The Mississippi State softball team has its sights set on its first-ever trip to NCAA Super Regionals.
The Bulldogs have never made it out of the regional round, but they hope this year’s squad — led by star catcher Mia Davidson — is capable of changing that.
MSU begins play against South Florida at 5 p.m. Friday in the Tallahassee Regional, hosted by No. 2 overall seed Florida State. The four-team field also includes Howard University.
Here’s what the Bulldogs, the regional’s No. 2 seed, can expect from each of their three opponents.
No. 1 seed: Florida State (52-5, 19-5 ACC)
Coach: Lonni Alameda
2021 result: Made Women’s College World Series
Overview: The Seminoles haven’t lost a nonconference game all season. Florida State is 30-0 against opponents outside the ACC and swept through the conference tournament, winning all three games. FSU has won 14 straight games, good enough to earn it the No. 2 overall seed in this year’s NCAA tournament. Four of the Seminoles’ five losses have actually come at home, as FSU dropped an April series to Virginia Tech at JoAnne Graf Field and lost home games to Pitt and Boston College. The Noles’ only other loss was April 16 at North Carolina, and their winning percentage is second to only Oklahoma nationally. Florida State has a consistently solid offense, ranking fourth in the ACC in batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage. Mack Leonard is the Seminoles’ best overall hitter, but Michaela Edenfield leads the team with 16 home runs and Kalei Harding has 15. Devyn Flaherty’s .374 average leads FSU, and Kaley Mudge and Sydney Sherrill are strong hitters, too. On the pitching side, Kathryn Sandercock has thrown 183 2/3 innings of 1.41 ERA ball, while Danielle Watson has a 2.35 ERA in 125 1/3 frames.
No. 3 seed: South Florida (44-14, 12-5 American)
2021 result: Made NCAA regional
Coach: Ken Eriksen
Overview: The Bulls rode an eight-game winning streak into the American Athletic Conference final, but UCF handed them an 11-0, run-rule loss to send USF into postseason play. South Florida still had a strong season, winning 44 games and losing just five conference contests — three to its in-state rival. USF made the Gainesville Regional last season, reaching the final day before falling to host Florida. The Bulls are led by pitcher Georgina Corrick, who has been an absolute workhorse in the circle. Corrick has thrown 266 1/3 innings, while no other USF pitcher has thrown more than 58 1/3; she’s pitched to a minuscule 0.53 ERA with a whopping 407 strikeouts. Alexis Johns is the only Bulls hitter batting over .300; she is hitting .348 but is without a home run this season. Her .859 on-base plus slugging percentage still leads the team, though USF has six hitters with an OPS over .800. The Bulls’ offense ranked in the top half of the eight-team American, while their collective 1.57 ERA was just one-tenth of a point behind top-ranked UCF.
No. 4 seed: Howard (31-22, 17-4 MEAC)
2021 result: Missed NCAA tournament
Coach: Tori Tyson
Overview: The Bison, the No. 2 seed in the Mid-Eastern Atlantic Conference tournament, booked an NCAA berth by taking down top seed Morgan State. Howard lost just one series in MEAC play — to Norfolk State — while dropping games to Morgan State and Maryland–Eastern Shore. The Bison played only one Power Five team, Iowa State, and lost to the Hawkeyes twice. Their .301 team batting average was tops in the conference, while their 4.31 ERA ranked third out of eight teams. But only two Howard players hit more than one home run, with Kalita Dennis swatting nine and Alyssa Vasquez adding seven. Vasquez led her team with a .378 batting average, while Dennis’ 1.046 OPS was tops on the team. In the circle, Analise De La Roca tossed a team-high 133 1/3 innings, pitching to a 3.05 ERA. Mia Gonzales had a 4.90 mark in 70 innings.
Theo DeRosa reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @Theo_DeRosa.
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