Bulldogs Head To No. 9 Auburn For Final Regular Season Road Trip

Friday, April 28

Auburn, Ala.

6:00 PM

Mississippi State

#9 Auburn

The Bulldogs hit the road for the final time during the 2017 regular season, heading to No. 9 Auburn for a weekend series.

Bulldogs Head To No. 9 Auburn For Final Regular Season Road Trip

April 27, 2017 | Softball

Game Notes SEC Network + (Friday)SEC Network + (Saturday)SEC Network + (Sunday)Live Stats

STARKVILLE, Miss. – For the final time in the 2017 regular season, the Mississippi State Bulldogs (34-15, 8-10 SEC) will hit the road, traveling to No. 9 Auburn (40-8, 12-6 SEC) for a weekend showdown on The Plains.

All three contests of the series will be live streamed on SEC Network +. First pitch for the series opening two games on Friday and Saturday are set for 6 p.m. CT, while Sunday's series finale will start at 1 p.m. Fans can access the broadcasts online through WatchESPN.com or the ESPN app.

The Bulldogs and Tigers have met 60 times in history, with the Maroon and White holding a 31-29 advantage in the series. While State holds the overall series lead, Auburn has the advantage on its home turf, 15-13.

State is looking for its fourth-straight SEC series win this weekend, a feat that hasn't been accomplished since 2004 (No. 10 Alabama, at Arkansas, Ole Miss, No. 17 Florida). Leading MSU to their third-straight series win was the hot bat of Sarai Niu and the stellar pitching of Alexis Silkwood. Niu tallied a pair of home runs, hitting one in back-to-back games for the first time in her career. Silkwood picked up a save in Saturday's game and earned the win in the series finale to secure the series victory.

Her save on Saturday moved her season total to five (1^st in SEC, 3^rd in NCAA) and career number to nine, which puts her in sole possession of third in the MSU record book.

Adding to Silkwood's spectacular weekend, she became the 13^th Bulldog to reach the pros after being taken in the fifth round (24^th overall pick) by the Akron Racers in the NPF Draft.

Pacing the MSU offense has been senior Caroline Seitz, who was named the SEC, Louisville Slugger NFCA and USA Softball Player of the Week last week. She became just the second player in school history to win all three major weekly awards in the same week, joining former MSU All-American Iyhia McMichael (2004). Seitz, whose .352 average in SEC play leads the team, has driven in 19 runs in her last nine games.

Along with Seitz, the Maroon and White are paced by Bevia Robinson, whose .333 clip leads all players throughout every game this year.

On the defensive side of things, the Bulldog pitching staff has been phenomenal so far in 2017. The group's 1.73 ERA ranks seventh in the SEC and 18^th in the NCAA. The staff's ERA is currently the lowest since recording a 0.81 ERA during the 2006 campaign.

Silkwood leads MSU with a 1.59 ERA (15^th SEC, 46^th NCAA). Also dominating has been Cassady Knudsen, who is fourth in the SEC, seventh in NCAA with 3.50 hits allowed per seven innings and fourth in the SEC and 24^th nationally with 8.7 strikeouts per seven frames.

The 2017 regular season comes to a close next weekend, as State wraps up the slate with a home series against the Kentucky Wildcats (May 5-7). The series' first two games will be nationally televised on SEC Network, while Sunday's regular-season finale will be live streamed on SEC Network +.

Series Schedule At No. 9 Auburn…
Friday, April 28 – Mississippi State at No. 9 Auburn (6 p.m. CT)
Saturday, April 29 – Mississippi State at No. 9 Auburn (6 p.m. CT)
Sunday, April 30 – Mississippi State at No. 9 Auburn (1 p.m. CT)

Last Time Out…
The Bulldogs picked up their third-straight SEC series win after taking the Saturday and Monday games from the 24^th-ranked Arkansas Razorbacks last weekend at Nusz Park. It marks the first time since 2014 that MSU has captured three-straight series victories in league play.

Saturday, April 22
Mississippi State def. No. 24 Arkansas, 3-0 (Recap, Box Score)

Sunday, April 23
No. 24 Arkansas def. Mississippi State, 5-4 (Recap, Box Score)

Monday, April 24
Mississippi State def. No. 24 Arkansas, 4-3 (Recap, Box Score)

Series History…

Against Auburn
Overall: Mississippi State leads, 31-29
In Auburn: Auburn leads, 15-13
Last Meeting: Auburn def. Mississippi State, 2-0 (March 20, 2016 in Starkville)
Current Streak: Auburn, +1

Leading The Bulldogs…

Batting Average: Bevia Robinson (.333)
Slugging Percentage: Reggie Harrison (.522)
On-Base Percentage: Reggie Harrison (.450)
Runs: Bevia Robinson (37)
Hits: Bevia Robinson & Kat Moore (46)
RBI: Caroline Seitz (38)
Doubles: Reggie Harrison (11)
Triples: Four players with (2)
Home Runs: Caroline Seitz (6)
Stolen Bases: Bevia Robinson (28)
ERA: Alexis Silkwood (1.59)
Opposing Batting Average: Cassady Knudsen (.151)
Innings Pitched: Alexis Silkwood (136.1)
Strikeouts: Alexis Silkwood (95)

MSU In The RPI…
The Bulldogs moved up No. 32 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. 24), Arkansas (No. 26) and Georgia (No. 28). So far this year, 14 of State's wins this year have come against Top 100 programs.

