Bulldogs Close Out Regular Season In Gainesville
GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- The Mississippi State softball team (31-25, 11-15 SEC) will close out the 2003 regular season this weekend when the Bulldogs head to Gainesville, Fla., for a three-game series with No. 22/25 Florida (35-18, 16-8) at the Florida Softball Field.
The squads will open up their set with a 1 p.m. Saturday afternoon doubleheader and close out the series and regular season play for the Maroon and White on Sunday at 1 p.m. For ticket information, contact the University of Florida Athletic Ticket Office at (352) 375-4683, extension 4800.
Mississippi State, which has dropped nine of its last 11 contests, will look to secure its sixth-straight SEC Tournament berth with one victory or a Mississippi loss to South Carolina at home and enhance its NCAA Regional resum?© with one or more wins against the Gators. Florida, which dropped both ends of a home twinbill with cross-state nemesis Florida State on Wednesday, will look to snap a five-game losing streak to the Bulldogs this weekend.
Florida and MSU will engage each other for the 18th time in a series led slightly by Mississippi State. State has had its way with the Gators in Starkville, leading the series 5-2 including a series sweep of Florida last season. Florida has taken four of seven meetings with the Bulldogs in Gainesville.
The Gators are paced by three hitters with batting averages at .308 or better, with four other hitters maintaining batting clips at .256 or better. Mylin Prieto paces the Orange and Blue with a .350 (50-for-143) tally and 28 RBI, but three other hitters have turned in more home runs. As a club, the Gators have hit 33 home runs and driven in more than 180 runs in 53 outings.
Jenny Gladding, who earned National Player of the Week honors from both the National Fastpitch Coaches Association and USA Softball on Tuesday after throwing a no-hitter and a complete game shutout against Tennessee last weekend, will likely start in the bookends of the series. Gladding (18-10, 1.18 ERA) already has seven shutouts to her credit this season while striking out 225 batters in 195 innings of work. Amanda Moore (12-5, 2.00) will probably face the Bulldogs from the circle in the nightcap of Saturday's double dip.