No. 23 'Dogs Head Back To Florida For Speedline Invitational
PLANT CITY, Fla. -- The 23rd-ranked Mississippi State Softball team (13-7) will make its second trip in as many weeks to the Sunshine State as the Bulldogs travel to Plant City, Fla., for the 24-team Speedline Invitational, hosted by the University of South Florida. Mississippi State, which slipped a spot to No. 23 in the latest USA Today/NFCA Top 25 released Wednesday morning, will face No. 13 Florida Atlantic (19-3) in the opener of round-robin pool play Thursday morning at 10 a.m. CT. The Bulldogs will follow with a 12 p.m. matchup with Central Michigan (7-5). The Bulldogs continue to show consistency from its pitching staff this season, allowing just six runs over its past five contests. Senior Kasey Whitehead (7-4, 1.24 ERA) anchors a staff that currently maintains a 1.35 team ERA in 140.1 innings of work. Whitehead, who already has four wins against top 25 schools this season, will likely draw the start against Florida Atlantic Thursday morning, with Melissa Massey (2-3, 0.94) likely penciled in against Central Michigan. State's batting order, which carries a .278 team average into the weekend on the shoulders of four players hitting .333 or better, will likely be countered by FAU's all-American pitcher Nicole Myers (11-2, 0.68), who defeated the Bulldogs 4-3 last season at the Speedline. Myers turned in both a victory and a save against then-fifth ranked Oklahoma last week at the Florida International tournament. Central Michigan's strength will come from its batting where the Chippewas hold a .307 team average with six players hitting .303 or better. Senior outfielder and cleanup hitter Jennifer Skuta will pace Central Michigan into the weekend on the strength of a .444 average (16-for-36) and a team lead in both home runs (3)and RBIs (13). The CMU batting will likely counter a pitching staff that currently holds a 3.54 team ERA. Amber Puchalski (3-1, 2.90) anchors the staff, despite allowing nearly three earned runs per contest. Following Thursday's opening round at the ISF Softball Complex in Plant City, Mississippi State will continue round-robin pool play on Friday, battling North Carolina (8-7) at 9 a.m. and Nicholls State (5-9) at 11 a.m. The Bulldogs will close out pool play on Saturday in an 11 a.m. game against Temple (6-6) before beginning single-elimination bracket play at the Speedline Invitational.