BITS
From page 8 tion, the Friends of Golf and the Golf Coaches Association of America.
Pichaikool became the first MSU golfer to be chosen to the Ben Hogan Award Watch List.
The Ben Hogan Award is given annually to the nation's top men's golfer from NCAA, NAIA or NJCAA colleges and considers all collegiate and amateur tournaments from June 2018-May 2019. As well as golf prowess, the Ben Hogan Award Selection Committee also takes into account academic achievement.
Wednesday's watch list will be cut to 10 semifinalists on Wednesday, April 17, before a three-man finalist cut May 2.
Pichaikool's recognition comes after a stellar fall in which he earned three top 10 finishes in as many events played for MSU. The junior from Bangkok, Thailand, has also earned recognition as a member of the Haksins Award Final Fall Watch List, the Arnold Palmer Cup rankings and the Sun Bowl Allamerica Golf Classic.
Pichaikool will look to keep his momentum going into the approaching spring season. The Mississippi State men's golf team will play its first event this weekend at the Gator Invitational, which begins with two rounds Saturday.
Softball
Heading south of the border for its first road contests of the season, No. 25 Mississippi State softball (4-1) continues its season in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico at the 2019 Puerto Vallarta College Challenge.
State's three-day slate begins today with a doubleheader slate, kicking off the action against Southern Illinois at 10 a.m. The Bulldogs return to the field at 6 p.m. for its first top 25 matchup of the season, taking on the 2018 Women's College World Series runnerup No. 5 Washington.
On Friday, MSU will face Sacramento State, a 2018 NCAA Regional participant, at 10 a.m. The Bulldogs close the tournament on Saturday against Central Florida at 12:30 p.m.
All four contests will be streamed live via Flosoftball. com, which requires a paid subscription to view.
Last weekend, MSU picked up four wins over the Bulldog Kickoff Classic, highlighted by the debut of junior outfielder Fa Leilua in a Bulldog uniform. The Hawthorne, California, native tallied five hits, three of which were home run, and currently ranks fifth in the Southeastern Conference in RBI with nine.
Junior pitcher Alyssa Loza dazzled in the circle over opening weekend. In her first start at MSU, Loza tossed just the third perfect game in Mississippi State history as she blanked Valparaiso, 10-0, behind four strikeouts.
Returning to the field after being sidelined last season with an injury, redshirt sophomore Montana Davidson led MSU over opening weekend in hits (seven), doubles (three) and batting average (.538). Her sister, sophomore Mia Davidson, slugged two home runs, including her first career grand slam, to bring her career total to 21 homers, which is good for eighth all-time in program history.
Volleyball
Under the direction of head coach Julie Darty, the Mississippi State volleyball team will host alumni and fans for a spring match on Saturday, April 13, inside of Newell-grissom as part of Super Bulldog Weekend.
Action will begin a 11 a.m. as the Bulldogs face Mississippi University for Women in a spring match. Immediately following the exhibition, an alumni match will take place. The event is free and open to the public.
All alumni interested in participating in the event should contact volleyball director of operations Cody Drattlo at cdrattlo@athletics.msstate. edu for more information.