State Heads To North Alabama For Saturday Doubleheader

STARKVILLE – In the midst its SEC bye weekend, Mississippi State softball will play a non-conference doubleheader on Saturday. The Bulldogs (16-14, 0-9 SEC) will travel to North Alabama on April 3 with Game 1 beginning at 1 p.m. CT.

Both games will be streamed on ESPN+.

North Alabama (17-9, 5-4 ASUN) is a recent addition to the Division I ranks, and the two programs met for the first time in last year's Bulldog Kickoff Classic. MSU won both meetings by a combined score of 15-1. UNA won the 2016 Division II National Championship before making the leap to the top level of college softball in 2019.

The Bulldogs have gotten a spark from Brylie St. Clair who leads the team over the last five games with a .417 batting average and two multi-hit games. Annie Willis has pitched four times in that span and is averaging 10.7 strikeouts per seven innings over those appearances.

Game Coverage

Game 1 – 1 p.m. CT | Watch on ESPN+ | Live Stats
Game 2 – 3:30 p.m. CT | Watch on ESPN+ | Live Stats

Leading Off

Through The Gauntlet: MSU has played one of the toughest schedules in the country, with its past opponents combining for a .696 winning percentage, which ranks sixth in the NCAA. 11 of MSU's 14 losses came to teams that are ranked or receiving votes in the latest NFCA poll.

Thunder Rolling In: Mia Davidson is tied for eighth in SEC history with 60 career home runs. She is one away from Will Clark's mark (61) and seven away from Rafael Palmeiro (67) in her quest to become MSU's all-time home run queen in baseball and softball.

Going For Extra Bases: 16 of Davidson's 30 hits have gone for extra bases. Fa Leilua has gotten extra bases on 13 of her 28 hits.

Favorite Frame: The sixth inning is MSU's best inning, producing its highest batting average (.357) and slugging percentage (.574) and its lowest ERA (0.56) and opponents' average (.189) of any frame.

Sophomore Spark: Brylie St. Clair (.471) is leading the team in batting average over the last 10 games. She has two multi-hit games in the last five contests.

Shuffling The Squad: Samantha Ricketts has used 20 different batting lineups and 11 different fielding alignments this season. The Bulldogs have repeated three combinations a total of 11 times, but have used a unique lineup in each of their last nine games.

In The Hit Column: MSU has outhit the opponent in 22 of its 30 games, including three of its last four games.

Who's Hot: St. Clair, Leilua and Carter Spexarth have combined to hit .381 (16-for-42) over the last five games while slugging .524. Annie Willis has pitched in four of those games and averaged 10.7 K/7 in that span.

About North Alabama

The Bulldogs hosted the Lions in last year's Bulldog Kickoff Classic for their first meetings in program history. State won the pair of contests by a combined score of 15-1. UNA won the Division II National Championship in 2016 with a 60-7 record. The Lions boast a 59-36 all-time record over three Division I seasons. Last time out, Maci Birdyshaw scattered four hits and struck out seven batters in a complete game against Alabama State. Offensively, UNA is led by Emma Broadfoot's .297 average and .531 slugging percentage.

Rankings: NFCA Coaches - NR | USA Softball - NR | Softball America – NR | D1Softball - NR
Head Coach: Ashley Cozart | Record at UNA: 273-101 (8th Year) | Career Record: 464-146 (12th Year)
Batting Average: .239; Runs Per Game: 4.4; Hits Per Game: 5.8; Slugging Pct: .360
ERA: 2.33; K/7: 6.5; K/BB Ratio: 4.1; Opp. Batting Avg: .220

On Deck

The Bulldogs close their longest road session of the schedule on Monday, April 5 at Southeastern Louisiana, making up a contest that was originally scheduled for Feb. 17. First pitch in Hammond, Louisiana, is set for 4 p.m. CT and the game will stream on ESPN+.

Follow the Bulldogs

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

State Heads To North Alabama For Saturday Doubleheader

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Mia Davidson

Fa Leilua

Carter Spexarth

Brylie St. Clair

Annie Willis

Mississippi State University Athletics

State Heads To North Alabama For Saturday Doubleheader

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Mia Davidson

Fa Leilua

Carter Spexarth

Brylie St. Clair

Annie Willis

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