Busy Week Begins With Back-To-Back Midweek Games

STARKVILLE – A crowded week lies ahead for Mississippi State softball. The Bulldogs will play five games in the next six days with two midweek contests on the docket.

State (26-17, 7-8 SEC) will open the week by hosting ULM on Tuesday, April 19 at 5 p.m. CT before hitting the road for a neutral-site game against UT Martin at Henderson County Sportsplex in Lexington, Tennessee. The Bulldogs will be the home team in that game, which is a makeup from a Feb. 23 rainout, with first pitch set for 5:30 p.m.

Both opponents are coming off of sweeps in their respective conference series over the weekend, and UT Martin (25-12, 10-4 OVC) has won six straight games.

Tuesday night's game against ULM (23-16, 9-9 Sun Belt) will be the teams' first meeting since 2010, but the Bulldogs have won each of the last four meetings dating back to the second game a doubleheader split on April 11, 2000.

The Skyhawks are a much more recent foe. MSU and UT Martin played twice in 2020, with State winning both games by a combined score of 12-1. MSU is 7-0 in the all-time series.

Admission to all MSU home games at Nusz Park is always free. Tuesday night is 2000s Night at the park with music and promotions fitting that theme.

Game Coverage

Tuesday, April 19
ULM - 5 p.m. CT | SEC Network+ | Live Stats

Wednesday, April 20
vs. UT Martin (Lexington, Tenn.) – 5:30 p.m. CT | Live Stats

Leading Off

Success In SEC Series: The Bulldogs are 14-9 in their last eight regular-season SEC series dating back to 2021. A 14-9 record would be the Bulldogs best since the league moved to an eight-series conference slate in 2013.

Glovework: State turned three double plays at Alabama last weekend and is now third in the SEC in conference play with eight twin killings this season.

Persistent Paige: Paige Cook is the toughest strikeout in the SEC, averaging one punchout every 15.7 at-bats. She is No. 74 nationally.

Quick Starts: The Bulldogs have outscored opponents, 102-28, in the first two innings. MSU is 22-2 when leading after the second.

Let's Go Streaking: Mia Davidson is riding the 20th reached base streak of 20 or more games in school history. Her career-long streak of 23 games is tied for No. 15 in MSU history.

Multiples For Mia: Davidson holds the school record with 54 career multi-RBI games, and her 64 career multi-hit games are fifth in MSU history.

All Hail The Queen: Davidson's 86 career homers are the most in SEC baseball or softball history and seventh in NCAA softball history.

Pinch-Hit Purvis: Addison Purvis is MSU's most-common pinch-hitter, turning in a .400 average (6-for-15) with five walks.

Two-Out Rallies: State is hitting .343 with two outs in conference play, which leads the SEC and is 70 points higher than its overall average (.273). MSU's .304 two-out average in all games, trails only Arkansas (.336) and Georgia (.314) in the SEC.

Lineup Log: Samantha Ricketts has used 31 different batting orders and 19 different defensive alignments to start the game through 43 contests.

About the Opponents

ULM Warhawks (23-16, 9-9 Sun Belt)
Rankings: NFCA Coaches - NR | USA Softball - NR | Softball America – NR | D1Softball - NR
Head Coach: Molly Fichtner | at ULM: 64-104 (4th Year) | Career: 64-104 (4th Year)
Batting Average: .277; Runs Per Game: 5.1; Hits Per Game: 7.2; Slugging Percentage: .379
ERA: 2.91; K/7: 5.4; K/BB Ratio: 1.5; Opp. Batting Avg: .235

UT Martin Skyhawks (25-12, 10-4 OVC)
NFCA Coaches - NR | USA Softball - NR | Softball America – NR | D1Softball - NR
Head Coach: Brian Dunn | at UTM: 64-31 (3rd Year) | Career: 513-149-2 (12th Year)
Batting Average: .306; Runs Per Game: 5.9; Hits Per Game: 8.0; Slugging Percentage: .463
ERA: 2.69; K/7: 5.8; K/BB Ratio: 2.5; Opp. Batting Avg: .216

On Deck

The Bulldogs host Auburn at Nusz Park this weekend for a three-game set on April 22-24. The two teams are tied in the SEC standings entering the series. The first two games will be nationally televised on SEC Network at 5:30 p.m. CT on Friday and 4 p.m. on Saturday. Sunday's series finale is set for noon on SEC Network+.

Follow the Bulldogs

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

Mississippi State University Athletics

Busy Week Begins With Back-To-Back Midweek Games

Players Mentioned

Paige Cook

Mia Davidson

Addison Purvis

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