Bulldogs Finish Road Swing At Southern Miss Wednesday

Wednesday, April 6

Hattiesburg, Miss.

6:00 PM

Mississippi State

Southern Miss

Photo by: Mississippi State Athletics

Bulldogs Finish Road Swing At Southern Miss Wednesday

April 05, 2022 | Softball

Game Notes Live Stats Watch on C-USA.tv

By: Brian Ogden, Associate Director/Communications

STARKVILLE – Mississippi State will play the final matchup in a five-game road swing on Wednesday night at Southern Miss. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. CT, and the game will be available on C-USA.tv for a fee.

The Bulldogs are coming off a weekend that saw them claim an upset victory at No. 11 Tennessee with an 8-3 win on Saturday. State (24-12, 5-4 SEC) is 8-2 in its last 10 games.

MSU has won 11 straight games against in-state competition, dating back to last spring, and the Bulldogs are 20-3 against the state under head coach Samantha Ricketts. Most recently, the Bulldogs swept rival Ole Miss in their second week of SEC action.

State has won nine straight against Southern Miss, its longest winning streak in the series. Last year, the Bulldogs and Golden Eagles played a pair of extra-inning games, with MSU winning both by one run.

This marks the third consecutive season that the Bulldogs have traveled to Hattiesburg, and MSU has a 20-2 record on the road against the Golden Eagles.

Southern Miss (20-15, 1-8 C-USA) has four players who are among the top 10 in the nation in at least one statistical category. Jana Lee is seventh in doubles. Morgan Leinstock is third in innings pitched. Destini Brown is fifth in triples and stolen bases, and Hannah Borden is sixth in sacrifice flies.

Leading Off

Captain Chloe: Chloe Malau'ulu leads the team in batting average (.480) and slugging percentage (.840) in SEC play. She is third in the SEC in batting average and fourth in on-base percentage (.567) in league play.

Another Jewel In Her Crown: Mia Davidson has now hit 84 career homers, which is the most in SEC baseball or softball history and is tied for ninth in NCAA softball history.

Hammering Homers: MSU is averaging 1.47 homers per game. With 55 regular-season games on the schedule, State is on pace for a school-record 81-homer season and its third 70-homer season on record, all under Samantha Ricketts.

Staying Alive: Madisyn Kennedy battled through a 24-pitch at-bat on Sunday at Tennessee, fouling off 19 pitches. MLB at-bat records date back to 1988, and the MLB record is 21 pitches set by Brandon Belt on April 22, 2018.through 36 contests.

Two-Out Rallies: State is hitting .376 with two outs in conference play, which is nearly 100 points higher than its overall average (.283). 20 of MSU's 34 RBIs in SEC games have come with two outs.

Our State: The Bulldogs have won 11 straight games against teams from the state of Mississippi, dating back to 2021, and are 20-3 against in-state teams under Ricketts.

First Runs First: The Bulldogs have outscored opponents, 94-23, in the first two innings. MSU is 21-1 when leading after the second and 21-2 when scoring first this season.

Shea Strong In SEC: Shea Moreno is batting .407 in SEC play with five doubles, which trails only Auburn's Nella Peralta.

Lineup Log: Ricketts has used 27 different batting orders and 19 different defensive alignments to start the game through 36 contests.

About Southern Miss (20-15, 1-8 C-USA)

Rankings: NFCA Coaches - NR | USA Softball - NR | Softball America – NR | D1Softball - NR
Head Coach: Brian Levin | Record at USM: 56-54 (3rd Year) | Career Record: 396-207 (12th Year)
Batting Average: .265 | Runs Per Game: 4.2 | Hits Per Game: 7.2 | Slugging Pct: .427
ERA: 2.75 | K/7: 5.1 | K/BB Ratio: 2.8 | Opp. Batting Avg: .260

Series History
Overall: 39-12 | Home: 16-7 | Away: 20-2 | Neutral: 3-3
Current Streak: Won 9 | Last Meeting: Apr. 14, 2021 in Starkville, Miss. (MSU 3, USM 2 [8 inn.])

About the Golden Eagles
The Golden Eagles are playing their third game against an SEC team. Southern Miss previously defeated then-No. 4 Florida in a stunning upset on the road on March 2 and fell to No. 3 Alabama at home on March 15. Pitcher Morgan Leinstock has had a heavy workload in the circle this season, throwing the third-most innings in the nation (136.2). Offensively, Destini Brown has been a constant threat when on base, and her 26 stolen bases rank fifth in the nation and lead Conference USA. Brown has 107 career stolen bases.

On Deck

Mississippi State welcomes No. 24 Missouri to Nusz Park for three games this weekend, April 8-10. It is Alumni Weekend in Starkville, and all former members of the program in attendance will be recognized on Saturday.

Follow the Bulldogs

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