Softball Readies for Weekend Series at No. 9/8 Tennessee

Friday, April 12

Knoxville, Tenn.

5:00 PM

Mississippi State

#9 Tennessee

Mississippi State opens its three-game series against No. 9/8 Tennessee on Friday at 5 p.m. CT.

Softball Readies for Weekend Series at No. 9/8 Tennessee

April 11, 2019 | Softball

Tickets Watch ESPN Live Stats Game Notes

by Taylor Shirey, Assistant Director/Communications

STARKVILLE – For the fifth consecutive Southeastern Conference series Mississippi State softball (25-14) will square off against a ranked opponent as the Bulldogs travel to Knoxville, Tennessee, for a three-game series against the No. 9/8 Lady Volunteers at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium.

The series begins on Friday, April 12 at 5 p.m. CT. Game two against the Lady Vols is slated for a 12 p.m. CT start on Saturday, April 13. The weekend concludes on Sunday, April 14 at 12:30 p.m. CT. All three contests will be streamed on the SEC Network +.

Mississippi State is coming off a historic 15-3 midweek victory over Memphis. In Wednesday's contest, the Bulldogs slugged a single-game record five home runs as sophomore Mia Davidson (2), junior Fa Leilua and seniors Kat Moore and Taylor Kelly all went yard.

Leilua knocked her 19^th home run of the season to set a new MSU junior home run record, while Davidson slugged her 19^th and 20^th homers to break her own Bulldog single-season record. Davidson is now just six home runs shy of not only setting the SEC's single-season record, but also setting a new Mississippi State career home run record.

Entering the weekend, Mississippi State is the lone Division I school to boast two student-athletes with 19 or more home runs this season. Davidson is now tied with Georgia's Alyssa DiCarlo for the SEC lead, while she ranks tied for second nationally. Davidson's 50 RBI this season also ranks second in the league.

Leilua is right behind ranking third in the conference and fourth nationally with 19 home runs this season.

In the circle, sophomore Emily Williams leads the squad with an 8-4 record and a team-low 2.54 earned run average. Williams has three shutouts to her credit and ranks fourth in the SEC with three saves. She has racked up a team-leading 94 strikeouts, which ranks seventh in the league.

TENNESSEE SERIES SCHEDULE
Friday, April 12
Game One – Mississippi State at No. 9/8 Tennessee – 5 p.m. CT

Saturday, April 13
Game Two – Mississippi State at No. 9/8 Tennessee – 12 p.m. CT

Sunday, April 14
Game Three – Mississippi State at No. 9/8 Tennessee – 12:30 p.m. CT

INSIDE THE MATCHUP
Against Tennessee
Overall: Tennessee leads, 39-18
In Knoxville: Tennessee leads, 18-10
Last Meeting: Tennessee def. Mississippi State, 6-3 (May 6, 2018 in Starkville)
Current Streak: Tennessee, +1

LEADING OFF

Mississippi State faces its fifth straight ranked opponent in conference play as the Bulldogs trek to Knoxville to face No. 9/8 Tennessee for a three-game SEC series.
MSU is making its first trip to Knoxville since the 2016 season and is looking for its first road series win over the Lady Vols since 2014.
After dropping out of both polls last week, the Bulldogs are receiving votes in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 25.
In the fourth RPI release of the 2019 season, Mississippi State dropped one spot to No. 25. Nine SEC programs currently rank within the Top 25 in the latest RPI standings.
In her eighth season at the helm of the Bulldogs, head coach Vann Stuedeman has collected 266 career wins and is now just 29 shy from tying the program record for most victories by a MSU head coach.
Behind her fifth multi-home run game of the season against Memphis (April 10), sophomore Mia Davidson broke Mississippi State's single-season home run record with her 19th and 20th home runs of the season. Davidson set the record last season with 19 over her freshman campaign.
Through the first 39 games of the season, Mississippi State has knocked 55 total home runs, tying the program record of 55 set in 2018.
Striking out only three times in 80 at bats, sophomore Carter Spexarth ranks as the second toughest batter in the SEC to strike out, only doing so once every 26.7 at bats.
Junior Fa Leilua slugged her 19th home run of the season versus Memphis (April 10) to set MSU's junior home run record. In just her first season at MSU, Leilua already ranks 10th in program history in career bombs.
Sophomore Emily Williams delivered No. 7/5 LSU its first shutout loss of season with a 6-0 victory on April 5. It marked the first time in program history that MSU has shut out the Tigers.
Mississippi State is the lone program in all of Division I softball to have two student-athletes with 19+ home runs this season as both sophomore Mia Davidson (20) and junior Fa Leilua (19) rank second and fourth, respectively, in all of Division I softball.

WATCH LIVE
All three contests at Alabama will be streamed on the SEC Network + via Watch ESPN and the ESPN app.

Friday, April 12 – Mississippi State at No. 9/8 Tennessee (SEC Network +)
Saturday, April 13 – Mississippi State at No. 9/8 Tennessee (SEC Network +)
Sunday, April 14 – Mississippi State at No. 9/8 Tennessee (SEC Network +)

LIVE STATS
Tennessee will provide live stats for all three games over the weekend series via SideArm Sports. Live stats may be accessed by CLICKING HERE.

ADMISSION
Admission to Sherri Parker Lee Stadium is $5. Fans may purchase tickets by CLICKING HERE.

WEATHER
Friday: 75 Degrees – Scattered Showers (60%)
Saturday: 73 Degrees – Thunderstorm (80%)
Sunday: 72 Degrees – Thunderstorm (90%)

ON DECK
Mississippi State rounds out its non-conference schedule with its final midweek of the season as the Bulldogs travel to Birmingham, Alabama, to face UAB. First pitch is set for 5 p.m. CT.

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".