Bulldogs Host Southern Miss For Final Midweek

Wednesday, April 27

Starkville

6:00 PM

Mississippi State

Southern Miss

Photo by: Mississippi State Athletics

Bulldogs Host Southern Miss For Final Midweek

April 26, 2022 | Softball

Box Score (PDF)

By: Brian Ogden, Associate Director/Communications

STARKVILLE – Mississippi State is set to play its final midweek contest on Wednesday, April 27 when the Bulldogs welcome in-state foe Southern Miss to Nusz Park. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. CT and the game will be available on SEC Network+.

Two of the last three meetings between the teams have gone to extra innings, and the Bulldogs (29-19, 8-10 SEC) dropped a meeting in Hattiesburg earlier this season. However, State is 9-6 this year when facing teams for the second time, including a recent 4-2 ledger in conference play.

Southern Miss (27-18, 7-11 C-USA) lost two of three to UTSA in conference action last weekend and needed to erase an eight-run deficit in the game the Golden Eagles won. They have gone 7-3 since meeting the Bulldogs earlier this month.

Admission to all MSU games at Nusz Park is always free. Wednesday is Jeopardy! Night at the ballpark, and fans will be able to compete for prizes by answering questions from the show in between innings.

Leading Off

Our State: The Bulldogs are 20-4 against teams from the state of Mississippi under Samantha Ricketts. MSU has outscored in-state foes, 173-57, in her tenure.

Send Them Packing: With Annie Willis (9.11) and Kenley Hawk (7.91) both averaging nearly 8.0 strikeouts per 7 innings (min. 50 IP), the Bulldogs have a chance for the third season in program history with multiple pitchers posting a K/7 above 8.0 in the same year.

Glovework: State has turned six double plays in its last eight games and is now third in the SEC with eight in league play.

Quick Starts: The Bulldogs have outscored opponents, 105-36, in the first two innings. MSU is 23-2 when leading after the second.

Persistent Paige: Paige Cook is the third-toughest strikeout in the SEC, averaging one punchout every 13.8 at-bats. She is also State's best two-out hitter with a .442 average and 18 RBIs.

Multiples For Mia: Mia Davidson holds the school record with 54 career multi-RBI games, and her 66 career multi-hit games are fifth in MSU history.

All Hail the Queen: Davidson's 87 career homers are the most in SEC baseball or softball history and tied for sixth in NCAA softball history.

Honor Roll: Davidson is a Top 25 Finalist for the USA Softball Player of the Year award and MSU's nominee for the SEC's H. Boyd McWhorter Scholar-Athlete of the Year Post-Graduate Scholarship.

Pinch-Hit Purvis: Addison Purvis is MSU's most-common pinch hitter and has reached in 12 of her 24 plate appearances with a .353 average and five walks.

Lineup Log: Ricketts has used 34 different batting orders and 22 different defensive alignments to start the game. She is averaging using 14.2 players per game this season.

About Southern Miss (27-18, 7-11 C-USA)

Rankings: NFCA Coaches - NR | USA Softball - NR | Softball America – NR | D1Softball - NR
Head Coach: Brian Levin | Record at USM: 63-57 (3rd Year) | Career Record: 403-210 (12th Year)
Batting Average: .271 | Runs Per Game: 4.6 | Hits Per Game: 7.3 | Slugging Pct: .434
ERA: 3.13 | K/7: 9.4 | K/BB Ratio: 6.2 | Opp. Batting Avg: .265

Series History
Overall: 39-13 | Home: 16-7 | Away: 20-3 | Neutral: 3-3
Current Streak: Lost 1 | Last Meeting: Apr. 6, 2022 in Hattiesburg, Miss. (MSU 0, USM 3)

About the Golden Eagles
The Golden Eagles are coming off a monumental comeback at UTSA over the weekend. USM took an eight-run deficit and turned it into a seven-run victory in eight innings by a score of 20-13. Destini Brown has broken the USM career steals record with more than 100 bags swiped, and Tata Davis has broken the career hits record. The Golden Eagles are 2-1 against SEC teams this year, defeating then-No. 4 Florida and MSU earlier this season in Hattiesburg. Two of the last three meetings with State have been one-run games.

On Deck

Mississippi State will travel to No. 11 Kentucky for its penultimate SEC series this weekend. Friday and Sunday's games will air on SEC Network+ at 5 p.m. and noon CT, respectively. The Saturday game in Lexington is set to air nationally on SEC Network at 2 p.m. CT.

Follow the Bulldogs

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