Six games. Four days. That’s what we’ve got up ahead for Samantha Ricketts and the Mississippi State Bulldogs.
The Mississippi State softball team is going to be fairly busy this weekend. Let’s start getting up to speed on what’s up ahead at Nusz Park starting Thursday at 6 p.m. and rolling all the way into Sunday.
Table of Contents
- Mississippi State softball: 2024 Bulldog Invitational preview
- Meet the teams in the 2024 Bulldog Invitational
- Mississippi State softball stats
- Mississippi State softball best wins
- Mississippi State softball worst losses
- Southern Miss softball stats
- Southern Miss softball best wins
- Southern Miss worst losses
- Troy softball stats
- Troy softball best wins
- Troy worst losses
- Alcorn State softball stats
- Alcorn State softball best wins
- Alcorn State worst losses
- Samford softball stats
- Samford softball best wins
- Samford worst losses
- How to watch Mississippi State softball in 2024 Bulldog Invitational
- Final thoughts
Mississippi State softball: 2024 Bulldog Invitational preview
The Bulldogs are going to be facing a number of teams over a number of days. Over the span of four days, Samantha Ricketts and her Mississippi State Bulldogs will play six games.
Things are going to be busy in Starkville this weekend.
Let’s go over all of that.
Mississippi State softball schedule – 2024 Bulldog Invitational
With the Mississippi State Bulldogs meeting up with the Southern Miss Golden Eagles, the Troy Trojans, Alcorn State Lady Braves, and the Samford Bulldogs, it’s pretty clear that Samantha Ricketts and her team will be pretty busy.
Again, six games. Four days. There’s a lot that’s going to happen at Nusz Park this weekend.
Here’s what the Mississippi State softball schedule looks like for the next few days:
| Date | Time | Where | Foe |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 29 (Thu) | 6:00 PM | Nusz Park | Southern Miss Golden Eagles |
| Mar 1 (Fri) | 3:00 PM | Nusz Park | Troy Trojans |
| Mar 2 (Sat) | 11:30 AM | Nusz Park | Alcorn State Lady Brave |
| Mar 2 (Sat) | 2:00 PM | Nusz Park | Troy Trojans |
| Mar 3 (Sun) | 12:30 PM | Nusz Park | Alcorn State Lady Braves |
| Mar 3 (Sun) | 3:00 PM | Nusz Park | Samford Bulldogs |
Meet the teams in the 2024 Bulldog Invitational
Let’s start going over everyone involved in this, starting with the Mississippi State Bulldogs.
Mississippi State softball stats
- Record: 11-3
- Batting average: .340
- Home runs: 9
- ERA: 1.74
- Strikeouts: 78
- Runs scored per game: 5.71 (80 runs in 14 games)
- Opponents’ batting average: .214
- Opponents’ ERA: 6.07
The Bulldogs are doing pretty well for themselves. MSU is solid at the plate and that .340 batting average is 4th best in the Southeastern Conference. But there’s not a lot of power there. Seems like MSU is content to play small ball. And if that results in wins, then I’ll take it.
In the circle? Well, State is just flat out dominant. Folks really aren’t doing well against a solid pitching staff for MSU. The Bulldogs’ pitching staff has recorded 78 strikeouts this season all while holding opponents to a .214 batting average. That’s really good.
Mississippi State softball best wins
The Bulldogs are off to a really solid start this year. With an 11-3 record, Samantha Ricketts and her team have a lot to be proud of. MSU obviously isn’t perfect, but that’s not the end of the world.
State has four ranked wins on the season so far. That includes two wins over the #23 Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns, one win over the #13 Utah Utes, and one win over # Clemson.
Oh, and two of those wins were run rule victories. That’s pretty solid, all things considered.
Here’s what those wins look like from a score perspective:
- Mississippi State 9 – Louisiana 1 (6 innings)
- Mississippi State 2 – Louisiana 1
- Mississippi State 6 – Clemson 3
- Mississippi State 10 – Utah 2
Mississippi State softball worst losses
Not everything is great and wonderful, but most things are. Still, the Mississippi State Bulldogs have indeed suffered a trio of losses so far this season.
One was to the University of Oklahoma. But the Sooners are an absolute powerhouse that is just impossible to consistently contend with. Back-to-back-to-back national champs.
The other losses?
Well, they were close losses in late night games against West Coast teams. Not the end of the world by any stretch of the imagination, but not anywhere near as good as a win.
Here’s what those losses look like:
- UC Davis 2 – Mississippi State 1
- Oklahoma 9 – Mississippi State 3
- Fresno State 3 – Mississippi State 1
Southern Miss softball stats
- Record: 5-8
- Batting average: .244
- ERA: 5.20
- Home runs: 6
- Strikeouts: 54
- Runs scored per game: 3.8 (50 runs in 13 games)
- Opponents’ batting average: .275
- Opponents’ ERA: 3.71
It’s pretty evident that Southern Miss isn’t having the same sort of season that Mississippi State is. The Golden Eagles have struggled to get their season underway.
There’s not a ton of production at the plate for the Golden Eagles, but the pitching struggles are likely more alarming than anything else for Southern Miss softball fans. Having a 5.20 ERA is not great.
Southern Miss softball best wins
Going through the five wins that Southern Miss has so far this season and it’s worth noting that the Golden Eagles did go ahead and claim a series already as they beat Missouri State in a couple contests.
But otherwise, there’s just not a ton to brag about here just yet for the Golden Eagles.
Here are their five wins so far:
- Southern Miss 5 – Jacksonville 2
- Southern Miss 3 – James Madison 2
- Southern Miss 9 – Missouri State 2
- Southern Miss 4 – Missouri State 3
- Southern Miss 7 – Southern Indiana 1
Southern Miss worst losses
Well, unfortunately for the Golden Eagles, there are several that we can go over here. Interestingly enough, the biggest loss that Southern Miss has suffered so far this season came against a team that will also be in the Bulldog Invitational: the Samford Bulldogs.
