State Hosts Arkansas In Regular Season Finale; To Honor Seniors On Saturday
May 25, 2016 | Softball
With a victory, State will clinch the No. 5 seed in next week's SEC Tournament. MSU can still take over the No. 4 seed with a sweep of Arkansas and a Kentucky sweep of Florida.
Mississippi State leads the all-time series with Arkansas, 23-14. In Starkville, MSU leads 12-5 while in Fayetteville, the Bulldogs lead 10-7. Arkansas leads 2-1 when played on a neutral field. Last year, State took two out of three games. MSU won the first two games, 5-0 and 5-2, before dropping the finale, 4-2. Mississippi State has outscored the Lady Razorbacks, 121-87, and have won five of the last six meetings.
Freshman Chelsea Bramlett continues to make her mark in her short collegiate career. The Cordova, Tenn. native currently leads the conference in stolen bases with 45, which sets a new MSU single-season record, and also leads in hits with 77. She is also tied for second in runs (51) and eighth with a .399 batting average.
Kelli Miller leads the Bulldogs from the mound with a 15-9 record and a1.87 ERA. In 138.2 innings of work, the senior has struck out 74 batters. Kelsey Nurnberg is 7-5 with a 2.76 ERA and 46 strikeouts in 99.0 innings of work. Sara Hickerson currently leads the SEC in saves with nine.
The Lady Razorbacks are coming off a three-game sweep at the hands of Georgia. As a team, UA is hitting .223 with 43 doubles and 26 home runs. Arkansas has also stolen 53 bases in just 66 attempts. Offensively, the Lady Razorbacks are led by Jessica Bachkora. The freshman is hitting .291 with ten doubles, five triples and 16 RBI. She has also scored 30 runs. Whitney Cloer is hitting .280 with six home runs, seven doubles and 25 RBI.
From the pitching circle, Arkansas is led primarily by two pitchers. Katy Henry leads the team with a 13-20 record and a 3.56 ERA. She also has 20 complete games, while striking out 218 batters in 218.0 innings. Miranda Dixon is 4-16 with a 2.78 ERA with 89 strikeouts in 136.0 innings. Opponents are hitting .275 against Lady'Back pitching.
Following this weekend's action, the Bulldogs will travel to Auburn for the SEC Softball Tournament, May 10-12.
