'Dogs Begin Six-Game Homestand, Host Georgia Tech
Yellow Jackets Come Rolling Into Starkville, Alabama Not Far Behind STARKVILLE, Miss. -- The Mississippi State softball team (28-21) will begin a six-game homestand Thursday as the Bulldogs step out of conference to host visiting Georgia Tech (39-13) in an afternoon doubleheader at the Mississippi State Softball Field. First pitch is set for 3 p.m. The Bulldogs will bring a four-game home winning streak into Thursday, including a three-game series sweep of Mississippi in Starkville last Wednesday and Thursday. However, the Yellow Jackets will ride incredulous momentum into the Magnolia State, having already shattered the school record for victories in a season set by the 1991 squad. Mississippi State and Georgia Tech have met four times, with the Bulldogs taking all four meetings by an average score of 4 to 1. Two meetings have gone intro extra frames and two have been decided by a single run. The nightcap of last season's doubleheader in Atlanta went into extra innings with Iyhia McMichael's three-run double in the top of the 10th proving to be the difference. Georgia Tech will ride the shoulders of 18-game winner Jessica Sallinger (18-6, 1.24 ERA) and .400 hitter Tara Knudsen, who have proven to be the workhorses on the Ramblin Wreck's roster this season. Sallinger, a freshman out of Kennesaw, Ga., has struck out 214 batters in 163+ innings of work this season. Knudsen has recorded 27 extra-base hits this season to go along with 45 RBIs. Mississippi State will likely send Kasey Whitehead (17-9, 2.26) to the circle to face Sallinger in game one, with the nightcap probably featuring Tech's Erin Voeltz (14-5, 2.14) against MSU's Melissa Massey (4-10, 2.53). Both games can be followed via the following live stats link. Admission to all 2002 Mississippi State home games is free of charge. Following the doubleheader with Georgia Tech, State will again be in action this weekend as the Bulldogs suit up to host 15th-ranked Alabama (37-13, 17-4) in a three-game series. The two squads will open their set in a Saturday afternoon doubleheader at 1 p.m. and will conclude the series on Sunday at 1 p.m.