No. 19 Bulldogs Close Homestand With Midafternoon Midweek Matchup

STARKVILLE – Fresh off a series sweep to open conference play, No. 19 Mississippi State will close an 11-game homestand on Wednesday when the Bulldogs welcome Middle Tennessee.

The game also marks the return of Bulldog alumnus Jackie McKenna who is in her first year on the Blue Raiders' coaching staff. First pitch is set for 3 p.m. CT with the Bulldogs out of classes for spring break.

Offensive outbursts have been the story of the season for Mississippi State as the Bulldogs have scored five or more runs in 18 of their 22 wins this season and are undefeated when scoring at least five. On Monday night, the Bulldogs scored seven runs in one inning for their seventh come-from-behind victory of the season.

The home run has been a big piece of the puzzle. Nadia Barbary hit a game-winning grand slam on Monday, and MSU has hit multiple homers in 11 games this year. Nearly 43 percent of all of State's runs this season have been scored via the long ball.

Leading Off

Taming The Tigers: State swept No. 18 Auburn, outscoring the Tigers, 21-12. It was MSU's first series win against Auburn since 2010 when State swept a doubleheader and its first three-game series win since 2007.
It also stands as the Bulldogs' first three-game sweep of the Tigers since 2001. MSU is 8-1 in its first series of SEC play over the last three years.

One Big Inning: MSU entered the bottom of the fourth on Monday trailing 4-0 and with just a 13.23 percent win probability per 643 Charts. The seven-run frame secured the comeback victory for State and raised its win probability to 91.61 percent by the end of the frame.

Speedy State: After one weekend of SEC play, the Bulldogs lead the league in conference games in stolen bases and rank second in hits and doubles. Their 21 runs scored rank third.

Sierra Sets The Table: Sierra Sacco is riding a career-long 23-game reached-base streak that has seen her bat .500 with a 1.553 OPS in that span. That streak is the tied for the longest active streak in the nation and the second-longest this year. MSU is 49-7 when scores a run since she arrived in 2024.

Call The Bomb Squad: MSU has scored 78 runs off homers this year. That amounts to 42.9 percent of State's scoring this season and 48.1 percent of its RBIs. MSU has hit at least three homers in six of the last 10 games and has three grand slams this year.

Magic Number: The Bulldogs have scored five or more runs in 68 of its 84 wins (81.0 percent) over the past three years. The Bulldogs are 138-15 under Samantha Ricketts when scoring at least five.

Everyone's Chasing Chaffin: Raelin Chaffin has already struck out 96 batters this year in just 25 team games (3.84 per team game), which puts her just on pace to become the sixth Bulldog to strike out 200 batters in a single season. Her current pace of 9.04 strikeouts per seven innings, would be second-best in school history.

Raelin's Resume: Raelin Chaffin went 3-0 with a save in four appearances last week. She is among the top 15 in the nation in wins (12; 3rd), complete games (8; 8th), starts (10; 15th) and strikeouts (96; 9th). She is second in the SEC in all four categories.

About Middle Tennessee (9-14, 1-2 C-USA)

Series History

Overall: 7-1 | Home: 4-0 | Away: 2-1 | Neutral: 1-0
Current Streak: Won 6 | Last Meeting: March 30, 2022, in Murfreesboro, Tenn. (MSU 19, MT 14)

Notables

The Blue Raiders won just one game in their series against FIU. However, their lone victory was a dominant 12-1 performance, featuring eight extra-base hits. Jana Want was named C-USA Freshman of the Week for the second time this season. In the three-game series at FIU, Want posted a .700 batting average and a 1.200 slugging percentage with a 1.969 OPS over the weekend. Leila Ammon and Ansley Blevins have also won C-USA weekly awards this season with Ammon winning Freshman of the Week and Blevins winning Player of the Week. Middle Tennessee will play at UAB on Tuesday before traveling to Starkville.

On Deck

The Bulldogs embark on the first of four consecutive road trips this weekend. MSU will head across the state line to meet No. 25 Alabama for a three-game series beginning Friday, March 14. State does not return to Nusz Park until March 28 and will play its next eight games in true road fashion.

Follow the Bulldogs

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No. 19 Bulldogs Close Homestand With Midafternoon Midweek Matchup

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Nadia Barbary

Raelin Chaffin

Sierra Sacco

Mississippi State University Athletics

No. 19 Bulldogs Close Homestand With Midafternoon Midweek Matchup

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Nadia Barbary

Raelin Chaffin

Sierra Sacco

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