Bulldogs Trek to Conway for Midweek Date with Central Arkansas

Tuesday, March 26

Conway, Ark.

5:00 PM

Mississippi State

Central Arkansas

Emily Williams ranks 10th in the SEC with 75 total strikeouts this season.

Bulldogs Trek to Conway for Midweek Date with Central Arkansas

March 25, 2019 | Softball

Watch Live ($) Live Stats Game Notes

by Taylor Shirey, Assistant Director/Communications

STARKVILLE – Returning to non-conference action, Mississippi State softball (20-10, 1-5 SEC) makes the trek to Conway, Arkansas, for a midweek date with Central Arkansas (17-16, 4-5 Southland) at Farris Field on Tuesday evening.

First pitch is slated for 5 p.m. CT. Tuesday's contest will be streamed on the Bear Nation Network and requires a paid subscription to watch.

Last weekend, the Bulldogs opened their home Southeastern Conference slate against No. 17/13 Auburn, taking the series opener against the Tigers. Both sophomore Mia Davidson and Junior Fa Leilua slugged home runs in the contest to bring their season totals to 15 each, which is tied for fourth in MSU history.

Davidson continues to serve as one of the most consistent sluggers in the conference. She enters the week as the SEC leader in batting average (.500), while ranking second in home runs (15), slugging percentage (1.128) and total bases (.613). Her 15 home runs have tied Caroline Seitz (2015) for Mississippi State's sophomore home run record.

Leilua contests her impressive debut in the SEC as she ranks second in the league in home runs (15), fifth in RBIs 938) and sixth in slugging percentage (.920) and total bases (81).

In the circle, junior Alyssa Loza paces the staff with a team-low 2.75 earned run average while holding the best record holding a 7-1 mark. Loza has allowed just 12 walks this season and has fanned 29. Sophomore Emily Williams leads the team with 75 strikeouts, ranking 10^th in the league. Her 9.2 strikeouts per seven inning average is second in the conference.

INSIDE THE MATCHUP
Against Central Arkansas
Overall: Mississippi State leads, 6-1
In Conway: Central Arkansas leads, 1-0
Last Meeting: Mississippi State def. Central Arkansas, 7-0 (March 21, 2019 in Starkville)
Current Streak: Mississippi State, +2

LEADING OFF

Mississippi State returns to non-conference play on Tuesday, trekking to Conway to face Central Arkansas in a midweek tilt.
The Bulldogs hold a 6-1 advantage in the overall series and are meeting UCA for the four the fourth straight season. It is just the second time in program history that State has traveled to Conway.
Mississippi State is receiving votes in the USA Today/NFCA Coaches Poll. Updates national rankings for the seventh week of the season will be released Tuesday.
In the second RPI release of the 2019 season, Mississippi State jumped five spots to No. 28. Nine SEC programs currently rank within the top 30.
In her eighth season at the helm of the Bulldogs, head coach Vann Stuedeman has collected 261 career wins and is now just 34 shy from tying the program record for most victories by a MSU head coach.
With 15 home runs this season, Mia Davidson has now tied Caroline Seitz (2015) for Mississippi State's sophomore home run record. Last season, Davidson set MSU's freshman home run record with 19.
Through the first 30 games of the season, Mississippi State has knocked 38 total home runs and is just 17 shy from tying the program record of 55 set in 2018.
Senior Sarai Niu enters the week with 1,060 career putouts to her credit. She is just the fifth Bulldog in program history to record 1,000 or more putouts over a career. She is just 370 putouts shy of MSU's career record held by Cheri Smith (1998-01).
With sophomore Carter Spexarth's grand slam at Kentucky (3/16), Mississippi State has knocked five grand slams this season to tie the program record set in 2010.
Entering the weekend, Mia Davidson and Fa Leilua rank tied for fourth in all of Division I softball in home runs (15). They have combined for 30 of MSU's 38 home runs this season.
Striking out only twice in 57 at bats, sophomore Carter Spexarth ranks as the third toughest batter in the SEC to strike out, only doing so once every 28.5 at bats.

WATCH LIVE
Tuesday's midweek tilt will be streamed on the Bear Nation Network, which requires a paid subscription to access.

Mississippi State at Central Arkansas

LIVE STATS
Central Arkansas will provide live stats for Tuesday's midweek tilt.

Mississippi State at Central Arkansas Live Stats

ADMISSION
Admission at Farris Field is free.

WEATHER
Tuesday, March 25 – Mostly Sunny; 63 Degrees (20%)

ON DECK
Mississippi State returns to SEC action this weekend, traveling to Tuscaloosa, Alabama, to face No. 4/3 Alabama for a three-game series. The series begins on Friday, March 29 at 6:30 p.m. CT. All three games of the contest will be streamed on the SEC Network +.

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".