STARKVILLE — Mississippi State junior Katie Anne Bailey has the leadoff position broken down.
“Leadoff is important because we have a chance to come back and tell the other teammates what we see,” Bailey said. “We also have a chance to get on and spark the offense. Tonight, I was able to get on early and that really built the confidence.
“It is important in softball to score that first run. Once you do that, you are playing with more confidence.”
Bailey had two hits and three runs scored Tuesday night as MSU completed its homestand with a 9-3 victory against Penn State at Nusz Park.
MSU won four of six games on the homestand to move to 17-3. It will face its strongest competition this weekend against UC Santa Barbara, No. 14 UCLA, Cal State Fullerton (twice), and Long Beach State at the Louisville Slugger Invitational in Fullerton, California.
“(California) for spring break sounds like a really good idea,” Bailey said. “It will be good to get out of Starkville for a couple of days while everybody else is gone. We are going to face some outstanding competition. We really need this to get us read for SEC play. When we come back home, we get to get that started.”
MSU’s losses are to Northwestern State (1-0), McNeese State (8-4), and Baylor (4-0). Coach Vann Stuedeman likes a lot of aspects of her team. She also knows what lies ahead on the schedule.
“Are we doing some things well? Absolutely,” Stuedeman said. “Are there some areas we aren’t where we need to be? Absolutely. We let a few games slip away, but, overall, I am pleased with what I am seeing from a bunch of our young players.
“The biggest surprise may be on defense. We have become an outstanding defensive team. Coach (Tyler) Bratton) works on that every day in practice. He is the reason why we are having success like this. We have been fundamentally sound. We haven’t beaten ourselves or given away runs, which is huge.”
MSU built a 7-0 lead with one run in the first inning, two in the third, and four in the fourth. The Bulldogs flirted with the eight-run run rule but had issues on the bases.
An RBI single by Caroline Seitz sparked the attack. Kayla Winkfield had an infield bunt single for an RBI in the third. The Bulldogs took advantage of two errors to score four runs on one hit in the fourth.
Amanda Ivy had three hits and three RBIs. Seitz also had two hits.
In the circle, Stuedeman wanted to get a look at all six of her pitchers. Staff ace junior Alexis Silkwood has been resting so she will have more endurance down the stretch. In her second start, Silkwood again threw two innings and faced the minimum. Freshman Cori Cooper (3-0) threw one inning to get the win.
“We have so many young arms and we have been trying to get them out there as much as we can,” Stuedeman said. “This is a new experience pitching on this level, so we have to get them up to speed.”
Bailey said the versatility of pitching staff has been a surprise. She also feels like the team’s best offensive days are coming. That is good news with conference play against No. 3 Auburn starting March 18 in Starkville.
“The grind is here,” Bailey said. “There really is no turning back once SEC play starts. We will have to pick up the pace and keep trying to get better as a team. We have a lot of challenges ahead.”
Follow Dispatch sports writer Scott Walters on Twitter @dispatchscott
Scott was sports editor for The Dispatch.
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