STARKVILLE — The Southeastern Conference didn’t schedule the Mississippi State and Ole Miss softball teams to play one another in conference action this season.
That changed Sunday.
For the first time, the rivals will play in the SEC tournament when No. 9 seed MSU (36-19) meets No. 8 seed Ole Miss (36-18) at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday in the second of four first-round games in Knoxville, Tennessee. The 12-team, single-elimination tournament runs through Saturday.
Neither Mississippi school has won the conference tournament title.
“It is certainly going to be interesting,” MSU coach Vann Stuedeman said. “They are hot right now. We are hot as well. Both teams are playing really good softball. This will be good for our state. It will definitely be something different.”
The matchup was finalized after both teams lost their final regular-season game. No. 21 Ole Miss dropped a 3-2, nine-inning decision at Missouri. MSU dropped a 10-7, 11-inning decision to No. 16 Kentucky at Nusz Park.
Both teams won their final series and finished the regular season 10-14 in conference play. In a non-conference regular-season matchup, Ole Miss beat MSU 2-0 on March 22 in Oxford.
“It is going to be fun,” MSU senior center fielder Amanda Ivy. “We never get caught up in the opponent. In this league, you are always going to play somebody good, so we treat this game like any other. It’s just a matter of focusing on the process.”
Seniors honored
MSU recognized six members of the softball family in post-game Senior Day ceremonies.
Olivia Golden, Katie Anne Bailey, Alexis Silkwood, Caroline Seitz, and Amanda Ivy played their final games at Nusz Park Sunday. Graduate assistant Rachel Fox, who played at Texas A&M, also was honored.
Bailey and Ivy are Mississippi natives. The seniors are projected to make an NCAA regional for the third time in four seasons.
Stuedeman was emotional when talking about the impact the seniors made on the program.
“These seniors took a chance on me,” Stuedeman said. “I got to know them and their families before I had ever coached a game. For them to believe in me is special. They will also have a special place in my heart because they took a chance on me. With no track record, they believed in me and wanted me to be their coach.”
In the senior video, Bailey also thanked the Nusz family for the generous donation that allowed Nusz Park to be built. This season marked the Bulldogs’ second year in the stadium.
Series wins
MSU beat Kentucky 6-2 Friday and 5-3 Saturday to clinch its fourth conference series win this season. The Bulldogs last won four SEC series in Stuedeman’s first season in 2012. MSU also defeated Arkansas, South Carolina, and Georgia.
“After the game Saturday night, I told the players we had won four super regionals,” Stuedeman said. “Each week winning a conference series in this league is the same as winning a super regional. The teams you play in this league are as good as any team you will face in a super regional.
“I am proud of how we responded and competed. You are going to face some adversity every weekend. Winning four series just shows how well we were able to address that adversity and focus in on the situation at hand.”
The Bulldogs won 10 or more league games for the fourth time in Stuedeman’s six seasons. MSU also matched the 2004 team with a school-record nine wins against ranked opponents.
In Stuedeman’s six seasons, only the 2014 squad had more regular-season wins (37).
Follow Dispatch sports writer Scott Walters on Twitter @dispatchscott
Scott was sports editor for The Dispatch.
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