No. 24 'Dogs Host Oakland In Wednesday Twinbill
Game Time Moved Up 90 Minutes To Accommodate Cold Weather STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Fresh off an impressive showing in the nation's premier Division I tournament this past weekend, the 24th-ranked Mississippi State softball team (10-5) will return home Wednesday to host Oakland (1-6) in an afternoon doubleheader at the Mississippi State Softball Field. The game time has been switched to a 1:30 p.m. first pitch to accommodate the colder weather moving through the area. With four wins against nationally ranked opponents under their belt, including three against top 10-ranked foes, the Bulldogs will attempt to get back on the winning track after dropping its last three games, two of which were to teams ranked in the top 20. "We played well in three of our five games at the NFCA Leadoff Classic, beating a pair of top 10 teams and putting ourselves in a position to defeat 13th-ranked Fresno State Sunday morning. We need to get more consistent play from our team but, yet again, we played very well against some of the top opposition in the country." Despite less than stellar fielding from the Bulldogs in the last three outings, State will bring a very balanced team into Wednesday's date with the Golden Grizzlies. Mississippi State has brought a very consistent batting order to the plate in each game this season which, in turn, has produced a team average near the .300 plateau (.289). Junior Jennifer Nelson (14-for-34, .412) and three-time all-American Kellie Wilkerson (19-for-47, .404) continue to lead the club, but are joined by four other players hitting at or close to .300 on the season. In the circle, the Bulldogs continue to be paced by senior Kasey Whitehead (5-3, 1.59 ERA) who added a second victory over a top 10 team to her resum?© with a 3-2 win over 10th-ranked Michigan Friday evening. However, State got very consistent pitching from freshman Melissa Massey (1-2, 0.76) in Columbus, Ga., including a five-hit gem against perennial national power Fresno State Sunday morning. The Golden Grizzlies, who call Rochester, Mich., (suburb of Detroit) home, will bring a .240 team average into the contest that has not been able to offset a 2.59 team ERA. Junior Ericka Burns paces the team with a .459 (11-for-24) batting average, including a pair of extra base hits. Oakland is paced in the circle by Nicole Marzano (0-2, 0.00) who has dropped a 1-0 and a 2-0 decision this season on three unearned runs. Sophomore Jaymie Voss (0-3, 1.95) will likely see action against Mississippi State as well.