No. 25 Mississippi State Opens Nine-Game Home Tilt with Bulldog Slamboree

Friday, March 2

Starkville

3:30 PM

Mississippi State

Lamar

Mississippi State returns to Nusz Park for a nine-game home swing, beginning with the Bulldog Slamboree.

No. 25 Mississippi State Opens Nine-Game Home Tilt with Bulldog Slamboree

March 01, 2018 | Softball

Game Notes Live Stats MSU vs. LU (SECN+)MSU vs. MU (SEC+)MSU vs. SHSU (Game One/SECN+)MSU vs. SHSU (Game Two/SECN+)

STARKVILLE, Miss. – Coming off an impressive showing at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic that saw the Bulldogs earn two wins over ranked opponents, No. 25 Mississippi State softball (12-3) begins a nine-game home swing at Nusz Park with the Bulldog Slamboree.

The Bulldogs will welcome Lamar, Mercer and Sam Houston State for the three-day tournament. MSU will miss Alcorn State over the tournament schedule, but will met the Lady Brave on the diamond on Tuesday, April 10 for a midweek clash.

State opens the Bulldog Slamboree on Friday, March 2 with a 3:30 p.m. CT contest with Lamar. The Bulldogs will play a doubleheader on Saturday, March 3 taking on Mercer at 11:30 a.m. CT before facing Sam Houston State at 2:00 p.m. CT. The Bulldogs closed the tournament on Sunday, March 4 with a 2:00 p.m. CT contest with Sam Houston State.

Seventh-year head coach Vann Stuedeman and the Bulldogs enter the weekend with a 12-3 record and the program's first national ranking since the 2016 season after an impressive 3-2 weekend at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic, one of the premier annual softball tournaments of the year. Over the tournament slate, MSU defeated No. 23 Nebraska, 9-0, and No. 16 Oklahoma State, 9-0, before knocking off San Jose State, 6-4.

Individually, the Bulldogs continue to be led by freshman catcher/infielder Mia Davidson, who has continued her hot start to the season. She leads the team and ranks fifth in the conference with 23 total hits, having knocked at least one hit in all 15 contests to open the 2018 season. The freshman also ranks in the top 10 in the Southeastern Conference in over 11 offensive categories.

MSU holds the second-lowest earned run average in the country behind impressive starts by senior right-handers Holly Ward and Cassady Knudsen. In four of her five starts, Knudsen has struck out at least 10 batters as she leads the country with a 12.3 strikeouts per seven inning average. Last weekend, Knudsen earned her first shutout over a ranked opponent as she blanked No. 23 Nebraska, 9-0, in five innings.

ON DECK
Mississippi State will continue its homestand on Wednesday, March 7 with a 6:00 p.m. CT contest versus Boston College. The game will be the third "No One Fights Alone" contest of the season as the Bulldogs will wear teal uniforms in honor of freshman outfielder Alex Wilcox's fight with ovarian cancer.

2018 BULLDOG SLAMBOREE SCHEDULE
Friday, March 2
Game One – Mercer vs. Sam Houston State – 10:30 a.m. CT
Game Two – Mercer vs. Lamar – 1:00 p.m. CT
Game Three – Mississippi State vs. Lamar – 3:30 p.m. CT
Game Four – Sam Houston State vs. Alcorn State – 6:00 p.m. CT

Saturday, March 3
Game Five – Lamar vs. Mercer – 9:00 a.m. CT
Game Six – Mississippi State vs. Mercer – 11:30 a.m. CT
Game Seven – Mississippi State vs. Sam Houston State – 2:00 p.m. CT
Game Eight – Alcorn State vs. Sam Houston State – 4:30 p.m. CT
Game Nine – Alcorn State vs. Lamar – 7:00 p.m. CT

Sunday, March 4
Game Ten – Mercer vs. Alcorn State – 9:00 a.m. CT
Game Eleven – Lamar vs. Alcorn State – 11:30 a.m. CT
Game Twelve – Mississippi State vs. Sam Houston State – 2:00 p.m. CT

LAST TIME OUT
Mississippi State faced a tough field at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic, one of the premier tournament in all of college softball. The Bulldogs faced three ranked teams over the weekend slate, knocking off two, to cap the weekend with a 3-2 record.

