Softball Heads To Athens For Battle Of The Bulldogs

STARKVILLE – After wrapping up a 15-game homestand, Mississippi State softball hits the road for a three-game Battle of the Bulldogs in Athens, Georgia, this weekend.

MSU (22-8, 3-0 SEC) will play No. 17/16 Georgia (25-6, 5-1 SEC) on Friday, Saturday and Sunday with Saturday's contest airing nationally on SEC Network at 11 a.m. CT. The series opener is set for 5:30 p.m. on Friday, and the finale will be played at 1 p.m. on Sunday.

State is coming off of a sweep in its SEC opener against South Carolina and will face its first conference road test. State is one of six undefeated teams nationally in true road games this season. Winning the series would guarantee MSU its best start to league play in program history. MSU's quickest sprint to five conference wins came in 2011 and 2000, when the Bulldogs started 5-2.

Both teams are among the top three in the SEC in triples and at-bats. Since 2018, both teams have shown impressive power numbers. Georgia leads the SEC with 419 home runs in that span, while MSU is fifth with 331. Both programs are among the top 20 in the nation over the last six seasons.

Game Coverage

Leading Off

Looking Back: State swept Georgia in their last meeting in the midst of a seven-game SEC winning streak that was State's second-longest in program history. The red and black Bulldogs were ranked No. 22 at the time and were part of MSU's five-game ranked winning streak, which was also their second-longest on record.

Disciplined Dawgs: The Bulldog hitters are averaging just 3.37 strikeouts per game, which ranks second in the SEC. Those numbers are made more impressive by the fact that State's 810 at-bats are the second-most in the SEC and 13th nationally.

Sit Down: State's pitching staff, meanwhile, leads the nation in strikeouts as a team (263). However, MSU is doing it as a group effort without a standout individual. The Bulldogs' leader has just 77.

SEC Stats: Aquana Brownlee leads the team in SEC play with a .500 average and 1.000 slugging percentage. Madisyn Kennedy is second on the team in SEC play with a .375 batting average and five RBIs.

Take A Walk: MSU's 106 walks as a team rank 18th nationally. Riley Hull has walked in 27.6 percent of her plate appearances, which ranks fifth in the nation.

Jot It Down On Josey: Josey Marron boasts a 0.85 WHIP this season, which ranks eighth in the SEC, and a 0.85 FIP, which is eighth nationally.

Magic Number: State has scored at least five in 19 of its 22 wins of 2023 and is 19-1 when doing so. Over the last two years, MSU is 43-2 when scoring at least five.

Sacrificial Saint: Brylie St. Clair is tied for fifth in the conference in sacrifice bunts and tied for the league lead in sacrifice flies herself. Her only caught stealing on the year was also in some ways a sacrifice as she was caught on a successful first-and-third play that allowed the runner from third to score.

Speedy State: As a team, MSU has 42 infield hits this year.

About Georgia (25-6, 5-1 SEC)

Rankings: NFCA Coaches – 17 | USA Softball – 16 | D1Softball – 9 | Softball America – 10
Head Coach: Tony Baldwin | Record at UGA: 68-24 (2nd Year) | Career Record: 68-24 (2nd Year)
Batting Average: .338 | Runs Per Game: 6.8 | Hits Per Game: 9.2 | Slugging Pct: .609
ERA: 2.12 | K/7: 5.9 | K/BB Ratio: 2.8 | Opp. Batting Avg: .208

Series History
Overall: 30-32 | Home: 16-14 | Away: 12-15 | Neutral: 2-3
Current Streak: Won 3 | Last Meeting: May 9, 2021 in Starkville, Miss. (MSU 4, UGA 3)

About the Bulldogs
Georgia swept No. 24 Texas A&M on the road last week, the Bulldogs' first SEC road sweep since 2016 (at Missouri). Georgia's most recent 5-1 SEC start was in 2018 and they went on to go 7-2 through three series. This season's five-game SEC win streak is the best since 2019. The last time Georgia won six straight was 2013 when the Bulldogs did it twice. Georgia is currently slugging its way to the top of the SEC, leading the league with a .611 team slugging percentage and pacing the conference in home runs, triples and doubles.

On Deck

Mississippi State remains on the road for a midweek meeting at ULM in Monroe, Louisiana, on Wednesday. That game is set for 5 p.m. CT. Following that contest, State returns home to host Arkansas on March 31-April 2 at Nusz Park.

Follow the Bulldogs

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

Softball Heads To Athens For Battle Of The Bulldogs

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Aquana Brownlee

Riley Hull

Madisyn Kennedy

Josey Marron

Brylie St. Clair

Mississippi State University Athletics

Softball Heads To Athens For Battle Of The Bulldogs

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Aquana Brownlee

Riley Hull

Madisyn Kennedy

Josey Marron

Brylie St. Clair

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