Mississippi State Softball Weekend Recaps: Winning the February Freezer Tournament

So, Ethan, what Happened this weekend?

Good question. The Bulldogs are coming off an impressive weekend where they went 5-0, won the February Freezer Tournament, and they’re now currently on a 7 game winning streak.

What does the hitting look like?

The pitching for the Bulldogs has been solid through three weekends, but the bats had been quiet to start the season in the Bulldog Kickoff Classic. As a result, Mississippi State struggled, going 3-2 in the opening weekend.

Since then, however, the bats woke up and State has improved considerably at the plate. The Bulldogs went .293 at the plate this weekend, racking up 46 hits. That’s up quite a bit from the opening weekend average of .221 and the total of 31 hits.

Oh cool, the hitting has improved? What’s the pitching look like?

Pitching has remained impressive for the Bulldogs. From Alexis Silkwood making history for Mississippi State to the fact that as a staff MSU has a 1.10 ERA, things look good from a pitching perspective.

Opponents are hitting a paltry .196 against Mississippi State’s pitching staff. Silkwood, Regan Green, Holly Ward, and Cassady Knudsen are combining to form a formidable force in the circle and it could carry MSU pretty far this season.

So, you’re saying the team is hitting well and pitching well?

Yes, that’s exactly what I’m saying.

Awesome, so they don’t need to improve anything, right?

Well, not exactly. The Bulldogs have struggled at times fielding. MSU has committed 14 errors through 14 games, which probably isn’t that bad all things considered. But those 14 errors have led to 13 runs for opponents, and that can be a bit of an issue. Vann Stuedeman told me, however, that they’d be focusing on the fundamentals to help fix that issue.

Oh, you did interviews?

Well, yeah.

What’d the players have to say?

Bevia Robinson on her impressive performance in the double header on Friday: “Rely on your teammates on time. The leadoff and second hole hitters get on base and let the three and four hole hitters move us around.”

Reggie Harrison on a great Friday performance: “It’s easy knowing you have people behind you, that can get the job done. That’s what makes it so easy knowing you can rely on your teammates.”

Olivia Golden on hitting two home runs this weekend: “It feels really good. Ricketts has been working so hard with us and she gives us a plan. We go up and do that and we’re successful.”

Holly Ward on pitching in the winning game of the tournament: “It feels good. It goes back to everybody on the staff. We have each other’s back, so regardless of how we feel, we’re going to go out there and do the best we can.”

Did Vann Stuedeman have anything else to say?

Stuedeman on carrying this momentum forward: “The key is to carry it forward. We’ve won 7 in a row now. What’s fun is we’re able to put hits in a row now. Kat Moore, Reggie Harrison, and Olivia all three in a row. It’s huge. It’s something we’ve been struggling to be able to do.”

On having the lineup set: “The lineup seems to be gelling together, these 9 in the lineup. They seem to be playing and feeding off of each other.”

Anything cool happen this weekend?

Well, aside from going 5-0 and winning the tournament, as I mentioned earlier, Alexis Silkwood set Mississippi State history. She’s now the Bulldogs leader for strikeouts in a career and her senior season isn’t even close to being done yet.

What’s next for MSU?

Stuedeman is taking her team down to Hammond, Louisiana to face off against Southeastern Louisiana tomorrow and they’ll return home on Thursday to play Alabama State.