MSU Closes Out Non-Conference Play At Alcorn State

Tuesday, April 18

Lorman, Miss.

3:00 PM

Mississippi State

Alcorn State

The Bulldogs look to keep their hot streak going as they head to west Mississippi to take on Alcorn State on Tuesday.

MSU Closes Out Non-Conference Play At Alcorn State

April 17, 2017 | Softball

Game Notes Live Stats

STARKVILLE, Miss. – Having won five of their last seven, the Mississippi State Bulldogs (31-14) will look to keep their hot streak rolling as they head across the state to take on Alcorn State (15-24) on Tuesday night in Lorman, Miss.

First pitch for the Bulldogs' final non-conference contest of the 2017 season is set for 3 p.m. CT, from the Alcorn Softball Complex. Live stats will be available at www.sidearmstats.com/alcorn/softball. Fans can also follow the action on Twitter at @HailStateSB.

This will be the sixth meeting between the two programs, with MSU holding a perfect 5-0 advantage in the series. This will just the second time in the Vann Stuedeman era that the two programs have met, with State capturing an 8-0 five-inning victory last season in Starkville.

State is looking to keep momentum rolling after winning back-to-back SEC series, defeating South Carolina on Super Bulldog Weekend and most recently taking two from No. 19 Georgia in Athens.

Leading the Bulldogs has been the scorching hot play of senior Caroline Seitz, who unloaded for a spectacular weekend in Athens. She finished the the Georgia series 7-for-10 with 14 RBIs, four home runs (two grand slams), four runs scored, a scorching 1.900 slugging percentage and a .667 OBP. She became the first in school history to hit four home runs in an SEC weekend series and the first Bulldog since Mackenzie Toler (May 2, 2015 at South Carolina) to hit two home runs in a game.

With the four homers, Seitz now has 34 for her career, which places her third in Mississippi State history. She is three from tying second place and 10 from tying for the school record.

On the defensive side has been the performance of the Bulldog pitchers. As a staff, MSU sports a 1.73 ERA, which ranks sixth in the SEC and 16^th in the NCAA. Senior Alexis Silkwood, who now holds the MSU all-time records for wins (57), strikeouts (536), innings pitched (632.0), complete games (49) and appearances (136) leads the way with a 1.50 ERA (13^th SEC, 41^st NCAA).

Cassady Knudsen has also been a stud for the Dogs, shining when it comes to hits allowed and strikeouts. Knudsen is third in both the conference and the nation with 2.96 hits allowed per seven frames, while her 9.0 strikeouts per seven innings average is fourth in the SEC and 19^th nationally.

The Bulldogs return home after four games on the road to host the Arkansas Razorbacks, as MSU looks for its third-straight SEC series victory. All three games of the Saturday-Sunday-Monday series will be nationally televised on the SEC Network. Mark Neely and Jenny Dalton-Hill will have the call for all three contests.

Last Time Out…
The Bulldogs captured their second-straight SEC series victory this past weekend, taking down No. 19 Georgia in Athens. Leading the way was senior Caroline Seitz, who tallied four total home runs on the weekend, including grand slams in the first two games of the series. The series win was the first for MSU against UGA since 2008 and the first in Athens since 2007.

Friday, April 14
Mississippi State def. No. 19 Georgia, 9-4 (Recap, Box Score)

Saturday, April 15
No. 19 Georgia def. Mississippi State, 7-6 (Recap, Box Score)

Sunday, April 16
Mississippi State def. No. 19 Georgia, 5-2 (Recap, Box Score)

Series History…

Against Alcorn State
Overall: Mississippi State leads, 5-0
In Lorman: First Meeting
Last Meeting: Mississippi State def. Alcorn State, 8-0 (5) (May 9, 2016 in Starkville)
Current Streak: Mississippi State, +5

Leading The Bulldogs…

Batting Average: Reggie Harrison (.354)
Slugging Percentage: Reggie Harrison (.567)
On-Base Percentage: Reggie Harrison (.474)
Runs: Bevia Robinson (32)
Hits: Reggie Harrison (45)
RBI: Caroline Seitz (34)
Doubles: Reggie Harrison (11)
Triples: Four with (2)
Home Runs: Caroline Seitz (6)
Stolen Bases: Bevia Robinson (27)
ERA: Alexis Silkwood (1.50)
Opposing Batting Average: Cassady Knudsen (.131)
Innings Pitched: Alexis Silkwood (125.2)
Strikeouts: Alexis Silkwood (89)

MSU In The RPI…
The Bulldogs come in at No. 34 in this week's RPI rankings. So far this year, the Dogs have earned wins against Texas A&M (No. 5), Alabama (No. 14), South Carolina (No. 22), Georgia (No. 26) and Fresno State (No. 46). So far this year, 11 of State's wins this year have come against Top 100 programs.

