Golden Eagles Head to Starkville to take on Mississippi State

HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- The Southern Miss softball team heads to Starkville, Miss. for a midweek contest against the Mississippi State on Wednesday. The Golden Eagles look to complete a successful home-and-home against the Bulldogs after defeating MSU earlier this season.

The Black & Gold take on Mississippi State for the second time this season, following a matchup in Hattiesburg on April 6. Southern Miss (27-18, 7-11 C-USA) picked up its first win over the Bulldogs since 2011, as junior pitcher Morgan Leinstock pitched a complete-game shutout en route to a 3-0 victory.

The Golden Eagles last took the field in San Antonio, Texas for a Conference USA series against division foe, UTSA. Southern Miss picked up a monumental comeback victory in the second game of the series but ended the weekend with a record of 2-1 against the Roadrunners.

Despite the series loss, Southern Miss has won eight of its last 10 contests dating back to the Golden Eagles' win over Mississippi State earlier this month. The Black & Gold have won two of its last three Conference USA series, including a sweep of UTEP from April 14-16.

Graduate second baseman Tata Davis became the all-time program record holder for hits in a career last weekend. The Philadelphia, Miss. native recorded the 206th hit of her tenure on Friday, April 22 in San Antonio. Davis finished the weekend with eight hits and a pair of home runs, including a grand slam in Southern Miss' dramatic comeback victory on April 23.

Mississippi State enters Wednesday's contest following a series loss to Auburn at home last weekend. The Bulldogs hold a record of 29-19 and a SEC mark of 8-10 under third-year head coach Samantha Ricketts. MSU has been stellar at home throughout the 2022 season, with a record of 23-8 at Nusz Park in Starkville.

The Bulldogs hold a 39-13 advantage over Southern Miss in the all-time series, which dates back to 1983. The Golden Eagles will look to take down Mississippi State twice in one season for the first time since 1985, when the Black & Gold took down MSU in both games of a doubleheader.

Southern Miss takes on Mississippi State tomorrow at 6 p.m. in Starkville. The contest is set to be streamed on SECN+. Fans can follow live stats by visiting the Southern Miss softball schedule page. Follow the Southern Miss softball team on social media, @SouthernMissSB on Twitter, @southernmisssb on Instagram and at facebook.com/SouthernMissSB.

Inside the Matchups | Headlines
Scouting Mississippi State
-Mississippi State hosts Southern Miss this Wednesday with a record of 29-19 and a conference mark of 8-10.
-The Bulldogs have been stellar at Nusz Park this season, with a record of 23-8 in Starkville this season.
-MSU is led by third-year head coach Samantha Ricketts, who has led the program to a record of 89-47 throughout her tenure.
-Auburn defeated the Bulldogs in a three-game series last weekend in Starkville. MSU's losses on Saturday and Sunday marked just the second time this year that the Bulldogs dropped two straight at home.
-Mississippi State sits at No. 29 in the latest RPI rankings and have five wins over top-25 foes this year.
-Mia Davidson, a graduate catcher for the Bulldogs, has the 10th-highest on base percentage in the nation and leads Mississippi State with a batting average of .402 and has recorded 18 home runs this season.

Southern Miss-Mississippi State Series
-Southern Miss and Mississippi State will face off for the 53rd time, dating back to 1983.
-The Bulldogs hold a commanding 39-13 series lead on the Golden Eagles, including a 16-7 record in Starkville.
-Southern Miss picked up its first victory over Mississippi State since 2011 on April 6 by a score of 3-0 in Hattiesburg.
-The Golden Eagles look to secure a pair of wins in a season over MSU for the first time since 1985.
Southern Miss, 13 | Mississippi State, 39
Home: 3-20
Away: 7-16
Neutral: 3-3
Last Meeting: 3-0 Southern Miss (4/6/22)

Last Time Out (at UTSA)
-The Golden Eagles last took the field in San Antonio, Texas for a Conference USA series against UTSA.
-Southern Miss dropped the first and final contests of the weekend, falling to UTSA, 2-1, in the series.
-The Golden Eagles made a monumental comeback against the Roadrunners in the second game of the series, as Southern Miss took an eight-run deficit and turned it into a seven-run victory in eight innings by a score of 20-13.

D Brown and Tata Make History
-Graduate student Destini Brown broke Chrystal Brown's long-standing stolen bases record on Friday, Feb. 11 in Southern Miss' season-opener against North Alabama.
-Fellow graduate Tata Davis became the Southern Miss program record holder for hits in a career, as the second baseman recorded the 206th hit of her career on April 23 against UTSA.
-Last season, Brown led Conference USA in stolen bases with 35 and finished the 2021 season ranked No. 9 in the nation in the statistic.
-Davis leads Southern Miss with 60 hits thus far this season and will look to extend her record as her final season comes to a close.
-Brown became the first Golden Eagle in program history to eclipse the 100 steals milestone on March 11 against North Texas.

Down Goes No. 4 Florida
-The Golden Eagles shocked the college softball world on March 2, as Southern Miss defeated the previously-undefeated Florida Gators in Gainesville, Fla.
-Southern Miss toughed out a 5-4 victory on the road, picking up its first win against a ranked foe since 2018 and its first top-five win since the 2000 Women's College World Series.
-Home runs from Jana Lee and Maria Smith propelled Southern Miss to one of the biggest victories in program history. Morgan Leinstock led the way in the circle, holding Florida's potent offense to four runs in a stunning upset.
-Southern Miss became the first unranked program to take down a top-five opponent this season.

Leinstock brings the Heat
-Junior pitcher Morgan Leinstock has been relied on for big performances in 2022.
-The Scottsdale, Ariz. 13 strikeouts against Alcorn State on Feb. 25, the most in a single game in her collegiate career.
-She finished the week of Feb. 20 with three wins, with a shutout along with an ERA of 0.67 and just two earned runs in 27 innings pitched.
-Leinstock has had one of the busiest schedules in college softball, as she has pitched 174.2 innings thus far this season.
-She recorded her first-career no-hitter on April 14 against the UTEP Miners.

Golden Eagles Head to Starkville to take on Mississippi State

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Players Mentioned

Destini Brown

Tata Davis

Jana Lee

Morgan Leinstock

Maria Smith

University of Southern Mississippi Athletics