Mississippi State’s softball team will host Memphis on Wednesday at 4 p.m. CT at Nusz Park, with the game broadcast on SEC Network+. The Bulldogs are riding a 10-0 start, their best since 2016, and are ranked No. 14 in the NFCA Coaches’ Poll, the highest in school history.
The Bulldogs have won their first 10 games for only the fifth time in program history. Their success has been fueled by an elite pitching staff, leading the nation in fielding independent pitching with a 1.04 ERA, and ranking second nationally with a .996 fielding percentage. Mississippi State pitchers also rank among the top five nationally in ERA, strikeouts, and strikeouts looking, among other categories.
Offensively, Morgan Stiles leads the team with a .515 batting average and has a 14-game reached-base streak dating back to last season. Anna Carder boasts a .630 on-base percentage, ranking among the top 40 nationally. Freshman Kinley Keller was named SEC Co-Freshman of the Week after hitting .667 with four doubles and seven runs scored last week.
Mississippi State has homered in all but two games this season, with 25 of its 74 runs coming via the long ball. The team has scored five or more runs in all but one game and is 160-20 under head coach Samantha Ricketts.
Memphis enters the game with a 3-5 record. The Tigers, led by head coach Trena Prater, are batting .274 and have stolen 10 bases. They are coming off a one-run win against Evansville after their last two games at the Memphis 901 Classic were rained out.
Memphis’s roster includes players competing for national teams, such as Paris Brienesse for Sweden and Taylor Caton for Canada. The Tigers lead the American Athletic Conference in stolen bases per game and sacrifice bunts, with speed playing a key role in their offense.
Following Wednesday’s game, Mississippi State will host the Bulldog Invitational from Feb. 20-22, with games against Belmont, Samford, and Delaware State. All tournament games will be streamed on SEC Network+.