Thursday, Feb. 22
No. 15 Arizona State def. Mississippi State, 3-1 (Recap, Box Score)
Mississippi State def. No. 23 Nebraska, 9-0 [5 inn.] (Recap, Box Score)

Friday, Feb. 23
Mississippi State def. No. 16 Oklahoma State, 9-4 (Recap, Box Score)

Saturday, Feb. 24
Mississippi State def. San Jose State, 6-4 (Recap, Box Score)
Cal State Fullerton def. Mississippi State, 4-1 (Recap, Box Score)

INSIDE THE MATCHUP
Against Lamar
Overall: Mississippi State leads, 1-0
In Starkville: Mississippi State leads, 1-0
Last Meeting: Mississippi State def. Lamar, 7-1 (Feb. 14, 2015 in Starkville, Miss.)
Streak: Mississippi State, +1

Against Mercer
Overall: Mississippi State leads, 2-1
In Starkville: First Meeting
Last Meeting: Mercer def. Mississippi State, 6-5 (Feb. 25, 2011 in Kennesaw, Ga.)
Streak: Mercer, +1

Against Sam Houston State
Overall: First Meeting
In Starkville: First Meeting
Last Meeting: First Meeting
Streak: First Meeting

NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT
After picking up wins over #23 Nebraska and #16 Oklahoma State during the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic, Mississippi State leapt into the national spotlight, earning a No. 25 ranking in the espn.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25. MSU is enjoying its first ranking in either of the two major softball polls since March 22, 2016.

MAMA MIA!
To say that Mia Davidson has had hot start to her freshman season would be an understatement. Not only has Davidson proven to be a spark to MSU offense's early success, but she has also ranks as one of the top hitters amongst the conference.

Davidson currently ranks in the top 10 in the Southeastern Conference in 11 offensive categories, including first in triples (2), fourth in total bases (44), fifth in hits (23), sixth in slugging percentage (.898), sixth in home runs (4), seventh in runs per game (1.20) and eighth in batting average (.469).

SHUTDOWN STAFF
MSU's pitching staff has tossed seven shutouts, including five complete-game shutouts, over the first 15 games of the season. MSU set a program record by opening 2018 with five straight shutout victories. The Bulldog staff was just one of three teams, joining Alabama and Lipscomb, to shut out opponents in every contest over opening weekend.

Entering the fourth week of the season, MSU leads the SEC and ranks second nationally with a 0.63 ERA, allowing just nine earned runs over 100.0 innings this season.

MISSISSIPPI QUEEN
In her seventh season at the helm of Mississippi State softball, Vann Stuedeman has notched 215 victories and is closing in on moving into second for all-time wins in program history. Stuedeman is just four victories away from tying Kathy Arendsen (1997-2002) for the second-most wins in program history at 219. Jay Miller (2003-211) holds the program record at 295.

CASSADY "KKKKKK"NUDSEN
Opening her senior campaign, Cassady Knudsen has struck out at least 10 batters in four of her five starts in 2018, including two career-high performances of 13 strikeouts.

Cassady currently leads the SEC and all of Division I softball with a 12.3 strikeouts per seven inning average. Her 54 total strikeouts currently ranks fifth among SEC pitchers. Over her career, Knudsen ranks second in MSU history with an 7.33 strikeouts per seven inning average.

STAYING ALIVE
Reggie Harrison continues to be one of the toughest batters in the country to retire as she has now reached base in all 15 games this season to extend her reached base streak to 23 consecutive games, dating back to April 29, 2017 at Auburn.

Joining Harrison with impressive plate performances is freshman Mia Davidson who ranks fifth in the SEC with 23 total hits. She has recorded at least one hit in all 15 games to open the 2018 season.

WATCH LIVE
All four of Mississippi State contests will be broadcasted live on the SEC Network+ via WatchESPN and the WatchESPN app.

MSU vs. Lamar
MSU vs. Mercer
MSU vs. Sam Houston State (Game One)
MSU vs. Sam Houston State (Game Two)

LIVE STATS
Mississippi State will provide live stats for all 12 games this week. Live stats can be found HERE of by visiting msu.statbroadcast.com.

ADMISSION
All regular-season home games at Nusz Park this weekend, as well as the entire season, are free admission.

PROMOTIONS
A list of this weekend's promotions is listed below.

Friday, March 2
Mississippi State vs. Lamar (3:30 p.m.)
- FREE Admission
- National Employee Appreciation Day (Prizes for MSU Staff Throughout the Game)
- FREE Gift Cards & Prizes Throughout the Games
- Up to 225 Hail State Rewards Points Per Game
- 150 Bully's Kids Club Points Per Game

Saturday, March 3
Mississippi State vs. Mercer (11:30 a.m.)
- FREE Admission
- FREE Gift Cards & Prizes Throughout the Games
- Up to 225 Hail State Rewards Points Per Game
- 150 Bully's Kids Club Points Per Game

Mississippi State vs. Sam Houston State (2 p.m.)
- FREE Admission
- FREE Gift Cards & Prizes Throughout the Games
- Up to 275 Hail State Rewards Points Per Game
- 200 Bully's Kids Club Points Per Game

Sunday, March 4
Mississippi State vs. Sam Houston State (2 p.m.)
- FREE Admission
- FREE Gift Cards & Prizes Throughout the Games
- Up to 275 Hail State Rewards Points Per Game
- 200 Bully's Kids Club Points Per Game

FOLLOW THE DAWGS
For more on Mississippi State softball, follow the Bulldogs on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram by searching for "HailStateSB." You can also find all-access coverage of the program on SnapChat by searching for "HailStateSnap".