MSU softball team set for SEC Tournament
It was just a year ago that things looked bleak for the Mississippi State softball program.
The Bulldogs finished off the season with its first losing record under head coach Vann Stuedeman and their first absence from the NCAA Tournament in her five years at the helm. State ended their season by watching other teams play on its own field for the Southeastern Conference crown as the Bulldogs exited early from the conference softball tournament at newly-built Nusz Park.
Ending the season 26-31 with just three SEC wins, MSU was still in the top 35 RPI teams nationally. Had the Bulldogs had a winning record, they would have easily made the field for the NCAA Tournament. That's something that Stuedeman's rising seniors understood and it spearheaded a big bounce-back year in 2017.
“It says a lot about their grit that they were able to rebound and learn from a tough year," Stuedeman said. "Right now, we're a same RPI that we were last year. The wins didn't show it, but the schedule showed it. These kids were able to see that it was going to set them up for success. They believed in each other.”
Katie Anne Bailey, Alexis Silkwood, Caroline Seitz, Amanda Ivy and Olivia Golden played their last game at Nusz Park last Sunday and sealed up a 36-19 season. They finished with 10 more wins than last year, seven more in SEC play, and are four wins shy of giving Stuedeman her winningest season since coming to Starkville.
The group of seniors were the first full class that Stuedeman recruited when they were in high school. They won 138 games in their four-year careers, but most importantly to their coach, they never stopped believing in what she told them could happen.
“This group of people took a chance on me before I even coached a game,” an emotional Stuedeman said. “When people invest and believe in you, it makes you very prideful. I'm very proud of them. They've left a huge footprint on this program. They've done some great things and have battled hard for each other, for Mississippi State and for me.”
It's not over for the seniors as they have a chance to continue their careers over the next few weeks.
The journey to that begins today in Knoxville at the SEC Tournament. This year, MSU knows that it will be playing softball beyond the conference event, but the Bulldogs have a goal of winning it all as they start with their 1:30 p.m. matchup with rival Ole Miss.
“We're going to put everything that's already happened in the past and we're going to look forward and have a positive mindset,” Ivy said. “We're going to play one pitch at the time and play every team like it's just another game. I think we're going to shock the world.”
The Rebels have been among the top 25 teams nationally for most of the season and are doing unprecedented things in Oxford. After meeting in just one midweek game earlier this year, which was a 2-0 Rebel win, these two get a chance to go head to head in a win or go home battle in tournament play today.
“Historically, I think this is the second or third year that they've made the SEC Tournament," Stuedeman said. "I think it's going to be a really fun matchup (because) they're really hot and we're really hot. That will be a lot of fun to play the rivalry to open up the tournament.”