Softball Returns Home To Host Central Arkansas, First Pitch Moved To 3 p.m.

STARKVILLE – After its longest road stretch of the year, Mississippi State softball returns to Nusz Park on Wednesday (April 7) to host Central Arkansas.

First pitch between the Bulldogs (18-15, 0-9 SEC) and the Bears (22-10, 10-2 Southland) was moved up to 3 p.m. CT on Wednesday morning. The game will air on SEC Network+.

Central Arkansas will play Ole Miss on Tuesday night, while the Bulldogs are coming off a trip to Southeastern Louisiana on Monday. The Bears are another quality opponent on MSU's challenging schedule. State ranks 11^th in the nation in strength of schedule and eight of its losses have come at the hands of top-10 teams.

UCA is tied with Southeastern Louisiana for second in the Southland Conference standings. The Bears are tied with MSU for 14^th in the nation with 48 doubles, but they have been most effective on the other side of the ball pitching to a 1.71 ERA that ranks 20^th nationally. UCA has thrown 11 shutouts, which ranks 10^th in the nation.

Leading Off

A Tough Go: MSU's past opponents have a combined .678 winning percentage, which ranks fourth in the NCAA. The Bulldogs boast the No. 11 strength of schedule in the latest NCAA RPI calculations and all but two of State's losses have come to teams ranked or receiving votes in the latest NFCA poll.

SEC Sluggers: Mia Davidson is tied for sixth in SEC softball history with 61 career home runs. She has tied Will Clark and six away from Rafael Palmeiro (67) in her quest to become MSU's all-time home run queen in baseball and softball.

Take Two: MSU ranks 14th nationally in doubles (48) and fourth in the SEC. Davidson and Chloe Malau'ulu have each hit eight.

Making Them Miss: The Bulldog pitching staff ranks third in the SEC with 252 strikeouts and leads the league in looking strikeouts (68). State has struck out 61 batters over nine SEC games.

Sophomore Spark: Madisyn Kennedy batted .357 in four games last week with two home runs and six RBIs. She posted a .786 slugging percentage which ranked second on the team and was 3-for-4 with two outs.

On A Roll: Fa Leilua has hit safely in a season-best seven straight games and reached base in a season-high 10 straight. Malau'ulu is on a career-long seven game hitting streak, and Jackie McKenna has tied her career-long streak at four games.

In The Hit Column: MSU has outhit the opponent in 24 of its 33 games, including four of its last seven games.

Who's Hot: Leilua is riding a season-long seven-game hitting streak and 10-game reached base streak. She leads the team in batting average (.444) and slugging percentage (.815) with 11 RBIs over the last 10 games.

About Central Arkansas

The Bears are on a tour of Mississippi this week, playing at Ole Miss on Tuesday before meeting the Bulldogs. UCA is 0-5 against SEC teams this year having already played Texas A&M, LSU and Arkansas. Kayla Beaver was named the Southland Conference Pitcher of the Week after posting two wins without surrendering an earned run. Jenna Wildeman leads the team in batting average (.442), runs (29) and stolen bases (29). Mary Kate Brown is second on the team with a .420 batting average and leads the team in doubles (9).

Rankings: NFCA Coaches - NR | USA Softball - NR | Softball America – NR | D1Softball - NR
Head Coach: David Kuhn | Record at UCA: 364-320 (13th Year) | Career Record: 731-543 (23rd Year)
Batting Average: .298; Runs Per Game: 5.1; Hits Per Game: 7.4; Slugging Pct: .444
ERA: 1.71; K/7: 6.0; K/BB Ratio: 3.0; Opp. Batting Avg: .192

On Deck

SEC play for State resumes this weekend. The Bulldogs host No. 16 Tennessee for a three-game set on April 7-9. All three games will air on SEC Network+.

Follow the Bulldogs

For more information on the Bulldog softball program, follow on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram by searching "HailStateSB."

Softball Returns Home To Host Central Arkansas, First Pitch Moved To 3 p.m.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Mia Davidson

Madisyn Kennedy

Fa Leilua

Chloe Malau'ulu

Jackie McKenna

Mississippi State University Athletics

Softball Returns Home To Host Central Arkansas, First Pitch Moved To 3 p.m.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Mia Davidson

Madisyn Kennedy

Fa Leilua

Chloe Malau'ulu

Jackie McKenna

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