Bulldogs Head To Oklahoma For College Preview Tournament

Friday, March 24

Norman, Okla.

3:30 PM

Mississippi State

Louisiana Tech

The Dogs are in Oklahoma this weekend, taking on a trio of opponents for the College Preview Tournament.

Bulldogs Head To Oklahoma For College Preview Tournament

March 23, 2017 | Softball

Game Notes Live Stats Live Streaming vs. Oklahoma ($)Live Streaming vs. UAB

STARKVILLE, Miss. – Taking a weekend off from Southeastern Conference play, the Mississippi State Bulldogs (22-8) head to Oklahoma to face a trio of opponents in the College Preview Tournament.

The Dogs will face Louisiana Tech (20-10) at 3:30 p.m. CT and No. 13 Oklahoma (24-7) at 6 p.m., on Friday, March 24 at the OU Softball Complex in Norman, Okla. State will cap the weekend on Saturday, March 25 against UAB (11-17) at 12 p.m., in Oklahoma City at the ASA Hall of Fame Stadium.

Friday's contest against No. 13 Oklahoma will be live streamed on SoonerSports.TV, which requires a subscription. MSU's Saturday tilt against UAB will be live streamed courtesy of USA Softball.

This weekend will be a homecoming for MSU assistant coach Samantha Ricketts, who was a standout All-American for the Oklahoma Sooners from 2006-09. At the conclusion of her four-year Oklahoma playing career, Ricketts was the record holder in career home runs (48) and runs batted in (239) while ranking third in extra-base hits (97), total bases (444), slugging percentage (.645) and on-base percentage (.461). She started 192 consecutive games and ended her career as the Big 12 career RBI leader.

MSU is coming off a Wednesday night showdown at No. 23 Ole Miss, where the Rebels took a hard-fought 2-0 victory in Oxford.

State, which opened up at No. 27 in the first NCAA Softball RPI rankings of 2017, is led by the bats of Reggie Harrison (.369) and Bevia Robinson (.365). Harrison tops the team with 52 total bases, seven doubles, a .619 slugging percentage and a .490 on-base percentage, while Robinson paces State with 18 runs scored and 17 stolen bases. Both Harrison and Robinson top the Dogs with 31 hits.

The Bulldogs' success has been heavily fueled by their strong play in the circle through the first 30 games of the 2017 campaign. As a staff, MSU sports a 1.35 ERA, which ranks fifth in the SEC and 13^th in the NCAA. Senior lefty Alexis Silkwood has been the staff's leader, holding a 9-1 record and a 0.75 ERA that stands fourth in the league and 10^th nationally.

Two more non-conference tilts await the Bulldogs after this weekend. MSU will travel to Hattiesburg, Miss., on Tuesday, March 28 for a 6 p.m., matchup with Southern Miss. Then the Dogs will return home for a Wednesday, March 29 contest against Mississippi Valley State.

Weekend Schedule…
Friday, March 24 – Mississippi State vs. Louisiana Tech – 3:30 p.m. CT
Friday, March 24 – Mississippi State at No. 13 Oklahoma – 6 p.m. CT
Saturday, March 25 – Mississippi State vs. UAB – 12 p.m. CT

Last Time Out…
The Bulldogs fell in a tight 2-0 decision at No. 23 Ole Miss on Wednesday night. Ole Miss scored once in the first and another in the sixth and held off a number of MSU threats to pull out the victory.

Wednesday, March 22
No. 23 Ole Miss def. Mississippi State, 2-0 (Recap, Box Score)

Series History…

Against Louisiana Tech
Overall: Mississippi State leads, 10-9
At Neutral Site: First Meeting
Last Meeting: Mississippi State def. Louisiana Tech, 3-2 (April 13, 2016 in Ruston, La.)
Current Streak: Mississippi State, +10

Against Oklahoma
Overall: Oklahoma leads, 2-0
In Norman: First Meeting
Last Meeting: Oklahoma def. Mississippi State, 12-4 (6) (March 3, 2000 in Columbus, Ga.)
Current Streak: Oklahoma, +2

Against UAB
Overall: Mississippi State leads, 14-6
At Neutral Site: First Meeting
Last Meeting: UAB def. Mississippi State, 3-2 (March 29, 2016 in Starkville)
Current Streak: UAB, +3

Homecoming For Ricketts…
MSU assistant coach Samantha Ricketts will be making a homecoming this weekend when the Bulldogs play in Norman, Okla. Ricketts was an All-American at Oklahoma who at the conclusion of her career held the all-time school records in home runs (48) and runs batted in (239).

First RPI Rankings Of 2017 Released…
The Bulldogs come in at No. 27 in the first RPI rankings of the 2017 season. So far this year, the Dogs have earned two wins against Top 5 RPI teams (No. 2 Alabama and No. 4 Texas A&M) and a win against 30^th ranked Fresno State. Nine of State's wins this year have come against Top 100 programs.