There’s just a number of deflating defeats in this one. Just a number. So, here are three of their worst losses:
- Fordham 3 – Southern Miss 1
- North Florida 4 – Southern Miss 3 (10 innings)
- Samford 16 – Southern Miss 0 (5 innings)
Troy softball stats
- Record: 14-4
- Batting Average: .322
- ERA: 2.81
- Homeruns: 13
- Strikeouts: 78
- Runs Scored Per Game: 6.3 (113 runs in 18 games)
- Opponents’ Batting Average: .235
- Opponents’ ERA: 5.17
While Southern Miss has struggled, Troy has been thriving. No other team involved in this shindig has as many wins as the Troy Trojans have up to this point this season.
There’s a really respectable batting average right there at .322 and they’ve hit 13 home runs on the season. That’s more than Mississippi State has so far this year.
For much of the season up to this point, Troy has looked really respectable and there’s a very good chance they cause some headaches for their opponents this weekend.
Troy softball best wins
Troy has done well to consistently beat the teams it’s supposed to beat all while occasionally challenging more talented opponents. The Trojans have 14 wins on their resume so far and they’ve done well in processing folks on a regular basis.
A number of their wins have come by sizable margins of victory here.
So, here are the three best wins Troy has so far this season:
- Troy 6 – Samford 5
- Troy 10 – Alabama State 0
- Troy 11 – FAMU 3
Troy worst losses
The Trojans aren’t perfect. They have indeed suffered a few losses here and there and some by noteworthy margins. While Troy managed to provide a challenge to Indiana in one of the two matchups between the Trojans and the Hoosiers, the other matchup ended up in a lopsided fashion.
Plus, there’s the second meeting between Troy and Samford. Troy won the first, Samford clearly won the second.
- Samford 5 – Troy 1
- North Alabama 7 – Troy 4
- #21 Indiana 8 – Troy 1
Alcorn State softball stats
- Record: 5-10
- Batting Average: .263
- ERA: 5.75
- Homeruns: 1
- Strikeouts: 39
- Runs Scored Per Game: 4.7 (66 runs in 14 games)
- Opponents Batting Average: .296
- Opponents ERA: 3.17
Alcorn State hasn’t had a ton of fun to get this season going. Much like Southern Miss, the Lady Braves are struggling. They’ve struggled to strike opponents out. They’ve struggled to score. They’re not thriving at the plate.
But, it’s worth pointing out that Alcorn State does have a respectable batting average and their opponents’ ERA isn’t phenomenal.
Alcorn State softball best wins
The Lady Braves have put together a few wins this season. They haven’t managed to beat many significant programs, but Alcorn State has a handful of wins.
So, let’s go over the five wins Alcorn State is bringing to Starkville:
- Alcorn State 7 – Arlington Baptist 1
- Alcorn State 15 – Xavier University of Louisiana 3
- Alcorn State 7 – North Carolina Central University 6
- Alcorn State 12 – North Carolina A&T 9
- Alcorn State 6 – Tuskegee 1
Alcorn State worst losses
Again, like Southern Miss, Alcorn State is struggling. There are a few losses here. To be exact, Alcorn State has suffered 10 losses so far, which interestingly enough is the second most of anyone entering the Bulldog Invitational, not the worst.
So let’s list out three of their worst:
- Louisiana-Monroe 12 – Alcorn State 2
- Louisiana-Monroe 9 – Alcorn State 1
- Howard 10 – Alcorn State 0
Samford softball stats
- Record: 2-12
- Batting Average: .237
- ERA: 4.25
- Homeruns: 6
- Strikeouts: 70
- Runs Scored Per Game: 3.3
- Opponents’ Batting Average: .289
- Opponents’ ERA: 2.64
Samford confuses me. They really do. The Bulldogs are odd. And we’ll get into that more in a moment.
Samford softball best wins
THEY ONLY HAVE TWO WINS BUT THE TWO WINS ARE AGAINST TEAMS THAT ARE ALSO HERE IN STARKVILLE FOR THE BULLDOG INVITATIONAL.
BUT THEY HAVE 12 LOSSES?!?!
I don’t understand.
- Samford 5 – Troy 1
- Samford 16 – Southern Miss 0 (5 innings)
Samford worst losses
There’s a dozen to pick from. Let’s go with three.
- Notre Dame 11 – Samford 1
- UT Martin 8 – Samford 3
- North Alabama 8 – Samford 0
This is such an odd team.
How to watch Mississippi State softball in 2024 Bulldog Invitational
- Mississippi State vs. Southern Miss – 2/29 at 6 p.m.
- Mississippi State vs. Troy – 3/1 at 3 p.m.
- Mississippi State vs. Alcorn State – 3/2 at 11:30 a.m.
- Mississippi State vs. Troy – 3/2 at 2 p.m.
- Mississippi State vs. Alcorn State – 3/3 at 12:30 p.m.
- Mississippi State vs. Samford – 3/3 at 3 p.m.
Final thoughts
This is a weekend that Mississippi State should be able to get a handful of wins and some solid momentum before rolling right into conference play starting next weekend.
The Bulldogs are going to face a few challenges though. I’ve gotta say, I don’t love the fact that MSU will face Troy twice. I think the Trojans are an interesting team that could provide the Bulldogs with some problems.
And they already have some experience in testing ranked teams as they’ve faced Indiana twice.
I suspect MSU can get through this weekend with at least five wins. I’m hoping they get six. Four wouldn’t be the worst thing ever, but it’d be a little worrisome right before SEC play starts.
Let’s hope for five. Or better.
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