Mississippi State’s success on the road has been a big part of the Bulldogs’ resurgence this spring.
MSU is 8-4 in true road games and has won each of its first three Southeastern Conference series played away from Nusz Park, taking two out of three at Ole Miss, Arkansas and South Carolina. The No. 18 Bulldogs will try to secure another road series victory starting Saturday night against No. 14 Missouri.
The Tigers (35-13, 8-10 SEC) have been inconsistent in conference play, but an excellent start to the season against a difficult schedule has put them in the top 10 in the latest RPI, making them a near-lock to host an NCAA regional barring a collapse. They dropped two of three last weekend at Georgia but have won series at home against LSU and Florida.
In non-conference play, Missouri picked up early victories against Utah and Clemson — teams MSU has also beaten — as well as South Alabama, Liberty, Central Florida and Wichita State, all of whom are either firmly in the NCAA Tournament picture or on the bubble. And while the Tigers have some strong hitters at the top of their lineup, the offense as a whole is not one of the most imposing in the SEC.
Alex Honnold is Missouri’s best all-around hitter, with a .371/.440/.609 triple slash and a conference-leading 20 doubles. Jenna Laird can bunt, slap or hit her way on base, and Kayley Lenger and Maddie Gallagher each sport an on-base percentage better than .450.
This Tigers team, though, is led by its pitching. Veteran Laurin Krings has been shaky at times against a heavy workload in SEC play, but is still as battle-tested a pitcher as anyone in the conference. Sophomore Cierra Harrison (90 IP, 2.26 ERA) and freshman Marissa McCann (57 ⅔ IP, 1.94 ERA) haven’t been quite as busy, and neither typically will pitch a full game, but both have been effective in head coach Larissa Anderson’s pitch-by-committee system.
Here are three keys to victory for the Bulldogs (30-14, 9-9) as they try to bounce back from Wednesday night’s walk-off loss at Samford.
Get ‘em on, get ‘em in
MSU has lost four of its last five games, including midweek contests against South Alabama and Samford, with just six runs scored across those four defeats. That’s quite the downturn for an offense that has been among the SEC’s best for most of the year. Opposing pitchers are picking their spots, pitching around veterans in the middle of the order like Madisyn Kennedy and Paige Cook, and the younger hitters behind them have struggled to pick up the slack. That will have to change this weekend for the Bulldogs to win the series.
Keep the ball in the yard
Only South Carolina has hit fewer home runs among SEC teams than Missouri’s 32, but that doesn’t mean MSU’s pitchers can throw caution to the wind. This lineup is a good matchup, at least on paper, for a fly ball pitcher like Aspen Wesley. Josey Marron likes to keep the ball on the ground with her drop ball, but she’s been more susceptible to the long ball of late, so keeping the ball down will be critical for her.
Stay on the gas
Series finales have been a trouble spot for the Bulldogs, who are 2-4 in such games in conference play and have lost three straight. Head coach Samantha Ricketts frequently talks about “Toughness Sunday” — which will come on a Monday night this time — but MSU needs to be all in on the concept, regardless of what happens in the first two games. That means making the right adjustments on both sides of the ball, as there will be no more secrets by the time that Monday night standalone game rolls around.
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