Friday, April 29
Lexington, Ky.
5:00 PM
Mississippi State
at
#11 Kentucky
Photo by: Mississippi State Athletics
Dawgs Travel to ‘Cats For Final Regular-Season Road Trip
April 28, 2022 | Softball
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Mississippi State will make its final road trip of the regular season this weekend as the Bulldogs head to Lexington to face No. 11 Kentucky. The two programs have not met since 2019.
The Wildcats (31-14, 9-9 SEC) were supposed to be Samantha Ricketts' first SEC foe back in the cancelled 2020 season. Instead, she was forced to wait until her third year at the helm to meet Kentucky. The Wildcats and LSU, who State will play next weekend, are the only remaining SEC programs she has not faced as a head coach.
MSU (30-19, 8-10 SEC) has secured its second consecutive 30-win season under Ricketts, following a 25-win campaign in the shortened 2020 season. Dating back to 2021, MSU's record in its last eight SEC series would stand as its best mark in conference play since the league went to an eight-series schedule in 2013.
The Bulldogs have been in tight ballgames of late with six of their last nine games decided by a single run. Meanwhile, Kentucky is coming off a weekend that saw them swept by Missouri, which State took two out of three games from. It was Kentucky's first sweep at the hands of an opponent since 2019.
Saturday, April 30 at 2 p.m. CT | Watch on SEC Network | Live Stats
Sunday, May 1 at 12 p.m. CT | Watch on SEC Network+ | Live Stats
Recent Sec Series: The Bulldogs are 13-11 in their last eight regular-season SEC series dating back to 2021, and that record would be MSU's best mark in conference play since the league moved to a 24-game schedule in 2013.
Persistent Paige: Paige Cook is the third-toughest strikeout in the SEC, averaging one punchout every 14.1 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 67 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.
Record Watch: Davidson (53) is one throw out (caught stealings and pickoffs) from tying the MSU career record set by Sam Lenahan (54; 2011-14).
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 13 of her 25 plate appearances with a .333 average and five walks.
Lineup Log: Samantha Ricketts has used 35 different batting orders and 22 different defensive alignments to start the game. She is averaging using 14.3 players per game this season.
Head Coach: Rachel Lawson | Record at UK: 526-311 (15th Year) | Career Record: 618-395 (18th Year)
Batting Average: .334 | Runs Per Game: 6.8 | Hits Per Game: 9.0 | Slugging Pct: .552
ERA: 3.60 | K/7: 4.9 | K/BB Ratio: 1.7 | Opp. Batting Avg: .259
Series History
Overall: 30-29 | Home: 19-8 | Away: 11-19 | Neutral: 0-2
Current Streak: Lost 4 | Last Meeting: Mar. 17, 20219 in Lexington, Ky. (MSU 1, UK 4)
Scouting the Wildcats
The Wildcats are coming off their first three-game sweep since 2019 after dropping three games to Missouri. Kentucky's coaching staff has been together for 12 years, the longest tenure of any staff in SEC softball. Alexia Lacatena pitched for the Italian National Team during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic games, and director of operations Brittany Cervantes played for Team Mexico. Last week, Erin Coffel became the first Kentucky Softball player to be named NFCA National Player of the Week since 2014 with three homers and 10 RBIs.
The Wildcats (31-14, 9-9 SEC) were supposed to be Samantha Ricketts' first SEC foe back in the cancelled 2020 season. Instead, she was forced to wait until her third year at the helm to meet Kentucky. The Wildcats and LSU, who State will play next weekend, are the only remaining SEC programs she has not faced as a head coach.
MSU (30-19, 8-10 SEC) has secured its second consecutive 30-win season under Ricketts, following a 25-win campaign in the shortened 2020 season. Dating back to 2021, MSU's record in its last eight SEC series would stand as its best mark in conference play since the league went to an eight-series schedule in 2013.
The Bulldogs have been in tight ballgames of late with six of their last nine games decided by a single run. Meanwhile, Kentucky is coming off a weekend that saw them swept by Missouri, which State took two out of three games from. It was Kentucky's first sweep at the hands of an opponent since 2019.
Game Coverage
Friday, April 29 at 5 p.m. CT | Watch on SEC Network+ | Live StatsSaturday, April 30 at 2 p.m. CT | Watch on SEC Network | Live Stats
Sunday, May 1 at 12 p.m. CT | Watch on SEC Network+ | Live Stats
Leading Off
Chloe's Cannon: Chloe Malau'ulu threw out the tying run at the plate in MSU's last game and is tied for second in the SEC with four outfield assists this year. She has a dozen in her career, which is fifth in school historyRecent Sec Series: The Bulldogs are 13-11 in their last eight regular-season SEC series dating back to 2021, and that record would be MSU's best mark in conference play since the league moved to a 24-game schedule in 2013.
Persistent Paige: Paige Cook is the third-toughest strikeout in the SEC, averaging one punchout every 14.1 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 67 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.
Record Watch: Davidson (53) is one throw out (caught stealings and pickoffs) from tying the MSU career record set by Sam Lenahan (54; 2011-14).
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 13 of her 25 plate appearances with a .333 average and five walks.
Lineup Log: Samantha Ricketts has used 35 different batting orders and 22 different defensive alignments to start the game. She is averaging using 14.3 players per game this season.
About Kentucky (31-14, 9-9 SEC)
Rankings: NFCA Coaches – 11 | USA Softball – 14 | D1Softball - 14 | Softball America - 14Head Coach: Rachel Lawson | Record at UK: 526-311 (15th Year) | Career Record: 618-395 (18th Year)
Batting Average: .334 | Runs Per Game: 6.8 | Hits Per Game: 9.0 | Slugging Pct: .552
ERA: 3.60 | K/7: 4.9 | K/BB Ratio: 1.7 | Opp. Batting Avg: .259
Series History
Overall: 30-29 | Home: 19-8 | Away: 11-19 | Neutral: 0-2
Current Streak: Lost 4 | Last Meeting: Mar. 17, 20219 in Lexington, Ky. (MSU 1, UK 4)
Scouting the Wildcats
The Wildcats are coming off their first three-game sweep since 2019 after dropping three games to Missouri. Kentucky's coaching staff has been together for 12 years, the longest tenure of any staff in SEC softball. Alexia Lacatena pitched for the Italian National Team during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic games, and director of operations Brittany Cervantes played for Team Mexico. Last week, Erin Coffel became the first Kentucky Softball player to be named NFCA National Player of the Week since 2014 with three homers and 10 RBIs.
On Deck
MSU will host its final SEC series on May 6-8 against No. 19 LSU with all three games available on SEC Network+. Friday night's 6 p.m. game will include a pre-game graduation ceremony for those student-athletes who have earned their degrees this semester. Saturday is Samoan Day at 2 p.m., and Sunday is Senior Day with first pitch set for noon.Follow the Bulldogs
For more information on the Bulldog softball program, follow on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram by searching "HailStateSB."
Players Mentioned
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