STARKVILLE – Mississippi State softball is off to its best-ever start to a season but faces its biggest test yet on opening weekend in the SEC.
The No. 12 Bulldogs (26-2) host No. 1 Tennessee today, starting a three-game series against the undefeated Vols.
MSU hasn’t had as challenging a non-conference schedule on paper as previous years under head coach Samantha Ricketts, but there was intention in scheduling several road tests against mid-major and Power 4 programs.
The only two losses so far came against Belmont and No. 25 Clemson, games which the Bulldogs responded to with wins against the same teams the following day.
“I think we learned a lot about our team in games like those,” Ricketts said. “Even this weekend, facing South Alabama for the second time on a Sunday, fifth game in a row after so many days on the road and getting down early, I think we learned a lot about ourselves.”
True road wins over Baylor, Georgia Tech, Clemson and South Alabama highlight a schedule in which the Bulldogs have recorded a .929 winning percentage, a program-best going into SEC play.
“The big thing I’ve seen is we just really don’t panic,” Ricketts continued. “There’s not a lot of pressing, not a lot of, ‘Oh my gosh, we have to do this.’ They just very much go about our business and do what we do best. I think after the two losses, the responses we saw with Belmont and Clemson… we didn’t play our game. We need to come out and do what we know how to do and just know that we have higher expectations than we showed the day before. Those were good responses from the team. I think they just have very mature approaches, a very veteran mentality. I think that starts at the top with a lot of our upperclassmen and the younger ones are doing a really good job of learning from them as we go.”
The Bulldogs are headlined by an impressive pitching staff of Peja Goold (10-1), Leila Ammon (7-0) and Alyssa Faircloth (7-1). The transfer trio reinforced a staff that lost ace Raelin Chaffin last season and offers a new dynamic of depth for the Bulldogs that wasn’t present in past seasons.
“We’re pumped,” Ammon said after tossing a no-hitter against Southeast Missouri on Tuesday. “We have a good group of girls, and I think we can make a good run this year.”
The opponent
The Vols are undefeated and No. 1 for a reason.
As a unit, the Vols’ pitching staff boasts a 0.89 ERA with all three starters ranking Top 10 in Division I in that category. Karlyn Pickens ranks just ahead of Ammon and Goold nationally with a 0.60 ERA, while Sage Mardjetko and Erin Nuwer sit at 0.83 and 0.89, respectively.
Those margins are slim, and the potential is there for three pitching duels, but the Bulldogs will have their hands full defensively with a prolific lineup.
Eight Tennessee players average .300 or better at the plate with three averaging .400 or better. Outfielder Sophia Knight is averaging .519 with 42 hits from 81 at-bats. Ella Dodge leads the team with 34 RBI and seven home runs, highlighting a side that has scored relentlessly through 24 games.
The buildup has been notable on the field, and MSU softball is the biggest show in Starkville this weekend against a national-title contender.
“We’re excited,” senior Nadia Barbary said. “We open up at home and we’re excited to see the fans and the support.”
The Bulldogs’ slugger at third base has played in more than a few games against Top-10 opponents in her time at MSU, and had words of encouragement for her teammates going into the matchup.
“I told them to enjoy it, it all goes by so fast,” she said. “And we’re all good enough to be here, that’s why we are here. Just trust yourselves.”
MSU and Tennessee will begin their series today at 6 p.m. at Nusz Park.
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