No. 22 'Dogs Battle Texas In Sunshine Classic Opener
State Likely To Battle U.S. National Team Pitcher Friday Evening TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Fresh off a doubleheader sweep of visiting Oakland Wednesday afternoon in Starkville, the 22nd-ranked Mississippi State softball team (12-5) travels to Tallahassee, Fla., this weekend to take part in the four-team Sunshine Classic, hosted by Florida State University. The Bulldogs will open up their portion of tournament play Friday afternoon at 4 p.m. CT by taking on Texas (13-6) at the 1,000-seat Seminole Softball Complex. State will conclude round-robin pool play on Saturday against both 18th-ranked and host Florida State (14-6) at 11 a.m. and Kansas (4-6) at 3. The tournament will conclude on Sunday with semifinal action set for 9 and 11 a.m., followed by a championship game at 1 p.m. State, who combined for 19 hits and 15 runs in a twinbill sweep of Oakland (who upset 14th-ranked Alabama on Wednesday), will face a wealth of outstanding pitching in the tournament, likely drawing all three staff aces in tournament action due, in most part, to its .298 team batting average. The Bulldogs are led by a quartet of players hitting at or above the .380 mark. Three-time all-American Kellie Wilkerson (.396) and all-SEC outfielder Iyhia McMichael (.380) have combined for 28 RBIs this season on the shoulders of 19 extra-base hits. But, in order to be successful, the Bulldogs will have to solve the riddle of all three staff aces, two of which are fresh off perfect game performances. Texas ace Cat Osterman (8-4, 1.90 ERA), a member of the 2001 U.S. national teams, hurled UT's first perfect game in program history Tuesday night against Stephen F. Austin and brings other impressive credentials into the game -- mainly 118 strikeouts in 66 and one-third innings of work. State's second matchup of the tournament against host Florida State will likely bring the same challenge. Jessica Van der Linden (6-1, 0.51) has turned in 65 strikeouts in 55 innings of work in the campaign. However, State will bring more than just hitting into the tournament. The MSU pitching staff has come on as of late to post impressive outings. Ace Kasey Whitehead (6-3, 1.41), who already has posted a pair of wins against top 10 teams this season, currently maintains a strikeout to walk ratio near 7:1 (34 K's, 5 BB in 59.2 IP). Freshman Melissa Massey (2-2, 0.58 ERA) has been equally as impressive, including a five-hit gem against 13th-ranked Fresno State in Columbus, Ga., last weekend. All games of the 2002 Florida State Sunshine Classic can be followed live over the internet with a live stats link at http://seminoles.fansonly.com/livestats/w-softbl/.