Bulldogs begin quest for regional title
The road to Oklahoma City for the Mississippi State softball team begins out West, as the Bulldogs open NCAA Tournament play against the No. 21 BYU Cougars in the Salt Lake City Regional on today.
First pitch in first game to be played in the 2017 NCAA Tournament is set for 5 p.m. at the Dumke Family Softball Stadium. Along with MSU and BYU (44-11) in the Salt Lake City Regional is host No. 11 Utah (33-14) and Fordham (45-15), who will square off at 7:30 p.m., today.
The regional's first two games will be live streamed on ESPN3.com, with Alex Perlman and Megan Turk on the call. Fans can access those broadcasts through WatchESPN.com or the ESPN app. Television/live streaming assignments for the remaining games will be announced later in the week.
The winner of the Salt Lake Regional will go on to face the winners of the Seattle Regional, hosted by No. 6 Washington (43-11). Also included in the region is Michigan (41-11-1), Fresno State (34-21) and Montana (35-22).
State makes its 13th NCAA Tournament appearance in its 21st season as a member of the Southeastern Conference, with an overall record of 12-24 in regional play. All 13 appearances have come since 2000, while head coach Vann Stuedeman has led MSU to five showings in the last six years. That is the best stretch since the Bulldogs went seven of eight years from 2002-09.
“It's very nice to be back dancing again, although this team never really stops dancing,” Stuedeman said.
MSU (36-20) has picked up at least one win in regional play in its last three appearances and will be looking to advance to its first Super Regional in program history.
In their last NCAA Tournament appearance in 2015, the Bulldogs traveled to Lafayette, La., falling in the series opener against Baylor 8-4. MSU picked up a 2-0 win against Weber State before being eliminated by Baylor in game three.
Overall, all 13 Southeastern Conference teams earned NCAA Tournament bids, marking the first time that the league has sent every team to the NCAA's postseason event. It also set an NCAA record for most teams sent to the postseason by a single conference. The SEC is the first conference to have all its members receive NCAA Tournament bids since the Pac-12 in 2007.
Fans looking to make their way to Utah to cheer on the Bulldogs in the Salt Lake City Regional can still purchase single session and all tournament tickets while supplies last. Ticket prices and more info can be found at www.utahtickets.com/softball.
Today's matchup will be the fourth overall meeting between MSU and BYU. State holds a 2-1 advantage in the series, however the Cougars took the last meeting, a 4-3 nineinning battle in the Eugene Regional in 2012. The Bulldogs have also faced off against Utah and Fordham prior to this weekend, going 2-4 versus the Utes and 2-0 against the Rams. MSU and Utah have previously faced off in postseason play, as the two split games in the Seattle Regional in 2000.
State is led by a pair of All-SEC selections in Caroline Seitz and Amanda Ivy. Seitz, who was picked to the All-SEC first team, finished the regular season leading the SEC in conference play with seven home runs, 28 RBI, a .724 slugging percentage and 55 total bases. She also finished top 10 with a .368 clip, 28 hits and six doubles.
On the flip side, Amanda Ivy has been crucial to MSU's defensive success. The All-SEC Defensive Team selection has made a number of jaw-dropping catches this season and has garnered SportsCenter Top 10 and SEC Now acknowledgement several times throughout the 2017 campaign.
The Bulldog pitching staff has been phenomenal so far in 2017. The group's 1.97 ERA ranks sixth in the SEC and 23rd in the NCAA. The staff's ERA is on pace to be the first sub-2.00 average since recording a 1.33 ERA during the 1998 campaign.
Cassady Knudsen paces the team with a 1.83 ERA, good for 13th in the SEC. Knudsen is also third in the SEC and seventh nationally with 3.57 hits allowed per seven innings and sixth in the SEC, 44th in the NCAA with 7.5 strikeouts per seven frames.