Bulldogs Begin Tallahassee Regional Friday

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The NCAA Tournament begins in Florida this weekend as Mississippi State heads to the Tallahassee Regional.

MSU will open the double-elimination regional on Friday, May 20 at 5 p.m. CT against South Florida at Joanne Graf Field. Along with the Bulldogs and the Bulls, the Tallahassee Regional features host Florida State, which earned the No. 2 overall national seed, and Howard.

The Bulldogs' first game of the regional will be aired nationally on ESPNU and is also available online through WatchESPN or the ESPN app. Television assignments for the remaining games of the regional will be announced later this week.

If 2022 NCAA DI Softball Tournament games are not programmed on ESPN's linear networks, they will be live on ESPN+. Fans can sign up to ESPN+ for just $6.99 a month (or $69.99 per year) at ESPN.com, ESPNplus.com or on the ESPN App. It is also available as part of The Disney Bundle that gives subscribers access to Disney+, ESPN+ and Hulu for $13.99/month (Hulu w/ads) or $19.99/month (Hulu w/o ads). Subscribers to Hulu + Live TV also receive ESPN+ at no additional cost.

State is making its 17th NCAA Tournament appearance. The Bulldogs have made every tournament bracket since 2017 and nine of the last 10 fields. All 17 appearances have come since 2000. MSU has won at least one regional game in six of its last seven tournament appearances and is aiming to make its first NCAA Super Regional appearance in program history.

The winner of the Tallahassee Regional will advance to Super Regionals to face the winner of the Columbia Regional, hosted by No. 15 Missouri. Also competing in the Columbia Regional are Arizona, Illinois and Missouri State.

Game Coverage

Friday, May 20

Game 1: South Florida vs. Mississippi State – 5 p.m. | Live Stats | Watch
Game 2: Florida State vs. Howard – 7:30 p.m. | Live Stats | Watch

Saturday, May 21

Sunday, May 22

Game 6: Game Three Winner vs. Game Five Winner – 3 p.m. | Live Stats | Watch
Game 7: If Necessary – 5:30 p.m. | Live Stats | Watch

Leading Off

It Just Means More Innings: The SEC Tournament saw MSU play back-to-back extra-inning games for the 10th time in program history. The Bulldogs and Tennessee played the longest game in SEC Tournament history and State's fourth-longest game on record.

Magic Number: MSU is 22-1 this season when the Bulldogs score more than five runs and 31-12 when allowing five or fewer. However, State is 2-12 when allowing more than five.

Lineup Log: Samantha Ricketts has used 40 different batting orders and 23 different defensive alignments to start the game. She used 17 or more players in a game 10 times this year.

Dawg Defense: The Bulldogs are riding a season-long 27.1-inning errorless streak. Of the five errorless teams at the SEC Tournament, the Bulldogs had the most chances (84).

Dawgs In The Draft: Mia Davidson was one of 13 players selected in this year's Athletes Unlimited College Draft. She is the 12th Bulldog to be selected in a professional draft. Ricketts has coached six of State's 12 draftees since she arrived as an assistant. Fa Leilua also signed a professional contract with the Smash It Sports Vipers, giving State its 20th and 21st pro players.

All Hail The Queen: Davidson's 90 career homers are the most in SEC baseball or softball history and fifth in NCAA softball history.

Record Watch: Davidson is set to take sole possession of the MSU NCAA Tournament career record for games played in State's first game. She needs three hits, two total bases and five RBIs to break those records respectively.

Keeping It Clean: MSU is on a season-long 27.1-inning errorless streak with just one error in its last three games (.991 FLD%).

About the Opponents

No. 2 Florida State (52-5, 24-4 ACC) – Game Notes

Rankings: NFCA Coaches - 2 | USA Softball - 2 | D1Softball – 3 | Softball America – 2
Head coach: Lonni Alameda | at FSU: 665-187-3 (14th Year) | Career: 822-345-4 (19th Year)
Batting Average: .293; Runs Per Game: 6.0; Hits Per Game: 7.8; Slugging Percentage: .493
ERA: 2.05; K/7: 6.3; K/BB Ratio: 3.4; Opp. Batting Avg: .202

South Florida (44-14, 12-5 American) – Game Notes

Rankings: NFCA Coaches - NR | USA Softball - NR | D1Softball – NR | Softball America – NR
Head coach: Ken Eriksen | at USF: 1050-535-1 (25th Year) | Career: 1050-535-1 (25th Year)
Batting Average: .269; Runs Per Game: 4.4; Hits Per Game: 7.1; Slugging Percentage: .389
ERA: 1.60; K/7: 8.5; K/BB Ratio: 5.3; Opp. Batting Avg: .169

Howard (31-22, 17-4 MEAC)

Rankings: NFCA Coaches - NR | USA Softball - NR | D1Softball – NR | Softball America – NR
Head coach: Tori Tyson | at HOW: 70-86 (4th Year) | Career: 70-86 (4th Year)
Batting Average: .303; Runs Per Game: 5.9; Hits Per Game: 7.8; Slugging Percentage: .431
ERA: 4.20; K/7: 4.6; K/BB Ratio: 1..3; Opp. Batting Avg: .303

On Deck

The winner of Friday's game will advance to play the winner of the regional's first game between No. 2 Florida State and Howard at 12 p.m. CT on Saturday. The losers of the two games will play an elimination game at 2:30 p.m. The loser of the winner's game and the winner of the elimination game will play at 5 p.m.

Follow the Bulldogs

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

Bulldogs Begin Tallahassee Regional Friday

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Mia Davidson

Fa Leilua

Mississippi State University Athletics

Bulldogs Begin Tallahassee Regional Friday

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Mia Davidson

Fa Leilua

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