Stuedeman, The Mississippi Queen…
MSU head coach Vann Stuedeman has been a dominant force when it comes to taking on in-state foes. In her six years, she is 29-5 against opponents from the state of Mississippi. She is also 1-0 against Alcorn State in her time as the Bulldog leader.

Non-Conference Domination…
With a win on Tuesday, the Bulldogs can close the 2017 season with 26 non-conference wins and a 26-5 record. That would match MSU's 2015 total of 25 non-conference victories, when the squad finished 26-7 outside of SEC play.

Six Runs Is The Key…
For the Bulldog offense, getting to six runs on the scoreboard usually means victory. This season, State is 14-1 when scoring at least six runs and 2-0 when putting up 10-plus runs on the board.

On the flip side, when Stuedeman's squad holds opponents to two runs or less, they are 24-3 this season.

Dogs Got That Power…
The Bulldogs have tallied 20 home runs so far through the year, which bests the 18 MSU had last season. MSU also has four multi-homer games this season after having just one throughout the entire 2016 campaign.

Pitching Staff On Fire…
State's pitching staff has been stellar so far in 2017. The group's 1.73 ERA ranks sixth in the SEC and 16^th in the NCAA. Alexis Silkwood leads the staff with a 1.50 ERA, which stands 13^th in the SEC and 41^st in the NCAA.

Adding to State's pitching dominance has been Cassady Knudsen's impressive performance from the circle this year. The junior has allowed just 2.96 hits per seven innings, which is third in both the SEC and the NCAA. Her 9.0 strikeouts per seven frames stands fourth in the league and 19^th nationally.

Seitz Coming Off Monster Weekend In Athens…
To say that Seitz had an impressve weekend would be an understatement to most, as the senior finished the the Georgia series 7-for-10 with 14 RBIs, four home runs (two grand slams), four runs scored, a scorching 1.900 slugging percentage and a .667 OBP. She became the first in school history to hit four home runs in an SEC weekend series and became the first Bulldog since Mackenzie Toler (May 2, 2015 at South Carolina) to hit two home runs in a game.

With Sunday's two home runs, Seitz now has 34 bombs for her career. She is three away from tying Iyhia McMichael (2001-04) for second place and 10 short of tying Kellie Wilkerson (1999-02) for MSU's all-time record.

Also of note is the major jump in batting average Seitz made. The senior started the weekend with a .268 clip and finished with a .301 average, making it five Dogs with .300-plus averages.

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, became the first pitcher in Bulldog history to record over 500 strikeouts and 600.0 innings pitched. During Super Bulldog Weekend, she captured her 56^th-career victory, making her the all-time winningest pitcher in MSU history and against Georgia made her 136^th-career appearance, taking over first in that category as well.

- 1st in wins (57)
- 1st in strikeouts (536)
- 1st in complete games (49)
- 1st in innings pitched (632.0)
- 1st in appearances (136)
- 2nd in starts (90)
- T-3rd in shutouts (13)
- T-3rd in saves (8)

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 70 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 14 come-from-behind victories so far in 2017, including walk-off victories against Stephen F. Austin on Feb. 11, Samford on March 4 and Louisiana Tech on March 24.

The Dogs are also 22-0 when leading after five and 20-0 when leading after six frames. In games tied after five, State is 3-2, while going 2-1 when tied after six.

Weather…
Tuesday's Forecast (April 18) – Mostly Cloudy, 83 Degrees (20%)

Live Stats…
Alcorn State will provide live stats for Tuesday's game. They can be found in the link below.

Mississippi State at Alcorn State Live Stats

Admission…
Admission to Tuesday's game at the Alcorn Softball Complex is free.

Up Next…
The Bulldogs return home after four games on the road to host the Arkansas Razorbacks, as MSU looks for its third-straight SEC series victory. All three games of the Saturday-Sunday-Monday series will be nationally televised on the SEC Network. Mark Neely and Jenny Dalton-Hill will have the call for all three contests.

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".