berth ended last weekend with South Carolina's series victory against Auburn, the ?€˜Dogs and Cats will put pride on the line when the two face each other in Lexington. State will also put something else on the line as it bids to record its 11th consecutive winning regular season, while also putting itself in line for its fifth consecutive invitation to the NCAA postseason.
Despite riding a current 20-game losing streak, the Bulldogs continue to receive a respectable RPI ranking by WarrenNolan.com. State is ranked 46th in the latest listing and have faced the country's 24th toughest schedule according to the website. MSU's tournament resume also includes wins over No. 16 Washington and No. 39 Long Beach State, as well as a pair of wins over Mississippi Valley State who received the SWAC's automatic bid by winning the tournament title on Sunday against Alcorn State.
I think we have an opportunity (for the NCAA postseason) if we go up to Kentucky and win some games, said Mississippi State head coach Jay Miller. If you look at where our RPI is, the teams we beat and the teams we have lost to, we're probably in better shape than we have been in the last couple of years. It all depends on who wins the other conferences. If the right teams win, they don't take up the at-large spots.
Sporting a .238 team batting clip, the Wildcats have just one .300 hitter on their squad, but possess a scattering of others that are threatening to topple that plateau. Junior catcher Katie Campbell paces the Cats with 18 extra-base hits and 41 RBI, while heading up the team with a .322 batting average. Four others, including junior Brooke Marnitz (.293, 5 HR, 17 RBI) have batting averages at or above the .274 mark.
From the circle, freshman Jessica Trueblood has grabbed a brunt of the work for Kentucky this season, turning in an 8-17 record and a 3.05 ERA while striking out 115 in 146.2 innings of work. The Wildcats will likely throw senior Amy Kendall (8-11, 3.67) this weekend as well. Kendall maintains a strikeout-to-walk ratio of better than 4-to-1.
I think that they have been struggling, especially in conference, and that gives us an opportunity, Miller said. Maybe this gives us a chance to get our offense going a little bit, get the pitching back on track and pick up some wins.