State is 11^th among SEC programs in the RPI, as all 13 Southeastern Conference programs stand in the Top 45. It's ranking of No. 27 is the highest since coming in at No. 23 on April 12, 2015.

Dogs Got That Power…
The Bulldogs have tallied 14 home runs so far through the year, besting the nine they hit in the first 30 games of the 2016 season. State has put together three multi-home run contests through this season, while only having one all of last year and is just four away from tying last year's season total 18 bombs.

Pitching Staff On Fire…
State's pitching staff has been stellar through 29 games in 2017. The group's 1.35 ERA ranks fifth in the SEC and 13^th in the NCAA. Alexis Silkwood (0.75 ERA) is up to fourth in the SEC and 10^th in the nation.

Silk Rewriting The Record Books…
Senior lefty Alexis Silkwood has been putting her name all throughout the MSU record books since she arrived on campus in 2014. Now in her final year, she has already crowned herself the new MSU K Queen and is poised to take over several other categories...

- 1st in strikeouts (509)
- 1st in complete games (46)
- 1st in innings pitched (590.1)
- 2nd in wins (53)
- 3rd in starts (84)
- 3rd in appearances (126)
- T-3rd in shutouts (13)
- T-3rd in saves (8)

Ranked Wins Keep Coming…
Through 30 games, the Bulldogs have accumulated a trio of ranked wins, defeating No. 5 Texas A&M in College Station, No. 8 Alabama in Starkville and No. 21 Fresno State in Mexico. That ties last year's total and is the most since capturing seven ranked wins in 2015.

Vann Stuedeman now has at least one ranked win in all six years she has been at the helm of the Bulldog softball program and a total of 27 in six years. She is the only head coach since MSU reached varsity status in 1997 to have a ranked win in every year of their tenure. Stuedeman's 27 total ranked wins are second most in school history.

Late Innings, Our Innings…
Under the leadership of head coach Vann Stuedeman, State has been a force in the late innings and nothing is more evident of that than the 68 comeback wins the Bulldogs have amassed in her tenure.

MSU tallied 10 in 2016, including an early-season comeback against No. 23 South Alabama and another against No. 11 LSU at home. State has eight come-from-behind victories so far in 2017, including walk-off victories against Stephen F. Austin on Feb. 11 and Samford on March 4.

These Dogs Don't Roll Over…
During the Vann Stuedeman era, Mississippi State has won four games versus top-five opponents during 2014, two in 2015, one in 2016 and one so far in 2017. Prior to the set versus No. 3 Alabama on April 11-13, 2014, the Bulldogs had won five games in program history versus top-five opponents. A closer look at MSU's wins against top-five foes:

Date                             Opponent                    Score (Innings)
Feb. 9, 2002                No. 1 Arizona             W, 7-1
March 19, 2002          No. 4 LSU                   W, 8-7 (11)
April 24, 2011 No. 4 Tennessee          W, 3-2
April 7, 2013               No. 3 Florida             W, 6-5
April 19, 2013 No. 4 Alabama            W, 3-2
April 12, 2014 No. 3 Alabama            W, 4-2
April 13, 2014 No. 3 Alabama            W, 4-3 (10)
April 18, 2014 No. 4 Tennessee          W, 2-0
April 20, 2014 No. 4 Tennessee          W, 11-7
March 29, 2015          No. 2 Florida             W, 5-3
April 8, 2015               No. 1 LSU                   W, 9-4
March 19, 2016          No. 3 Auburn             W, 6-3
March 10, 2017          No. 5 Texas A&M      W, 5-2

Weather…
Friday's Forecast (March 24) – Partly Cloudy/Windy, 77 Degrees (0%)
Saturday's Forecast (March 25) – Sunny, 71 Degrees (0%)

Live Stream…
Friday's showdown against Oklahoma and Saturday's contest against UAB will be live streamed online. Friday's game will be streamed on SoonerSports.TV, which requires a subscription. Saturday's game will be streamed for free courtesy of USA Softball.

Mississippi State at Oklahoma Live Stream
Mississippi State vs. UAB Live Stream

Live Stats…
Live stats will be provided for all three games this weekend. They can be found in the link below.

College Preview Tournament Live Stats

Admission…
Tickets for games at the OU Softball Complex are $8 for adult general admission and $5 for youth and senior citizens (ages 6-18 and ages 55+). Children ages 5 and under will be admitted free of charge.

Tickets for Saturday's game at the ASA Hall of Fame Stadium are $5 for youth admission and $8 for general admission.

Oklahoma Sooners Ticket Information
ASA Hall of Fame Stadium Ticket Information

On Deck…
Two more non-conference tilts await the Bulldogs after this weekend. MSU will travel to Hattiesburg, Miss., on Tuesday, March 28 for a 6 p.m., matchup with Southern Miss. Then the Dogs will return home for a Wednesday, March 29 contest against Mississippi Valley State.

Social Media…
For more on Mississippi State softball, follow the Bulldogs on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram by searching for "HailStateSB." You can also find all-access coverage of the program on SnapChat by searching for "HailStateSnap".