State Heads To Oxford For Series With Rebels
STARKVILLE, Miss. -- The Mississippi State softball team (28-16, 8-9 SEC) will begin a nine-game roadtrip on Wednesday as the Bulldogs head to Oxford to battle cross-state rival Mississippi (14-24, 3-12 SEC) in a rare midweek conference series under the lights of the Ole Miss Softball Complex.
The two squads will renew their rivalry on Wednesday evening when the 'Dogs and Rebs open up their series with a 5 p.m. doubleheader. The pair will return to the Ole Miss Softball Complex on Thursday to face off in the series finale at 5 p.m. Admission to the complex is free of charge.
Although holding a 16-6 edge in the series, Mississippi State will play in a stadium where, typically, it has had to battle for every reward it has reaped. The Bulldogs hold a 9-2 series edge in Starkville, but have taken just seven of 11 meetings in Oxford by an average score of 4-3. State took all three games of the Oxford series in 2001 and the Starkville series last season and will enter this week's set riding a six-game winning string in the series.
"The key now is getting games," said Mississippi State head coach Jay Miller. "We got a game rained out this past weekend and hopefully the weather will cooperate over at Ole Miss this next couple of days and Alabama this weekend. We're in a situation that we need to play. We've got a great opportunity to help ourselves in terms of the (SEC) race, but we have to geta little cooperation from the weather."
Three weeks removed from SEC Player of the Week honors, sophomore DeDe Justice leads Mississippi in six offensive categories, including batting average (.321), runs scored (21), home runs (6) and RBI (27). Justice is followed by a more than ample supporting cast, however, as the Rebels currently boast four hitters hitting at or above the .277 mark. Sophomore Brooke Turner is second on the Rebel squad with four home runs which accompany a .293 batting clip.
Like its Starkville counterparts, the Rebels have had its trouble from the circle where they carry a 2.64 team ERA. Senior Lindsay Price is tops on the staff with a 8-10 record and a 2.44 ERA. Despite allowing the fewest earned runs of any of the three-arm staff, freshman Dana Brill has won just one of nine decisions and has an ERA (2.46) two points higher than that of Price's. Senior Leslie Day is 5-6 with a 3.18 ERA.
"They're struggling a little bit in terms of conference," Miller said. "The thing about the SEC is that it doesn't really matter where you are in the standings, once you get out on that field, anybody can beat anybody else. You have got to go ready to play and you have got to play well if you expect to win. I think that is what you are finding now across the conference. The teams that are prepared and go out there and get the job done are the ones that are going to be successful."
Although one game below .500 in the conference wins column, Mississippi State has held its own from the batter's box against conference foes on the campaign. The Bulldogs currently rank second among league foes against conference competition only with a .312 clip, while leading the SEC in overall batting average with a .313 tally. The Rebels rank eighth (.233) and ninth (.237), respectively.
MSU all-American Iyhia McMichael, who earned SEC and NFCA co-national Player of the Week honors last week, will look for a pair of school records in the midweek series as the junior will carry a school record-tying 24-game hitting streak into Oxford and needs just one stolen base to become the Maroon and White's career leader in that category. McMichael currently paces the Bulldogs in 10 offensive statistical categories including batting average (.454), home runs (12) and RBI (44). McMichael needs just two more home runs this season to tie Kellie Wilkerson atop the single season home run chart. She broke a pair of school records (10 total bases, 7 RBI) in her last appearance in Oxford on February 16 at the Rebel/Easton Invitational against Samford.
Following its midweek series with the Rebels, the Bulldogs will head to Tuscaloosa, Ala., this weekend for a three game series with the nationally-ranked Crimson Tide (32-13, 15-3) at the Alabama Softball Complex. For ticket information, contact the Alabama Athletic Ticket Office at (205) 348-6161.