Softball Hosts Memphis For Final Midweek Contest

STARKVILLE – Mississippi State softball will host Memphis in its final midweek and non-conference contest at Nusz Park on Wednesday at 6 p.m. CT.

MSU (23-19, 3-11 SEC) brings in a 12-game winning streak against the Tigers (8-34, 2-10 AAC). Last year, the teams met in Memphis, where the Bulldogs broke the school record with six home runs in a five-inning contest.

State's former volunteer assistant coach, DJ Sanders, who worked with the hitters in that game, is now an assistant coach with the Tigers on first-year head coach Stephanie VanBrakle Prothro's staff.

The Bulldogs are 20-8 in non-conference games this year, and they have already seen their fans produce two top-15 crowds in program history, most recently in Saturday's game with Alabama. State is averaging 501 fans at its home contests, which would surpass last year for fifth in school history.

Wednesday is Christmas in Nusz Park with scenes from fans' favorite holiday movies and Christmas music played throughout the ballpark. The first 100 fans in attendance will receive a Nusz Park Christmas ornament and their will be pregame photo opportunities with Santa.

Leading Off

Barbary Building: Nadia Barbary leads the team with eight hits in the last 10 games, which ahs also accounted for more than a third of her season hits total (22).

Milestone Markers: The next home run for Paige Cook, Chloe Malau'ulu and Madisyn Kennedy will be the 20th of their careers and put them in the MSU career top 10. Grace Fagan is six career strikeouts shy of 200.

Familiar Face: Memphis assistant coach DJ Sanders spend the 2022 season as a volunteer assistant at Mississippi State.

A Punch out Per Inning: State is fifth nationally in strikeouts (323), and five bulldog Pitchers average more than one strikeout per inning.

Pitching Coach's Prowess: Since Josh Johnson arrived at MSU in 2020, the Bulldogs rank fifth nationally with 1,395 strikeouts per inning.

FIP-ping out: Aspen Wesley (1.16) and Josey Marron (1.17) rank Nos. 10 and 11 nationally in fielding-independent pitching, which estimates a pitcher's ERA without the results of balls put in play.

Taking on Top Teams: Every remaining SEC opponent on State's schedule is currently ranked, and if they stay so through their contests with MSU, the Bulldogs are on track to play 25 regular-season games against tanked team ijn 2023. That would break the MSU regular season record set in 2017 by one game.

Disciplined Dawgs: MSU has struck out just 72 times in conference play, which is the fewest in the SEC, despite having already faced two of the top three pitching staffs in strikeouts.

Packing the Park: State has already seen two top-15 crowds in program history this season and is currently averaging 501 fans at home, which would surpass last season for fifth in MSU history.

About Memphis (8-34, 2-10 AAC)

Rankings: NFCA Coaches – NR | USA Softball – NR | D1Softball – NR | Softball America – NR
Head Coach: Stephanie VanBrakle Prothro | Record at Memphis: 8-34 (1st Year) | Career Record: 8-34 (1st Year)
Batting Average: .231 | Runs Per Game: 2.6 | Hits Per Game: 5.4 | Slugging Pct: .309
ERA: 8.87 | K/7: 4.4 | K/BB Ratio: 0.8 | Opp. Batting Avg: .344

Series History
Overall: 12-0 | Home: 7-0| Away: 3-0 | Neutral: 2-0
Current Streak: Won 12 | Last Meeting: Mar. 23, 2022 in Memphis, Tenn. (MSU 13, MEM 3 (5 inn.))
About Memphis
The Tigers picked up their second conference win in their last game out, defeating East Carolina on the road, 6-3. Their Tuesday night game at Central Arkansas was canceled. Memphis is led by first-year head coach Stephanie VanBrakle Prothro, who spend the previous 12 seasons in the SEC as pitching coach at Alabama. Madison Berner and Sam Ibison are Memphis' two hitters above .300 this season. Aliana Zavala leads the team in RBIs (19) and homers (4). Hallie Siems leads the team in the circle with 83 strikeouts.

On Deck

Mississippi State will travel to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to face No. 15 LSU on April 21-23. Saturday is "All for Alex", and all 13 SEC teams will unite to wear teal or teal accents in recognition of former MSU player Alex Wilcox's legacy and impact on the softball community. That day will also feature the Geaux Teal Foundation's annual walk held in Baton Rouge, and Alex's former teammate and current MSU graduate student coach Mia Davidson-Smith will speak at the event.

Follow the Bulldogs

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

Softball Hosts Memphis For Final Midweek Contest

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Nadia Barbary

Paige Cook

Grace Fagan

Madisyn Kennedy

Chloe Malau'ulu

Josey Marron

Aspen Wesley

Mississippi State University Athletics

Softball Hosts Memphis For Final Midweek Contest

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Nadia Barbary

Paige Cook

Grace Fagan

Madisyn Kennedy

Chloe Malau'ulu

Josey Marron

Aspen Wesley

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