No. 21 Bulldogs Return To Nusz Park For Four-Game Homestand

STARKVILLE – Mississippi State's softball team that is ranked as high as No. 18 in two of the four national polls returns to Nusz Park on Wednesday to host ULM at 6 p.m. CT. The game will also be available on SEC Network+.

The Bulldogs are coming off a series victory at Ole Miss over the weekend. After one weekend of league play, State (19-4, 2-1 SEC) leads the SEC in slugging percentage, runs scored, homers, walks and total bases. The Bulldogs are second in the league in on-base percentage and batting average, trailing only No. 2 LSU.

A trio of Bulldogs had an outstanding series in Oxford. Salen Hawkins was named the SEC Freshman of the Week on Tuesday after batting .625. She leads the league in conference play and her overall season average of .390 leads the team and ranks third among SEC freshmen.

Madisyn Kennedy has been on a tear offensively lately. Every hit she's had since Feb. 29 has gone for extra bases, and she led the nation in slugging percentage (2.000) last week. She currently leads the SEC and ranks fourth nationally with a 1.047 slugging percentage for the season.

Lastly, Aspen Wesley tossed her first career no-hitter on Saturday and State's first SEC no-hitter since 2013. She struck out a career-high nine in the game, and the Bulldogs have now seen three different pitchers throw no-hitters this season. Only the 2006 campaign, when three Bulldogs tossed four no-hitters, saw more no-no's in a season.

Leading Off

Slugging It: Madisyn Kennedy led the nation last week with a 2.000 slugging percentage. Since Feb. 29, every hit she's had has gone for extra bases (2 2B, 5 HR). Kennedy batted .571 in the series at Ole Miss (Mar. 8-10) and homered in the series as many times as she was put out.

Freshman Phenom: Salen Hawkins ranks third among all SEC freshmen with a .390 batting average, which also leads the team. In SEC play, she's hitting .625, which leads the league.

Sweet Nothings: Aspen Wesley no-hit Ole Miss on Saturday, marking her first career no-hitter and State's first against an SEC team since 2013. State now has three pitchers with no-hitters this season, which trails only 2006 - when three pitchers tossed four no-hitters - for the most in a season in school history.

Making The Sacrifice: Paige Cook has already has four sacrifice flies again this year, which is one shy of the school record, and her 10 career sac flies are tied for second in school history. As a team, State's 15 sacrifice flies rank third nationally and are two shy of last year's school record. In 2023, MSU averaged 0.32 per game, and its now averaging 0.65.

What's Cookin': Paige Cook has led the team in two-out RBIs each of the last two years, and is doing so again this year. She now has 55 for her career, which is sixth in MSU history.

Magic Number: MSU is 64-3 since the start of 2022 when scoring five or more runs. State scored at least five in 25 of its 27 wins of 2023 and has done so in 15 of 19 wins in 2024.

Going The Distance: As a team, MSU has tossed 10 complete games already this year after throwing just eight last season. Josey Marron and Aspen Wesley have accounted for seven complete games.

Blowout Bats: State has scored eight runs an inning four times this year and sent 14 batters to the plate in a frame twice against Alcorn State (Mar. 3) and Troy (Mar. 2). MSU has 10 run-rule victories on the year, which is tied for fifth-most in school history.

Our State: The Bulldogs are now 27-5 against teams from the state of Mississippi under Samantha Ricketts. MSU has outscored in-state foes, 242-76, in her tenure.

About ULM (17-8, 0-0 SBC)

Series History

Overall: 14-6 | Home: 9-2 | Away: 4-4 | Neutral: 1-0
Current Streak: Won 8 | Last Meeting: March 29, 2023, in Monroe, La. (MSU 7, ULM 1)

Notables

ULM is coming off a series loss to in-state foe McNeese over the weekend, but the Warhawks won the final game, 4-1. Warhawk pitchers have posted a 1.73 ERA that currently ranks 19th in the nation. Their 57 stolen bases rank seventh nationally, and the speed has also accounted for 10 triples, which ranks seventh in the country. The Warhawks have mimicked the Bulldogs in drawing 91 walks, which ranks among the top 20 in the nation, while State leads the nation with 111. ULM and State also two of three teams nationally with 15 or more sacrifice flies. The Warhawks' Andie Edwards leads the nation with seven sacrifice flies on her own.

On Deck

After a day off, the Bulldogs will welcome No. 13/17 Texas A&M to Nusz Park for a three-game series on March 15-17. Friday's game is set for a 4 p.m. CT first pitch with Saturday beginning at 1 p.m. The series finale is scheduled for 11 a.m. CT on Sunday. All three games will air on SEC Network+.

Follow the Bulldogs
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No. 21 Bulldogs Return To Nusz Park For Four-Game Homestand

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Paige Cook

Salen Hawkins

Madisyn Kennedy

Josey Marron

Aspen Wesley

Mississippi State University Athletics

No. 21 Bulldogs Return To Nusz Park For Four-Game Homestand

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Paige Cook

Salen Hawkins

Madisyn Kennedy

Josey Marron

Aspen Wesley

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