Bulldogs Open Home Slate with Midweek Tilt Against UT Martin

Tuesday, March 5

Starkville

4:00 PM

Mississippi State

UT Martin

The Bulldogs continue non-conference with a midweek contest this Tuesday against UT Martin.

Bulldogs Open Home Slate with Midweek Tilt Against UT Martin

March 04, 2019 | Softball

Game Notes Live Stats Watch Live

by Taylor Shirey, Assistant Director/Communications

STARKVILLE – Returning to Starkville for a five-game home swing before opening Southeastern Conference play, Mississippi State softball readies for a midweek contest, welcoming UT Martin to Nusz Park at 4 p.m. CT on Tuesday.

Tuesday's contest will be streamed live on the SEC Network +.

Over the weekend, MSU traveled to North Carolina for the Duke Invitational, picking up victories over Kansas and the host Blue Devils.

In her return to her home state, Sophomore Mia Davidson led the Bulldogs at the plate. Davidson closed Saturday going 6-for-11 (.545) with one double, two home runs, two runs scored and six RBI. She held a 1.182 slugging percentage to lead the team.

With the first month of the season in the books, Davidson currently leads the SEC in batting average (.531), slugging percentage (1.306), on-base percentage (.643), home runs (12) and total bases (64). Her 12 total home runs also leads all of Division I softball.

Not far behind is junior Fa Leilua, who ranks third in the conference and fifth nationally with 10 home runs this season. The duo has combined for 22 of MSU's 25 home runs over the 2019 campaign and both are already on MSU's single-season home run chart with just 19 games under their belts.

In the circle, MSU is led by junior Alyssa Loza's 1.74 earned run average, which ranks 17^th in the SEC. Loza holds a 5-1 record with two shutouts to her credit and has struck 26 batters this season. Sophomore Emily Williams (4-2) leads the team and ranks sixth in the conference with 63 strikeotus this season.

INSIDE THE MATCHUP
Overall: 4-0
In Starkville: 2-0
Last Meeting: Mississippi State def. UT Martin, 3-0 (Feb. 15, 2018 in Starkville)
Current Streak: Mississippi State, +4

LEADING OFF

Returning home for the final week of non-conference play before opening up the SEC slate, MSU opens a five-game home swing on Tuesday with a midweek contest against UT Martin
The Bulldogs hold a 4-0 overall record over the Skyhawks, including a 2-0 mark in games played in Starkville
For the second straight week, MSU is receiving votes in both the USA Today/NFCA Coaches Poll and the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 Poll
In her eighth season at the helm of the Bulldogs, head coach Vann Stuedeman has collected 255 career wins and is now just 40 shy from tying the program record for most victories by a MSU head coach
Through the first month of the season, Mia Davidson leads the SEC in batting average (.531), home runs (12), on-base percentage (.643) and slugging percentage (1.306)
Totaling 12 home runs through the first 19 games of her sophomore season, Mia Davidson leads all of Division 1 softball in homers this season. With 31 home runs in her career, Davidson ranks 32nd among all active NCAA student-athletes in the category
With four triples over the first month of the season, senior Kat Moore leads the SEC and ranks second nationally in the category
Just a sophomore, Mia Davidson has slugged 31 home runs in her career to stand tied for fourth all-time in program history. She is now six away from joining Caroline Seitz (2014-17) and Iyhia McMichael (2001-04) for a three-way tie for second place. Davidson is now just 13 shy of tying Kellie Wilkerson's (1999-02) school record of 44
Senior Sarai Niu enters the week with 1,000 career putouts to her credit. She is just the fifth Bulldog in program history to record 1,000 or more putouts over a career
As a team, Mississippi State has slugged 25 home runs over the first 19 games of the season, averaging 1.32 home runs per game, which ranks fourth in the SEC. MSU is already just 30 home runs shy of tying the program record of 55 set by the 2018 squad

ON DECK
Hosting its final non-conference tournament of the season, Mississippi State welcome Mississippi Valley State and Louisiana Tech to Nusz Park this weekend for the Bulldog Slamboree. MSU opens the three-day tournament on Friday, March 8 with a 6 p.m. CT contest against the Devilettes on the SEC Network +.

WATCH LIVE
Tuesday's midweek tilt will be broadcasted live on the SEC Network + via WatchESPN and the WatchESPN app.

Mississippi State vs. UT Martin

LIVE STATS
Mississippi State will provide live stats, which can be accessed by visiting www.msu.statbroadcast.com.

ADMISSION
All regular-season contests at Nusz Park are free admission.

WEATHER
Tuesday, March 5 – Mostly Cloudy; 62 Degrees (10%)

Promotions

Celebrate Mardi Gras at Nusz Park on Fat Tuesday with free King Cake giveaway
Midweek Trivia is back with Tuesday's trivia theme being Marvel Comics. Be sure to get to Nusz Park 30 minutes before first pitch to catch the first round of questions. The top team will win $100.

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".