'Dogs Make Fifth Consecutive Appearance At SEC Tournament
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. -- The seventh-seeded Mississippi State softball team (34-27) will open up their portion of play in the 2002 SEC Tournament here Thursday as the Bulldogs suit up to face second-seeded and SEC Eastern Division champion South Carolina (41-16) in the opening round. First pitch of the contest is set for 1 p.m. CDT at Chattanooga's Jim Frost Stadium. The Maroon and White will be making their fifth consecutive appearance at the conference postseason gala, but will bring their lowest seeding into the tournament. State, which advanced to the tournament championship in their 1998 debut, attained their highest seeding (4th) for last season's tournament, but made an early exit after dropping two of their first three contests. The first round contest with the Garnet and Black will mark the 18th meeting in the history of the series between the Gamecocks and Bulldogs, with USC holding a 10-7 series lead after taking two games of the three-game series on March 16-17 in Starkville. The squads have split six meetings at neutral sites in their history, but Mississippi State has taken two of three meetings at the SEC Tournament. The Bulldogs dropped the first two games of the Starkville series earlier this season, but salvaged the marathon series finale in two hours and 59 minutes. In the March 17 meeting (won 11-10 by MSU in nine innings), the teams combined to throw 331 pitches, utilizing every arm of their respective pitching staffs in the process. The Bulldogs hit .292 in the series, with the Gamecocks turning in a .304 clip. Both teams finished the set with an ERA well over the 4.00 plateau. Historically, 2002 second team all-SEC pitcher Megan Matthews has had her way with the Bulldogs and will bring a 5-0 record against the Maroon and White into the contest. However, Matthews never seemed to find her niche in the March series, finishing with a 1-0 record and a 6.12 ERA. In the series finale, the Bulldogs chased Matthews from the circl in the second inning after USC's staff ace had surrendered five earned runs on just four MSU hits. Matthews (20-6, 1.20 ERA) will likely be sent to the circle as the starter Thursday afternoon, however, as the senior has been the most consistent on the staff this season. Freshman Stacey Johnson (14-8, 1.56 ERA) ranks third on the Carolina staff in ERA, but turned in the best performance against the Bulldogs in March (1-1, 1.38 ERA). State will likely send staff ace Kasey Whitehead (20-12, 2.30 ERA), MSU's third 20-game winner in school history, to the circle to face the Gamecocks. Matthews finished the regular season with a 20-6 record and a team-best 1.20 ERA. The winner of the Mississippi State/South Carolina matchup will face the winner of Thursday's tournament opener between third-seeded Alabama and sixth-seeded Arkansas on Friday at 6 p.m. EDT, with both losers facing each other in Friday's 12 p.m. contest. Every game of the 2002 SEC Softball Tournament can be followed via a live stats link on the official site of the Southeastern Conference, SECSports.com. 2002 SEC Tournament Schedule (All Times EDT) Thursday, May 9 Friday, May 10 Saturday, May 11 Sunday, May 12
Jim Frost Stadium, Chattanooga, Tenn.
Game 1 - #3 Alabama (44-17) vs. #6 Arkansas (38-24-1), Noon
Game 2 - #2 South Carolina (41-16) vs. #7 Mississippi State (34-27), 2 p.m.
Game 3 - #4 Georgia (53-13) vs. #5 Auburn (37-23), 6 p.m.
Game 4 - #1 LSU (49-9) vs. #8 Florida (32-33), 8 p.m.
Game 5 - Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2, 12 p.m.
Game 6 - Loser Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4, 2 p.m.
Game 7 - Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2, 6 p.m.
Game 8 - Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4, 8 p.m.
Game 9 - Loser Game 8 vs. Winner Game 5, 12 p.m.
Game 10 - Loser Game 7 vs. Winner Game 6, 2 p.m.
Game 11 - Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 9, 6 p.m.
Game 12 - Winner Game 8 vs. Winner Game 10, 8 p.m.
Game 13 (if necessary) - Same two teams from Game 11, 10 a.m.
Game 14 (if necessary) - Same two teams from Game 12, 10 a.m.
Game 15 - SEC Tournamnt Championship, 2 p.m. (FOX SS)