Mississippi State softball prepping for home bout with Texas A&M
Now 20-4 overall after a five inning shellacking of the University of Louisiana-Monroe yesterday, Mississippi State softball has planted itself in arguably the best spot imaginable to this point in the season.
Now, the Bulldogs will try to keep the momentum going for their biggest series to date – a home matchup with No. 13 ranked Texas A&M. First pitch for Friday is scheduled for 4 p.m., Saturday for 1 p.m. and Sunday for 11 a.m.
Mississippi State pitching vs. Texas A&M Offense
To put it plainly, Mississippi State’s pitching has been nothing short of excellent. Aspen Wesley, Lexi Sosa and Josey Marron all have less than a 2.0 ERA, and Marron is already 8-1 on the season. The three have arguably the least amount of fall off between them than anyone else in the country, and have served as the backbone of the impressive start that State has been able to get off to.
With the Aggies, though, is where that gets tested. A&M can hit the ball all over the yard. Seven players are hitting more than .320 and three of those are above .410. They’ve hit 34 home runs as a team already on the season, good enough for 13th in the country in homers per game. For reference, as hot as they’ve been at the plate, Mississippi State is tied for 35th.
Yes, the Bulldog pitching staff will be the toughest three-game threat the Aggies have faced thus far this season, but this will be the most dangerous lineup State has faced in consecutive games as well.
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Texas A&M pitching vs. Mississippi State Offense
Madisyn Kennedy is the hottest hitter in the country right now. Full stop. She was responsible for seven RBI’s last night against ULM off two homers, one of which was a grand slam, and an RBI single. She’s slugging 1.149 before this weekend’s series, and is seeing the ball as well as anyone in America. She’s tied for 24th in the country in RBI’s.
However, Kennedy and the rest of the red hot Bulldog lineup will be facing the 7th best average ERA in the country in the Aggies. Emiley Kennedy, the Texas A&M ace, has a .72 ERA through 77.1 IP thus far in the 2024 campaign to help out that team average. She’s allowed one less run than Shaylee Ackerman, the Aggies’ other primary starter, while Ackerman has thrown in more than 40 fewer innings.
Emiley Kennedy’s film will be all over the Nusz Park facilities this week in preparation, and nobody can blame Mississippi State for doing so.
Prediction
Emiley Kennedy’s arm will control the first game of the series in a defensive slugfest where hits will come at a premium, but whenever she’s not in the circle, the Bulldog bats will come to life. Kennedy starts games one and three and Texas A&M squeaks out the series 2-1 via two close wins.
