Nusz Park Prepares To Host Third Straight Ranked Opponent

STARKVILLE – For the third time this year, No. 16/17 Mississippi State will welcome a ranked team to Nusz Park for a three-game conference series. The Bulldogs host No. 4/4 Tennessee on April 12-14. Every SEC team that has visited Starkville or is scheduled to this season is currently ranked inside the top 10 in at least one poll.

Saturday is the SEC's annual All For Alex day honoring the legacy of former Bulldog Alex Wilcox and her fight against ovarian cancer. All 13 conference schools will wear teal along with multiple non-conference teams that have ties to her story around the country. That game will be televised nationally at 2:30 p.m. CT on SEC Network.

The matchup is one of contrasting strengths. While State boasts a top-10 offense nationally and leads the SEC in nearly every major offensive statistic in conference games, the Lady Vols bring in one of the nation's top pitching staffs. Tennessee leads the nation with a 1.26 team ERA and has thrown 15 shutouts. The Bulldogs have been shut out just twice this year.

Fans in attendance on Friday will receive promotional "Nuszpapers" to help spread the news at Nusz Park. While State honors Wilcox on Saturday, the first 500 fans will receive an Alex Wilcox trading card. Sunday is Native American Heritage Day, recognizing Aspen Wesley, the first Mississippi Choctaw to pitch in the SEC. Wesley is having a career year, winning 10 games for the first time and already nearly matching her regular-season career highs in both strikeouts and innings pitched.

Game Coverage

Leading Off

In The Polls: State was tabbed No. 11 in the Softball America poll this week, which is its highest mark in any poll in program history. The Bulldogs have matched their highest ranking in the D1Softball poll at No. 15 this week.

SEC Success: State leads the conference in batting average, on-base percentage, hits, runs, RBIs, doubles and walks in league play. Additionally, Madisyn Kennedy leads the SEC in slugging percentage, home runs, total bases, walks and RBIs in league games. Nadia Barbary is second in the conference in hits while leading in doubles in SEC games.

Road Dawgs: The Bulldogs have won three road series for the first time since the SEC switched to the current 24-game schedule in 2013. State is also 8-3 against ranked opponents in road or neutral meetings.

Two Outs, So What?: State has collected 107 two-out RBIs, which is third in the SEC and fourth in school history (since 2002). 43.0 percent of MSU's RBIs (107 of 249) this year have come with two outs. Madisyn Kennedy is third in program history with 61 career two-out RBIs, and Paige Cook is fifth with 58.

Standout Sophomores: Josey Marron's 155 career strikeouts rank seventh in school history among players through their sophomore season. Nadia Barbary, meanwhile, ranks sixth in doubles (19) and 14th in RBIs (48) through a player's sophomore year.

Aspen's Career Year: Aspen Wesley has posted her first 10-win season along with two of her five career shutouts.She has already matched her career-high with 86 strikeouts this year, and her 78.0 innings is one shy of her regular-season career high of 79.0 in 2022.

Magic Number: MSU is 72-6 since the start of 2022 when scoring five or more runs. State has done so in 24 of its 28 wins this year.

Making The Sacrifice: State has broken the school record already with 19 sacrifice flies this season, which ranks 11th nationally.

Miss Consistency: Sierra Sacco has started 153 consecutive games, dating back to her time at Louisiana Tech, which is the eighth-longest active streak in the nation.

About Tennessee (30-6, 10-2 SEC)

Series History

Overall: 21-45 | Home: 9-19 | Away: 11-23 | Neutral: 1-3
Current Streak: Lost 2 | Last Meeting: May 12, 2022, in Gainesville, Fla. (MSU 0, TENN 1 [13 inn.])
Last Series: Apr. 1-3, 2022, TENN won in Knoxville, Tenn. (G1: TENN, 9-1 [5 inn.] | G2: MSU, 8-3 | G3: TENN, 10-1 [6 inn.])

About the Lady Vols

Tennessee has won 12 of its last 13 SEC series, going 32-7 in that span. The Lady Vols started the 2024 campaign 8-0 in conference play for the first time in school history. Karlyn Pickens and Payton Gottshall have led the charge for a pitching staff that owns the nation's best ERA at 1.26 and claims 15 shutouts – fifth-best nationally – and has a 4.85 strikeout-to-walk ratio that is third nationally. Pickens ranks fourth in the nation with a 0.81 ERA.

On Deck

The Bulldogs will make up a pair of games at home next week. State hosts Memphis at 5 p.m. CT on Tuesday, April 16. MSU will then welcome South Alabama at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, April 17. The Bulldogs are off for the weekend due to their bye week in the conference schedule.

Follow the Bulldogs

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

Nusz Park Prepares To Host Third Straight Ranked Opponent

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Nadia Barbary

Paige Cook

Madisyn Kennedy

Josey Marron

Sierra Sacco

Aspen Wesley

Mississippi State University Athletics

Nusz Park Prepares To Host Third Straight Ranked Opponent

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Nadia Barbary

Paige Cook

Madisyn Kennedy

Josey Marron

Sierra Sacco

Aspen Wesley

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