State Takes On No. 10 Georgia In SEC Home Opener
Bulldogs Play At Home For First Time Since February 14
STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Fresh off a 4-3 road trip in the state of South Carolina, the Mississippi State softball team (19-8, 1-2 SEC) will return home for the first time in more than a month as the Bulldogs suit up to take on No. 10-ranked and SEC East-leading Georgia (24-3, 3-0) in its SEC home opener at the Mississippi State Softball Field.
The Maroon and White Bulldogs and the Red and Black Bulldogs will open their series with a Saturday doubleheader beginning at noon. State and Georgia will close out their series on Sunday afternoon with a single game at 12:30 p.m. Admission to all 2003 Mississippi State softball home games is free of charge.
In 15 meetings since the inaugural season of SEC softball in 1997, Mississippi State has dominated the series 12-3, but Georgia got a pair of licks in last season, defeating MSU in the Athens series opener, then knocking State from the SEC Tournament in Chattanooga, Tenn. The game will feature the SEC's top two hitting ballclubs with each sporting a .311 team average. Georgia boasts the conference's best pitching, turning in a paltry 0.54 team ERA.
"Obviously, Georgia has been playing very well," said Mississippi State head coach Jay Miller. "They are coming in off a sweep of Auburn and have had a good start to the season. They have beaten some good teams along the way. I think it is going to be a very good challenge for our ballclub to see where we are at. We took the first game at South Carolina, then dropped the next two so obviously we stubbed our toe a little bit over there.
"This is another opportunity for us to play a team ranked ahead of us and to move up in the standings in the SEC. It's our first conference games at home and everybody is looking forward to that."
Junior all-American Nicole Barber, who established a new SEC record for career stolen bases last weekend, paces the Georgia hitting by nearly 100 points. Barber, the SEC's top hitter, boasts a .444 average (40-for-90) to go along with 7 extra-base hits and 12 RBI. Barber, who has also posted a slugging percentage of .589 and an on-base percentage of .500, is most dangerous on the base paths, however, having already swiped 30 bags this season. Along with Barber, the Red and Black have six players hitting .304 or higher.
Georgia completes their effectiveness from the circle where Michelle Green (15-2, 0.59 ERA) and Lacey Gardner (8-1, 0.42) have posted wins with near ease. Overall, the Georgia staff has posted a strikeout to walk ratio close to six to one. The group is also holding its opponents to a measley .124 batting clip, striking out 230 batters in 183 innings of work.
Mississippi State's strength will come from its batting order where the Bulldogs boast five players hitting .297 or better. Two-time all-SEC phenom Iyhia McMichael, the conference's second-leading hitter behind Barber, has posted a .422 average (35-for-83) through 27 games, turning in 14 extra-base hits (eight HR), an SEC-best .819 slugging percentage and a .485 on-base percentage. State's hottest hitter, however, likely could be Jennifer Waterman who has gradually made her way to the top of MSU's hitting charts, posting a .370 average (27-for-73) with an SEC and career high 11 doubles and 17 RBI.
From the circle, Mississippi State has leaned on Melissa Massey (12-2, 2.29) who has posted career highs in wins, complete games (8) and shutouts (2). Massey had her personal nine-game winning streak snapped with a game two loss at South Carolina last weekend.
"Our strength is our hitting and defense," Miller said. "Defensively, we have been getting the job done fairly well. Our pitching is an area that we need to get to step up a little bit and be a little more consistent. The inconsistencies from the mound has gotten us in a little bit of trouble. Hopefully, that is something that we can get settled down for this weekend."