Softball Closes Regular Season At Home Against No. 22 Georgia

STARKVILLE – Coming off an emphatic doubleheader sweep against No. 15 Tennessee, Mississippi State's softball program will look to stay hot in its final regular-season SEC series.

State hosts the other Bulldogs of the SEC, welcoming No. 22 Georgia to Nusz Park on May 7-9. Friday and Saturday's games will be televised on SEC Network with first pitch times of 5 p.m. and 1 p.m. CT, respectively. Sunday's regular-season finale will air on SEC Network+ beginning at 1 p.m.

MSU (29-22, 5-15 SEC) has won four straight SEC games and five of its last seven. The Bulldogs' pitching has been key during that run, posting a 1.25 ERA over the four-game winning streak. During that streak, MSU has also taken advantage of 6.0 "freebies" (walks, HBPs and errors) per game while allowing 3.3.

State holds the edge over Georgia (29-17, 7-14) in nearly every offensive statistic as well with the exception of home runs, triples, slugging percentage and strikeouts.

This weekend's series is crucial as the push for the postseason comes to a close. With a sweep, State could pass Georgia in the SEC standings and guarantee that it does not play in the 12-seed vs. 13-seed game on the opening day of the SEC Tournament. With help around the league, it is possible MSU could climb as high as ninth in the standings.

The Bulldogs will hold a pregame graduation ceremony featuring MSU President Dr. Mark E. Keenum on Friday night and will honor three seniors that have exhausted their eligibility on Sunday.

Game Coverage

Leading Off

Toppling Tennessee: MSU upset No. 17/15 Tennessee on Wednesday, sweeping a doubleheader against the Lady Vols. With the win, MSU snapped Tennessee's streak of four straight SEC series victories and earned its highest-ranked win since upsetting then-No. 7 Florida, 4-2, on May 4, 2019. That game also marked MSU's last pair of consecutive ranked wins.

SEC Surge: MSU has won four straight SEC games and five of its last seven. State's pitchers boast a 1.25 ERA over the four-game winning streak.

The "Freebie" War: Samantha Ricketts defines "freebies" as walks, HBPs and errors. Over the last four games, MSU has been given 6.0 "freebies" (walks, HBPs and errors) per game while allowing 3.3.

Dominant Davidson: Montana Davidson batted .400 with a double and two home runs in the series at South Carolina for an 1.100 slugging percentage. She also had six RBIs, double that of any teammate.

Thunder Rolling In: Mia Davidson has tied MSU baseball legend Rafael Palmeiro for the all-time home run record at MSU in either sport (67). She is tied for third in SEC softball history and one shy of Georgia's Alyssa DiCarlo for second in SEC history.

Worth A Second Look: The Bulldogs are 9-4 this year in the second game of a series or doubleheader or when playing a team for the second straight day in a tournament. They have outscored opponents 77-49 in such games.

Lineup Log: Ricketts has used 30 different batting orders and 15 different fielding alignments, but the Bulldogs used the same lineup card in all four games of their current win streak.

Lulu Leading Off: When Chloe Malau'ulu reaches base to open the game, State is 18-6 this season. She has reached base in 38 of the 86 innings she's led off and scored in 19 of those innings.

About the Opponent

Georgia
Rankings: NFCA Coaches – 22 | USA Softball – 24 | Softball America - 25 | D1Softball - NR
Head Coach: Lu Harris-Champer | Record at UGA: 954-362 (21st Year) | Career Record: 1163-426-1 (25th Year)
Batting Average: .267; Runs Per Game: 5.1; Hits Per Game: 6.9; Slugging Pct: .506
ERA: 3.32; K/7: 7.6; K/BB Ratio: 1.9; Opp. Batting Avg: .226

The Bulldogs recently rounded out a stretch of 17 games against six ranked opponents, with all but one being top 10. Georgia earned five victories against those opponents to improve its RPI to No. 14 and its strength of schedule to No. 4 in the country. Georgia handed No. 1 Oklahoma its only loss of the season in nine innings in Game 1 of a midweek doubleheader on April 20. Mary Wilson Avant recorded her 500th career strikeout this season, becoming only the sixth student-athlete in Georgia history to reach that milestone.

On Deck

MSU's postseason seeding will be determined by this weekend's series with Georgia. The Bulldogs are headed to the SEC Tournament in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, next week and will begin play on either Tuesday, May 11 or Wednesday, May 12.

Follow the Bulldogs

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

Softball Closes Regular Season At Home Against No. 22 Georgia

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Mia Davidson

Montana Davidson

Chloe Malau'ulu

Mississippi State University Athletics

Softball Closes Regular Season At Home Against No. 22 Georgia

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Mia Davidson

Montana Davidson

Chloe Malau'ulu

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