Racking Up Series Wins…
Mississippi State just keeps winning when it comes to SEC series, as the Dogs claimed their third-straight conference series win last weekend against No. 24 Arkansas. MSU won three-straight SEC series for the first time since 2014, when they defeated No. 3 Alabama, No. 4 Tennessee and Arkansas in consecutive weekends.

Silkwood To The Pros…
Monday night was one of the books for MSU senior Alexis Silkwood. Along with picking up win No. 13 on the year and securing State's third-straight SEC series win, the East Alton, Ill., native was drafted in the fifth round (24^th overall) by the Akron Racers in the 2017 NPF Draft.

Silkwood becomes the 13^th Bulldog to reach the pros, with MSU's most recent addition being former standout and current student assistant Kayla Winkfield. Winkfield was drafted last year by the Pennsylvania Rebellion and signed over the offseason with the Scrap Yard Dawgs.

Seitz Caps Insane Week…
Last week, Caroline Seitz reeled in SEC Player of the Week, Louisville Slugger NFCA National Player of the Week and USA Softball Collegiate Co-Player of the Week honors. Seitz became just the second player in school history to receive the NFCA, USA Softball and SEC honors in the same week. Former MSU All-American Iyhia McMichael did the same in 2004.

The Birmingham, Ala., native became just the second player in Mississippi State history to earn the NFCA weekly honor, joining former MSU All-American Iyhia McMichael, who won the award twice in her career (April 1, 2003 and Feb. 25, 2004). She is also the third player in program history to earn the USA Softball weekly honor. The last Bulldog to receive the award was current MSU director of operations Jessica Cooley (March 6, 2012). McMichael was the first in State's history to receive the honor, earning it on Feb. 24, 2004.

The MSU senior is the 18th Bulldog to receive the SEC's Player of the Week award and first since 2012. That year Ka'ili Smith (March 5) and Cooley (April 16) earned the award. The weekly conference laurel is the first for Seitz in her career. She is the first MSU player to earn any SEC weekly honor since teammate Alexis Silkwood pulled in two SEC Pitcher of the Week awards during the 2015 season.

After last weekend, Seitz's hot play has continued, as she is riding a career-high 11-game hitting streak. She has accumulated 19 RBI in her last nine contests.

Pitching Staff On Fire…
State's pitching staff has been stellar through 49 games in 2017. The group's 1.73 ERA ranks seventh in the SEC and 18th in the NCAA. Alexis Silkwood leads MSU with a 1.59 ERA (15th SEC, 46th NCAA). The staff's ERA is on track to be the first sub-2.00 ERA since recording a 0.81 average in 2006.

Also dominating has been Cassady Knudsen, who is fourth in the SEC, seventh in the NCAA with 3.50 hits allowed per seven innings and fourth in the SEC and 24th nationally with 8.7 strikeouts per seven frames.

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 56th-career victory, making her the all-time winningest pitcher in MSU history and against Georgia made her 136th-career appearance, taking over first in that category as well.

- 1st in wins (58)
- 1st in strikeouts (542)
- 1st in complete games (50)
- 1st in innings pitched (642.2)
- 1st in appearances (139)
- 2nd in starts (91)
- 3rd in saves (9)
- T-3rd in shutouts (13)

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 15 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 rallied from two down against Southern Miss on March 28, scoring three in the seventh to take the lead and the win.

The Dogs are also 25-1 when leading after five and 23-0 when leading after six frames.

We Got That Power…
The Bulldogs have tallied 23 home runs so far through the year, besting the 18 they hit throughout the entire 2016 season. State has put together four multi-home run contests through this season, while only having one all of last year.

Last weekend, two more Bulldogs made their way onto the Bulldog home run chart for 2017. Kat Moore earned her first-career home run on Saturday night, while Sarai Niu earned a home run on Sunday and Monday, marking the first time in her career she's hit a homer in back-to-back games. She now has five blasts for her career.

Ranked Wins Keep Coming…
With victories against No. 21 Fresno State in Mexico, at No. 5 Texas A&M, against No. 8 Alabama and two at No. 19 Georgia and versus No. 24 Arkansas, Stuedeman now has at least one ranked win in all six years she has been at the helm of the Bulldog softball program. She is the only head coach since MSU reached varsity status in 1997 to have a ranked win in every year of their tenure.

Weather…
Friday's Forecast (April 28) – Partly Cloudy, 81 degrees (20%)
Saturday's Forecast (April 29) – AM Clouds/PM Sun, 86 degrees (10%)
Sunday's Forecast (April 30) – Mostly Cloudy, 86 degrees (20%)

Live Stream…
All three of this weekend's contests will be live streamed on SEC Network +. Fans can also access the games through WatchESPN.com, the ESPN app or clicking the links below.

Mississippi State at No. 9 Auburn SEC Network + (Friday)
Mississippi State at No. 9 Auburn SEC Network + (Saturday)
Mississippi State at No. 9 Auburn SEC Network + (Sunday)

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

Mississippi State at No. 9 Auburn Live Stats (Friday)
Mississippi State at No. 9 Auburn Live Stats (Saturday)
Mississippi State at No. 9 Auburn Live Stats (Sunday)

Admission…
Admission to this weekend's games at Jane B. Moore Field is $10. Fans can purchase tickets at the park or by clicking this link.

Up Next…
The 2017 regular season comes to a close next weekend, as State wraps up the slate with a home series against the Kentucky Wildcats (May 5-7). The series' first two games will be nationally televised on SEC Network, while Sunday's regular-season finale will be live streamed on SEC Network +.

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".