State Hosts No. 13 Texas A&M In SEC Home Opener

STARKVILLE – No. 21/21 Mississippi State will welcome No. 13/17 Texas A&M to Nusz Park this weekend for its SEC home opener. The Bulldogs and Aggies will open the series at 4 p.m. CT on Friday with the second game scheduled for 1 p.m. on Saturday. The series finale is set for 11 a.m. on Sunday. All three games will be broadcast on SEC Network+.

The Bulldogs (20-4, 2-1 SEC) have won their SEC home opener in each of the last two years, but both games were tightly contested, one-run affairs. State downed rival Ole Miss, 9-8, in 2022, and won an extra-innings battle with South Carolina, 6-5, in walk-off fashion last year.

State brings in some of the hottest bats in the nation right now. Madisyn Kennedy has seen seven of her last 10 hits leave the ballpark and now leads the SEC and ranks second nationally with a 1.149 slugging percentage. She tied the school record for RBIs with seven in her last game. Kennedy has reached base safely in a career-best 11 consecutive games.

Meanwhile, Jessie Blaine is riding a team-leading, career-long 13-game reached base streak, and Ella Wesolowski has reached in nine straight. Wesolowski is on a career-long five-game hitting streak, and her .391 average ranks fourth among SEC freshmen this year. She is joined in the top five by Salen Hawkins, the reigning SEC Freshman of the Week, who has hit .371 to this point.

The first 200 fans in attendance on Friday will receive "Spread the Nusz" t-shirts. State is 13-0 at home this year with nine run-rule victories inside Nusz Park. Saturday is the Bulldogs' annual Think Pink game with rally towels to the first 100 fans. To close the series, MSU will recognize members of the armed forces with its Salute to Service game on Sunday, complete with a flyover from nearby Columbus Air Force Base.

Game Coverage

Leading Off

Madi Mashing: Madisyn Kennedy leads the SEC with a 1.149 slugging percentage that ranks second nationally. Her 1.657 OPS this season is third nationally and leading the conference. Nine of her last 10 hits have gone for extra-bases with seven leaving the yard.

Freshman Firepower: Ella Wesolowski and Salen Hawkins are both among the top five freshmen in the SEC in batting average. Hawkins also leads all SEC players with at least four at-bats with a .625 average in conference play.

Spreading The Nusz: The Bulldogs are 13-0 at home this year and outscoring opponents, 126-11, in those games. Bulldog pitchers have tossed an average of just 5.54 innings in each game as State has nine run-rule victories in Nusz Park. 126 of MSU's 178 runs scored this year (70.8 percent) have come at home along with 40 of its 68 extra-base hits (58.8 percent).

Magic Number: MSU is 65-3 since the start of 2022 when scoring five or more runs. State scored at least five in 25 of its 27 wins of 2023 and has done so in 17 of 20 wins in 2024.

Take A Walk: The Bulldogs lead the nation, drawing 117 walks this year. That has helped lead to a .465 on-base percentage that is fifth nationally.

Making The Sacrifice: Paige Cook has already has four sacrifice flies again this year, which is one shy of the school record, and her 10 career sac flies are tied for second in school history. As a team, State's 15 sacrifice flies rank third nationally and are two shy of last year's school record. In 2023, MSU averaged 0.32 per game, and its now averaging 0.65.

What's Cookin': Paige Cook has led the team in two-out RBIs each of the last two years, and now has 55 for her career, which is sixth in MSU history.

Going The Distance: As a team, MSU has tossed 10 complete games already this year after throwing just eight last season. Josey Marron and Aspen Wesley have accounted for seven complete games.

Sweet Nothings: State now has three pitchers with no-hitters this season, which trails only 2006 - when three pitchers tossed four no-hitters - for the most in a season in school history..

About Texas A&M (23-2, 3-0 SEC)

Series History

About the Aggies

Texas A&M started SEC play with a sweep of South Carolina with each of the final two games finishing in 2-1 scores. Aggie ace Emiley Kennedy earned D1 Softball National Pitcher of the Week honors after picking up two wins and a save in the series while throwing 13.0 scoreless innings with 15 strikeouts. She has thrown 10 complete games in 11 starts and leads the nation with six shutouts. Her 99 strikeouts are fourth nationally. The Aggies rank second in the SEC with 42 stolen bases this season on 51 attempts. They enter the weekend tied for second in the nation with 23 victories this year. Texas A&M's 98 walks at the plate rank ninth nationally.

On Deck

The Bulldogs hit the road next week for five games. MSU will travel to Montgomery, Alabama, for a doubleheader at Alabama State on Wednesday, March 20 at 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. CT. State then heads to Fayetteville, Arkansas, to meet the No. 20 Razorbacks for three games on March 22-24.

Follow the Bulldogs

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

State Hosts No. 13 Texas A&M In SEC Home Opener

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Jessie Blaine

Paige Cook

Salen Hawkins

Madisyn Kennedy

Josey Marron

Aspen Wesley

Ella Wesolowski

Mississippi State University Athletics

State Hosts No. 13 Texas A&M In SEC Home Opener

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Jessie Blaine

Paige Cook

Salen Hawkins

Madisyn Kennedy

Josey Marron

Aspen Wesley

Ella Wesolowski

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