No. 23 Bulldogs Hit the Road for Midweek Swing at Samford and Memphis

Tuesday, March 13

Birmingham, Ala.

6:00 PM

Mississippi State

Samford

No. 23 Mississippi State will look for its 10th and 11th straight victories over its midweek tilt at Samford and Memphis.

No. 23 Bulldogs Hit the Road for Midweek Swing at Samford and Memphis

March 12, 2018 | Softball

Watch Live: MSU vs. Samford Live Stats: MSU vs. Samford Watch Live: MSU vs. Memphis ($)Live Stats: MSU vs. Memphis Game Notes

STARKVILLE, Miss. – After closing weekend with its ninth consecutive victory, Mississippi State S\softball (21-3) kicks off a five-game road swing with midweek contests at Samford (5-20) on Tuesday and at Memphis (16-5) on Wednesday in the Bulldogs final tune up before conference play.

First pitch for Tuesday's showdown in Birmingham, Ala., is set for 6 p.m. CT from the Bulldog Softball Complex. The game will be streamed through the SoCon Digital Network. MSU's Wednesday contest versus Memphis is set for a 6 p.m. CT start time. The game will be streamed via the Memphis Tiger Network and will require a paid fee to access the stream.

The Bulldogs have dominated both series, holding an 19-2 advantage over Samford and a 6-0 lead in the series versus Memphis. MSU has won the last seven meetings against the Bulldogs of Samford and has not drop a contest against the Tigers in program history, including an 1-0 record at the Tiger Softball Complex.

No. 23 MSU is coming off a 4-0 weekend, which featured three consecutive run-rule victories over Illinois and UMass Lowell. The Bulldogs have won nine straight games, which ranks tied for the 10^th-longest win streak in program history. National rankings for the fifth week of play will be release on Tuesday with the first RPI rankings of the 2018 season being announced on Monday, March 19.

MSU's success has been heavily fueled by its strong play in the circle by the Bulldog pitching staff. Over the first 24 games of the season, MSU has tossed 10 shutouts to hold a 0.94 earned run average, which ranks as the seventh-lowest ERA in the country. Senior right-hander Cassady Knudsen leads the MSU staff. Knudsen holds a 7-1 record and leads the team with a 0.75 ERA, which stands seventh in the conference. Knudsen ranks fourth nationally with an 11.6 strikeouts per seven innings average.

Offensively, nine Bulldogs hold a batting average above .300. As a team, MSU holds a .339 clip at the plate, which ranks 11^th nationally. The Bulldogs also rank second in the country with a 1.96 doubles per game average. Freshman Mia Davidson continues to lead the team in multiple categories. At the plate, Davidson holds a .440 average with 33 hits, 28 runs scored and 23 RBIs. Davidson leads the entire conference and ranks 17^th nationally with eight home runs and holds an .920 slugging percentage over her freshman season.

ON DECK
Mississippi State opens Southeastern Conference play this weekend as the Bulldogs travel to Columbia, Mo., to take on the Missouri Tigers (16-10, 0-3 SEC). The series begins Friday, March 16 with a 6:30 p.m. CT first pitch on the SEC Network +. The final two games of the series will air on the SEC Network. First pitch on Saturday, March 17 is set for 4 p.m. CT, while the series finale on Sunday, March 18 will begin at 12 p.m. CT.

LAST TIME OUT
The Bulldogs went 4-0 over the weekend with a doubleheader sweep of Illinoi on Friday, March 9 before run-ruling UMass Lowell twice on Sunday, March 11 to notch the program's ninth straight victory of the season. In total, MSU recorded three run-rule victories over the four-game slate and outscored opponents 41 to 7.

Friday, March 9
No. 23 Mississippi State def. Illinois, 9-5 (Recap, Box Score)
No. 23 Mississippi State def. Illinois, 12 -1 (5 inn.) (Recap, Box Score)

Sunday, March 11
No. 23 Mississippi State def. UMass Lowell, 9-1 (6 inn.) (Recap, Box Score)
No. 23 Mississippi State def. UMass Lowell, 11-0 (5 inn.) (Recap, Box Score)

SERIES HISTORY
Against Samford
Overall: Mississippi State leads, 19-2
In Birmingham: Mississippi State leads, 5-1
Last Meeting: Mississippi State def. Samford, 6-5 (12 inn.) (March 4, 2015 in Starkville.)
Current Streak:

Against Memphis
Overall: Mississippi State leads, 6-0
In Memphis: Mississippi State leads, 1-0
Last Meeting: Mississippi State def. Memphis, 11-3 (5 inn.) (April 22, 2015 in Starkville)
Current Streak: Mississippi State, +6

RING THE BELL
Morgan Bell slugged MSU's first grand slam of the 2018 and the first since Caroline Seitz versus Georgia on April 15, 2017 in the Bulldogs' 12-1 victory over Illinois on March 9. The grand slam was the second of Bell's career as she became just the 11th Bulldog in program history to record multiple grand slams over their career.

Bell racked up a total of 10 RBIs over MSU's five games this week, including a career-high five against Illinois in the final game of Friday's doubleheader with Illinois. She is the second Bulldogs this season to record five or more RBI in the single game, joining Reggie Harrison who drove in five runs against Nebraska on Feb. 22.

BOMB SQUAD
For the second time this season, Mississippi State tied a Nusz Park record after hitting three home runs in a single game against Illinois on March 9. MSU first matched the feat on March 3 against Mercer.

As a team the Bulldogs have hit 21 home runs, which ranks fifth in the Southeastern Conference. Freshman Mia Davidson leads the team and the SEC with a total of eight home runs through the first 24 games of the season. Davidson currently ranks 17^th nationally in the category. Three Bulldogs have also knocked the first home runs of their career this season: Carmen Carter, Macey Petrey and Bevia Robinson.

LET'S GO STREAKING
With Sunday's sweep over UMass Lowell, Mississippi State has now won nine straight contest, which ties for the 10th-longest winning streak in program history. Mississippi State has strung together a nine-game win streak on three previous occasions the last of which ran from Feb. 5 to Feb. 14, 2015.

DOUBLE VISION
In Sunday's finale over the Riverhawks, Mississippi State slugged a total of five doubles, which ranks tied for the second-most doubles over a single-game in MSU history. The Bulldogs have slugged five doubles in a single game five previous times with the last five-double outing coming against South Carolina on April 18, 2017.Mississippi State currently ranks second in the country with a 1.96 doubles per game average.

WEATHER
Tuesday's Forecast (March 13) – Sunny, 55 Degrees (10%)
Wednesday's Forecast (March 14) – Sunny, 54 Degrees (0%)

WATCH LIVE
Tuesday night's matchup will be streamed through the SoCon Digital Network, which can be accessed through the link below. Wednesday's game against the Tigers will be streamed on the Memphis Tigers Network, which will require a paid fee to access. The link to the stream can be accessed blow.

No. 23 Mississippi State at Samford
No. 23 Mississippi State at Memphis

LIVE STATS
Live stats will be provided for both midweek contests and can be accessed through the links below>

No. 23 Mississippi State at Samford Live Stats
No. 23 Mississippi State at Memphis Live Stats

ADMISSION
Admission at both the Bulldog Softball Complex and the Tiger Softball Complex is FREE.

FOLLOW THE DAWGS
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".