No. 18 Softball Prepares For Pair Of Midweek Games

STARKVILLE – No. 18 Mississippi State softball will get a final tune-up before beginning conference play this weekend with a pair of midweek games on Tuesday and Wednesday (Mar. 9-10).

MSU (13-5) travels to Alabama State on Tuesday for a 4 p.m. first pitch. The Bulldogs then host Memphis on Wednesday at 6 p.m. in a game that will air on SEC Network+.

State won the Bulldog Invitational over the weekend, going 5-0 with two exciting walk-off victories along the way. MSU also turned in a pair of run-rule wins on the weekend and has now scored 10 or more runs six times this season.

MSU is ranked No. 18 in the latest Softball America poll. The Bulldogs are receiving votes in the NFCA Coaches' Poll and USA Softball/ESPN Poll.

Game Coverage

Tuesday, March 9
4 p.m. – at Alabama State | Live Stats | YouTube Stream

Wednesday, March 10
6 p.m. – Memphis | Live Stats | SEC Network+

Leading Off

Walk It Off: State has walk-off victories in each of its last two games courtesy of Fa Leilua home runs. She hit a solo shot in the eighth against Alcorn State (Mar. 6) and a two-run winner against Western Kentucky (Mar. 7).

Return To Form: Emily Williams has not allowed a run in her last five appearances, tossing 15.0 consecutive scoreless innings. She has struck out 19 while walking six and holding opponents to a .122 batting average in that span.

Milestone Watch: Mia Davidson's next homer will land her among the SEC's all-time top 10 home run hitters. She is two RBIs away from becoming the fifth Bulldog to record 150 for her career.

Back On Track: Davidson is hitting .457 since the start of the Lone Star State Invitational (Feb. 26) with nine of her 16 hits going for extra bases.

Thunder And Lightning: Leilua (58) and Davidson (57) rank fifth and sixth respectively among the NCAA's active career leaders in home runs. The duo is the one of two pairs of teammates in the country to boast 50-plus career homers (Arizona).

Light It Up: MSU has scored double-digit runs in six of 18 games this year. The Bulldogs scored 10-plus runs in four games in all of the shortened 2020 season. MSU has scored five or more runs in one inning six times so far this season and produced two three-homer innings.

About the Opponents

Alabama State (3-14, 0-0 SWAC)
Rankings: NFCA Coaches - NR | USA Softball - NR | Softball America – NR | D1Softball - NR
Head coach: Todd Bradley | at ALST: 13-29 (2nd Year) | Career: 307-308-1 (13th Year)
Batting Average: .205; Runs Per Game: 2.0; Hits Per Game: 4.8; Slugging Percentage: .256
ERA: 8.31; K/7: 3.7; K/BB Ratio: 0.9; Opp. Batting Avg: .361

Memphis (1-11, 0-0 AAC)
Rankings: NFCA Coaches - NR | USA Softball - NR | Softball America – NR | D1Softball - NR
Head coach: Natalie Poole | at MEM: 217-272 (10th Year) | Career: 529-571 (20th Year)
Batting Average: .188; Runs Per Game: 2.2; Hits Per Game: 4.5; Slugging Percentage: .272
ERA: 7.78; K/7: 4.3; K/BB Ratio: 0.7; Opp. Batting Avg: .299

Admission/Attendance Guidelines

Mississippi State has optimized capacity at Nusz Park in response to the updates in Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves' latest Executive Order while maintaining appropriate health and safety standards. The health and safety of student-athletes, staff and the Mississippi State community remain of the utmost importance. MSU intends to strike a necessary balance between protecting our student-athletes, staff, and fans and expanded capacity.

Admission to all softball remains free while a limited number of seats will remain closed to ensure a buffer zone around the playing surface in accordance with SEC guidelines. Per MSU guidelines, face coverings over the nose and mouth shall be required for all guests during ingress, egress, and movement throughout the stadium as well as any time guests are unable to maintain the recommended physical distance from others who are not in their same household or when actively eating or drinking.

All guests, employees and stadium workers will conduct self-screening prior to leaving home. Per MSU guidelines, this should include an "at-home" temperature check, and review of potential COVID-19 symptoms, including cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, chills, muscle pains, sore throat, and a new loss of taste or smell. If anyone has any of these symptoms or a fever of greater than 100.4 degrees, the person should stay home.

State Stand-Ins are available for purchase at MaroonMemories.com. For more information visit: HailState.com/gameday.

On Deck

The Bulldogs open SEC play at Ole Miss on Saturday, March 13. The three-game series will be played over Saturday, Sunday and Monday and all three games will air on SEC Network. Saturday's first pitch is set for 5 p.m., and Sunday is set for 4 p.m. The series finale on Monday night will begin at 6 p.m.

Follow the Bulldogs

For more information on the Bulldog softball program, follow on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram by searching "HailStateSB."

No. 18 Softball Prepares For Pair Of Midweek Games

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Mia Davidson

Fa Leilua

Emily Williams

Mississippi State University Athletics

No. 18 Softball Prepares For Pair Of Midweek Games

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Mia Davidson

Fa Leilua

Emily Williams

Related Videos