No. 16 Bulldogs Return Home To Host Missouri

STARKVILLE – No. 16 Mississippi State will host Missouri at Nusz Park this weekend for a three-game series beginning on Friday, April 11.

Friday night's first pitch is set for 6 p.m. CT and students are invited to a party on the outfield deck with grills and food provided. Fans in attendance will receive a pair of MSU sunglasses. Saturday's game is State's annual Think Pink game, and the first 250 fans through the gates can pick up a pink State softball hat. First pitch is set for 2 p.m.

Sunday's series finale will be MSU's fourth annual First Responder's Day, and the Starkville Fire Department will look to defend their title in the postgame First Responder Home Run Derby, having won each of the first three events. Game time is scheduled for 1 p.m.

The Bulldogs are coming off of a weekend that saw them claim their 13th run-rule victory at No. 7 Tennessee on Saturday. That total is just two shy of the school record for run-rule wins in a season. It also stood as Samantha Ricketts' 43rd win over a ranked opponent as head coach, which is just one shy of the MSU record.

Over the last 10 games, Morgan Stiles and Delainey Everett have stepped up in a big way. Stiles has three homers and a triple in that span and her .760 slugging percentage leads the team. She is hitting .321 with an .821 slugging percentage in conference play that ranks seventh in the SEC. Meanwhile, Everett has lowered her ERA to 1.63, which is fourth in the league and has more than doubled her win total from a year ago, entering the series with a 9-0 record.

Game Coverage

Leading Off

Taking Down Top Teams: With MSU's run-rule win at No. 7 Tennessee last weekend, Samantha Ricketts now boasts 43 victories against NFCA-ranked opponents in her coaching career, which ranks second all-time at Mississippi State.

Ricketts' Record Year: MSU is just six wins shy of Samantha Ricketts' highest win total in a season with at least 13 games remaining guaranteed. MSU's team on-base percentage (.415) and slugging percentage (.557) would both be single-season school records, and its batting average (.324) is two points behind the program record.

Dawg Days Of Doubleheaders: State has played doubleheaders in four consecutive weekends, and it's the first time MSU has played a doubleheader in three SEC series in a single season since 2018 when State did so against No. 10 Texas A&M (Apr. 7), at Ole Miss (Apr. 15) and against No. 5 Florida (Apr. 22).

Sierra Sets The Table: Sierra Sacco is among the top 10 nationally in batting average (10th), hits (10th), runs (6th) and on-base percentage (8th). MSU is 58-8 when she scores since the start of last year.

Back In Stiles: Morgan Stiles leads the team in home runs (4), RBIs (12) and slugging percentage (.821) in conference play. Her SEC-only slugging percentage is seventh in the league. Over the last 10 games, the freshman leads the team with a .760 slugging percentage and her seven RBIs are second on the squad.

Details On Delainey: Delainey Everett's 1.63 ERA is fourth in the SEC and 21st in the NCAA. She has more than doubled her win total this year while nearly doubling her innings pitched, and she has shaved more than a full run off her ERA.

Barbary's Big Year: Nadia Barbary is batting .405 with runners on base, which is second on the team. She is just one hit shy of her previous single-season career high, and she already has a single-season career high in total bases (80) and homers (8) MAGIC NUMBER: The Bulldogs have scored five or more runs in 75 of State's 93 wins (80.6 percent) over the past three seasons, and t

About Missouri (20-22, 2-10 SEC)

Series History

Notables

Missouri is coming off a midweek loss to Southern Illinois and a sweep at the hands of No. 1 Texas last weekend. The Tiger offense has been very home-run-dependent as Missouri ranks No. 138 in runs per game, but No. 21 nationally in homers. Like State, Missouri has a tendency to score early in the ballgame, outscoring teams 47-24 in the first inning. Catcher Julia Crenshaw leads the SEC with seven runners caught stealing. She is also fourth in the league in doubles at the plate. Crenshaw leads the Tigers in multi-hit games (13), batting average (.390), slugging percentage (.756), runs (40), hits (48), walks (31) and total bases (93).

On Deck

The Bulldogs will hit the road for the next two weeks, first traveling to No. 2 Oklahoma on April 18-20 before heading north to meet Kentucky on April 25-27. The first game of next weekend's series with the Sooners will be played at Devon Park in Oklahoma City, home of the Women's College World Series. First pitch in that game is set for 6:30 p.m. CT with the final two games of the series scheduled for 1 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday in Norman.

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No. 16 Bulldogs Return Home To Host Missouri

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Nadia Barbary

Delainey Everett

Sierra Sacco

Morgan Stiles

Mississippi State University Athletics

No. 16 Bulldogs Return Home To Host Missouri

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Nadia Barbary

Delainey Everett

Sierra Sacco

Morgan Stiles

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