University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Softball Plays Mississippi State in Madison, Miss., at Liberty Park
4/5/2011 12:00:00 AM | Softball
April 5, 2011
HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- Southern Miss softball team steps out of Conference USA play to take on Mississippi State in a midweek contest in Madison, Miss., at Liberty Park with first pitch set for 6:30 p.m.
This is the second meeting at Liberty Park. The first was in 2003 when the Golden Eagles topped State, 8-5.
The Golden Eagles (10-24) are coming off an 8-1 loss in the final game of a three-game series against C-USA opponent East Carolina in a six-inning game due to travel restraints.
Taylor Brown leads the team in hitting with a .277 average to go with a team-leading 26 hits including seven doubles and a triple. Michelle Takeda is next with a .268 average followed by Brittany Lilly at .258. Takeda and Jill Mathis own a team-leading 16 RBI each while Mathis has a team-leading six home runs.
Sophomore Beth Dietrich (5-11) leads the team in the circle with a 3.09 ERA in 102.0 innings of work. Kelly Smith (2-2) owns a 3.69 ERA in 30.1 innings pitched while Gabby Luciani (2-4) has pitched 49.0 innings.
GOLDEN EAGLE/BULLDOG SERIES HISTORY
Series Record: This is the 32nd meeting between the two teams in a series dating back to the 1983 season. Mississippi State leads the overall 30-11.
In Starkville: 7-14
In Hattiesburg: 2-14
At Neutral Sites: 2-2
Southern Miss' Series Streak: Loss 2
First Meeting: Mar. 22, 1983 (L 0-3 in Starkville)
Last Meeting: Feb. 23, 2011 (L 4-6 in Starkville)
Scouting Mississippi State
The Bulldogs enter the contest with a 19-18 record after taking two of three from Ole Miss last weekend. The State team is batting .281 as five Bulldogs are sporting averages over .300. Ali Bainbridge leads the group offensively with a .380 batting average with a team-leading 11 doubles. Kaili Smith and Courtney Nesbit are next at .355 and .324 averages, respectively. Nesbit leads the team with eight home runs and 33 RBI.
Mississippi State's pitching staff owns a combined 4.76 ERA that allows a batting average of .283. Kylie Vry is 7-7 with an ERA of 3.51 in 101.2 innings of work while Stephanie Becker is 5-3 and Misty Flesher is 6-5.
On Deck
Following the Mississippi State contest, the Golden Eagles travel to Tulsa, Okla., to play Tulsa in a three-game series beginning with a doubleheader on Apr. 9 and conclude with a single game Apr. 10
