Bulldogs Host In-State Foe Mississippi Valley State Wednesday

STARKVILLE – The longest winning streak against a single opponent in Mississippi State softball history will again be put to the test on Wednesday. The Bulldogs will go for their 30th consecutive victory over Mississippi Valley State at 6 p.m. in the friendly confines of Nusz Park.

State also boasts a 132-49 (.729) record in its home park since it was constructed prior to the 2016 season.

The Bulldogs are coming off a 4-1 weekend in The Snowman that saw their lone loss come in a 1-0 pitcher's duel against South Alabama. MSU outscored its opponents 34-4 over the weekend, and Aspen Wesley pitched two complete-game shutouts. She has not allowed a run in 14.2 consecutive innings.

MSU is welcoming a Valley team that is 2-10 on the year but has won two of its last three games. Most recently, A'tajua Wren pitched the Devilettes to their first shutout victory in three years in a 5-0 win against Southern.

Wednesday night is Taylor Swift night at Nusz Park, and MSU will play her music between each inning. Fans can pose with a life-sized cutout of Taylor, and videoboard content will be centered around her work. Admission to MSU softball games is always free.

Leading Off

All Hail The Queen: Mia Davidson leads the SEC in home runs (8), slugging percentage (1.095) and total bases (46). She is second nationally in home runs, fifth in total bases and seventh in slugging percentage.

Record Watch: Davidson is second in school history with 192 career RBIs and needs one to tie Courtney Bures' (2005-08) school record. She boasts 516 total bases, which is second behind Kellie Wilkerson's (1999-02) MSU record of 529.

Jack Is Back: Jackie McKenna batted .455 (5-for-11) with a pair of home runs last week in The Snowman, and her six RBIs trailed only Davidson (8) on the team.

In The Zone: Kenley Hawk is currently pitching to a 0.85 ERA, which is No. 39 nationally, and has allowed just three earned runs, in 24.2 innings this season. She is No. 23 nationally in strikeouts per seven innings (10.8).

Sixth Sense: The Bulldogs are hitting .404 and slugging .654 in the sixth inning, the highest of any frame. In the circle, MSU pitchers are holding opponents to a .095 batting average in the sixth.

Wesley's Whip: Aspen Wesley boasts a 0.86 WHIP and in among the top 100 in the nation in both hits per seven innings (4.34) and walks per seven innings (0.97).

Keeping It 100: Samantha Ricketts secured the best record of any Bulldog head coach through their first 100 games (66-34), which is also tied for third among active SEC head coaches.

Lineup Log: Ricketts has used a unique lineup card in every game this season, with a different batting order in all 16 games and 12 defensive alignments. Last year, she used 33 different batting orders and 17 different fielding alignments.

Off The Bench: This season, Ricketts is averaging using 14.3 players per game, the highest rate of her head coaching career.

About Mississippi Valley State (2-10, 0-0 SWAC)

Rankings: NFCA Coaches - RV | USA Softball - NR | Softball America – NR | D1Softball - NR
Head Coach: Jimmy Buckner | Record at MVSU: 2-10 (1st Year) | Career Record: 2-10 (1st Year)
Batting Average: .170 | Runs Per Game: 1.8 | Hits Per Game: 3.8 | Slugging Pct: .221
ERA: 6.40 | K/7: 4.1 | K/BB Ratio: 1.6 | Opp. Batting Avg: .336

Series History
Overall: 37-1 | Home: 29-0 | Away: 6-1 | Neutral: 2-0
Current Streak: Won 29 | Last Meeting: Feb. 24, 2021 in Starkville, Miss. (MSU 10, MVSU 2 [6])

About the Devilettes
The Bulldogs have won three of the last four meetings with MVSU by run rule while allowing just eight combined hits to the Devilettes under head coach Samantha Ricketts. Most notably, in 2020, Annie Willis struck out 19 MVSU hitters on her way to a no-hitter with only two batters reaching on error. MVSU is among the nation's top 40 teams in stolen bases (1.75 per game). In the circle, A'tajua Wren holds the best walks per seven innings mark in the SWAC (1.38), and she tossed her first career shutout on Saturday.

On Deck

Mississippi State will host the Bulldog Invitational on March 4-6. Furman, Alcorn State and Jacksonville State will be in attendance, and MSU will play five total games. State meets Furman and Alcorn State on Friday and Jacksonville State and the Paladins on Saturday. The tournament concludes with a final game against Alcorn State on Sunday.

Follow the Bulldogs

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

Bulldogs Host In-State Foe Mississippi Valley State Wednesday

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Mia Davidson

Kenley Hawk

Jackie McKenna

Aspen Wesley

Annie Willis

Mississippi State University Athletics

Bulldogs Host In-State Foe Mississippi Valley State Wednesday

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Mia Davidson

Kenley Hawk

Jackie McKenna

Aspen Wesley

Annie Willis

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