Mississippi State’s softball is on the road this weekend for its third straight top-15 SEC matchup.
The No. 14 Bulldogs (34-11, 6-9 SEC) are set for a bout at No. 12 Texas A&M (31-12, 11-4 SEC) in just the fourth all-time meeting between the teams in College Station, Texas. Game 1 begins at 6 p.m., Game 2 is at 11 a.m. and Game 3 starts at 1 p.m. All games will be broadcast on SEC Network+.
MSU has taken a game from its last two conference foes, No. 6 Arkansas and No. 7 Florida, but hasn’t won a series since taking Game 3 at South Carolina on March 30. Last weekend the Bulldogs took Game 1 against the visiting Razorbacks, 1-0, but their offense failed to keep up in the following two games and was outscored 18-3 the rest of the way.
Texas A&M, which sits fourth in the conference standings, is riding the high of a 2-1 series win over then-ranked No. 11 Georgia and a sweep of Ole Miss last weekend. The Aggies then run-ruled McNeese 11-1 in five innings on Tuesday for its fourth straight victory.
The team boasts one of the best offensive squads in the SEC with a top-four batting average (.357). Maya Perez is the team’s best hitter and is also one of the best offensive players in the conference. She is fourth in the SEC in batting average (.459), and teammate Kennedy Powell is second in hits (64).
MSU’s offense has struggled to begin conference play and has been limited to just 13 runs in its last six games, but pitching has kept the Bulldogs in most of their games. Peja Goold, who tied the Mississippi State single-season SEC shutouts record (11) against Arkansas on Friday, heads a staff that is third in the SEC in ERA (1.88).
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