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After a strong start to the season for Vann Stuedeman and her softball team, the Mississippi State Bulldogs (20-13, 1-5 SEC) have hit a slump and are 2-8 in their last 10 games, including a five game losing streak. MSU has a good opportunity to bounce back with the series against Ole Miss (26-9, 2-4) for a Saturday through Monday series this weekend.
For the season, the Bulldogs are currently batting .269 for 230 hits to score 144 runs. MSU has currently hit 54 extra base hits, 10 of which were home runs. Ole Miss is hitting .316 as a team and has scored 180 runs with 285 hits. Despite batting considerably better, than the Bulldogs, Ole Miss only has three more extra base hits, for a total of 57, but the Rebels have hit 17 home runs.
However, when it comes to pitching, Mississippi State has a noticeably better pitching staff. State's team ERA is 1.86 (good for fourth in the SEC) while Ole Miss' sits at 2.59. The Rebels have struck out 161 batters while State has gotten 200 batters to strike out on the year.
MSU leads the overall series 38-22 and is 21-6 in Starkville. Vann Stuedeman is currently 7-2 against Ole Miss since she got started in Starkville back in 2012.
Game one will be not be televised, but both games two and three will be on TV. Game one is viewable online at SEC plus tonight at 6:00, game two will be on ESPNU tomorrow night at 6:00, and game three will be on the SEC network on Monday night at 6:00.