Softball Makes Return To Monroe

STARKVILLE – After 23 years, Mississippi State softball will return to Monroe, Louisiana, on Wednesday to meet the ULM Warhawks at 5 p.m. CT.

Last year, the teams met in Starkville for the first time in 12 years, but MSU's last road meeting with the Warhawks (19-14, 3-3 Sun Belt) came in a doubleheader split on April 11, 2000. Since Game 1 of that doubleheader, the Bulldogs have won seven consecutive meetings, including one at a neutral site.

State (22-10, 3-2 SEC) brings in one of the nation's top pitching staffs that is succeeding truly as a staff. In fact, of the nation's top 10 teams in total strikeouts, MSU's individual leader has the fewest strikeouts on her own. Meanwhile, the Bulldogs rank third nationally in strikeouts.

The Bulldog pitchers also lead the SEC in ground ball rate. Matalasi Faapito, Kenley Hawk and Josey Marron are all among the top six SEC pitchers in that metric. Marron is also among the nation's best with a fielding-independent pitching and WHIP mark that are both top-25 nationally.

Tickets are required at the ULM Softball Complex and can be purchased online for $10. Gates will open 90 minutes prior to first pitch.

Leading Off

Staying Grounded: Three of the SEC's top six pitchers in ground ball rate are Bulldogs. Matalasi Faapito (68.4 percent) ranks third in the conference, and Kenley Hawk (61.2 percent) and Josey Marron (61.0 percent) are fifth and sixth.

Spreading The Load: MSU's pitching staff ranks third in the nation in strikeouts as a team (269). However, of the top 10 teams, MSU is one of three that does not have an individual with 100 punch outs this year, and the Bulldogs' individual leader has the fewest (77) of all 10 teams.

Disciplined Dawgs: The Bulldog hitters are averaging just 3.37 strikeouts per game, which ranks second in the SEC. Those numbers are made more impressive by the fact that State's 810 at-bats are the second-most in the SEC and 13th nationally.

Magic Number: State has scored at least five in 19 of its 22 wins of 2023 and is 19-1 when doing so. Over the last two years, MSU is 43-2 when scoring at least five.

Powerful Paige: Paige Cook leads the team in slugging percentage (.625) and on-base percentage (.412). Her 1.037 OPS leads the team, and her batting average (.325) is second.

Take A Walk: Riley Hull has walked in 26.6 percent of her plate appearances, which ranks seventh in the nation and second in the SEC.

Josey Just Wins: Freshman Josey Marron won each of her first six career starts and is now 7-1 with the lone loss coming to No. 1 Oklahoma. In her 10 starts this year, MSU is 9-1.

Small Ball Success: The Bulldogs are 14-for-19 (.737) when bunting for a hit this season along with 12 successful sacrifice bunts. Brylie St. Clair is 10-for-12 (.833) when bunting.

Extra Extra!: MSU has played three extra-inning games this year, going 3-0. That's tied for the most extra-inning games in the SEC this year, and State has played the most extra frames (9).

About ULM (19-4, 3-3 Sun Belt)

Rankings: NFCA Coaches – NR | USA Softball – NR | D1Softball – NR | Softball America – NR
Head Coach: Molly Fichtner | Record at ULM: 87-129 (5th Year) | Career Record: 87-129 (5th Year)
Batting Average: .246 | Runs Per Game: 3.7 | Hits Per Game: 6.2 | Slugging Pct: .329
ERA: 2.76 | K/7: 4.4 | K/BB Ratio: 1.5 | Opp. Batting Avg: .242

Series History
Overall: 13-16 | Home: 9-2 | Away: 3-4 | Neutral: 1-0
Current Streak: Won 7 | Last Meeting: April 19, 2022 in Starkville, Miss. (MSU 2, ULM 1)

About the Warhawks
The Warhawks are one of the nation's top fielding teams, leading the Sun Belt and ranking 10th nationally with a .979 fielding percentage. They are fourth in their conference in stolen bases per game. Lourdes Bacon leads the way with 16 swipes on the year, which is third in the conference. Gianni Hulett has six saves on the year, which ranks second nationally and leads the Sun Belt. She has allowed 0.84 walks per seven innings, which ranks 25th in the nation. Bacon leads ULM in hits and multi-hit games and is second in batting average.

On Deck

Mississippi State will host No. 10 Arkansas on March 31-April 2 at Nusz Park. It is Alumni Weekend in Starkville, and first pitches have been set for 4 p.m., 2 p.m. and 12 p.m. CT on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Saturday is also State's annual Breast Cancer Awareness game presented by OCH Regional Medical Center. Sunday is Kids Day at the ballpark and kids can run the bases postgame.

Follow the Bulldogs

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

Softball Makes Return To Monroe

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Paige Cook

Matalasi Faapito

Kenley Hawk

Riley Hull

Josey Marron

Brylie St. Clair

Mississippi State University Athletics

Softball Makes Return To Monroe

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Paige Cook

Matalasi Faapito

Kenley Hawk

Riley Hull

Josey Marron

Brylie St. Clair

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