STARKVILLE — Mississippi State softball players feel like they will be a part of a much better offensive team this season.

So far, so good.

In its season opener, MSU pounded out eight hits and homered twice to take an 8-0 six-inning win over Mississippi Valley State in the opening game of the Bulldog Kickoff Classic Thursday night at the MSU Softball Field.

“There is a lot of confidence this season,” MSU sophomore outfielder Amanda Ivy said. “Everyone is believing in each other more. If you have the confidence of your teammates and your coaches, how can you not succeed? It’s a different team this year with a different attitude.”

Ivy’s first career hit was a grand slam in the fifth inning. That home run gave MSU much-needed separation and expanded a 2-0 lead.

“How about that for a Mississippi girl,” MSU fourth-year head coach Vann Stuedeman said. “She got a real good barrel on that ball. We are not surprised. She is being doing that the whole time in practice. We are going to have a little more power this year and that swing shows that.”

Caroline Seitz, the leading hitter a season ago, followed with a solo home run in the sixth inning. The Bulldogs only had seven multi-home run games a season ago.

Such offense would be more than enough for sophomore left-handed pitcher Alexis Silkwood. A 14-game winner last season, Silkwood picked up where she left off by throwing a complete-game one-hitter with a career-high 15 strikeouts. It was her 10th career complete game and fourth shutout at MSU.

“It feels really good to win the opener,” Silkwood said. “I had good command of both of my best pitches and really got into a rhythm early. It was cold, but you have to block that out. You can’t let that enter into your mind.”

In the preseason, Stuedeman said Silkwood would be ready to take over the team’s No. 1 spot in the rotation this season. Highly-touted freshman right-hander Holly Ward, the Gatorade player of year for Alabama las season, is also expected to be the other marquee starter. With Ward under her wing, Silkwood now shifts from being a newcomer in the circle to becoming a veteran.

“It is exciting to have my teammates counting on me even more this season,” Silkwood said. “We have done a few things differently (mechanics wise) and I am getting comfortable with those things. We really have four pitchers who can go out and command the plate and throw strikes like I did tonight. So really we all have a job to do. Fortunately, we got off to a good start.

“Each day with Coach Vann in the bullpen really is a blessing.”

With Stuedeman’s pedigree as a pitching coaching, the Bulldogs arms have rarely been questioned. However, a season ago MSU finished last in the Southeastern Conference with a team batting average of .257 and only hit 34 home runs.

New hitting coach Samantha Ricketts has been credited as a big reason why the Bulldogs are swinging with more confidence.

“Coach Ricketts has really made a big difference,” Ivy said. “A lot of it has been mental. We are approaching things with a new attitude at the plate. We are watching videos, videos and more videos. It has been about technique and doing things better than we have in the past. We scored a lot of runs in the fall and I think that good attitude has carried over to the season.

“We know we will have to be better offensively to have a really great season. So we are trying to do just that.”

The Bulldogs finished with eight hits. Seitz was the lone multiple hitter. Katie Anne Bailey had two RBIs.

“Alexis was really in a groove and that helped our offense,” Stuedeman said. “Even though it was 2-0 for a long time, we had some really good at-bats. We had a lot of new faces in the lineup. Silkwood also had a chance to bat for the first time. We are going to be doing that this year. It’s a good start. We just have to start building some experience.”

MSU will have a chance to do that when it returns to the field today for a 5:30 p.m. start against Middle Tennessee.

Follow Scott Walters on Twitter @dispatchscott

Scott was sports editor for The Dispatch.