April 2, 2014

Opponent	Location	Day/Time (CT)	Media
at Mississippi State	Starkville, Miss.	Fri./6 p.m.	Twitter | Stats | Audio | Video
at Mississippi State	Starkville, Miss.	Sat./3 p.m.	Twitter | Stats | Audio | Video
at Mississippi State	Starkville, Miss.	Sun./1 p.m.	Twitter | Stats | Audio | Video

Game Notes: Mizzou | Mississippi State

TIGER TALES - No. 16 Mizzou Softball (25-9, 4-5 SEC) hits the road for more Southeastern Conference action at Mississippi State (Friday April 4-Sunday, April 6). The Tigers open the series with the Bulldogs (29-10, 2-7 SEC) on Friday, April 4, with a 6 p.m. start, before the middle contest at 3 p.m. on Saturday, April 5. The two SEC foes will play the series finale at 1 p.m. on Sunday, April 6.

• Head coach Ehren Earleywine's squad picked up its first SEC series win of the season in impressive fashion, defeating No. 13 Georgia in two out of three games (March 28-30) at University Field. A home run barrage in the third inning, four total, helped the Tigers down the Bulldogs, 8-6, to open the series on Friday, March 28. The run support during the Friday win was especially significant for Mizzou with it coming off of one of the SEC's top pitchers. UGA RHP Chelsea Wilkinson entered the series with a conference-best 1.30 ERA.

• One home run was the difference on Saturday, March 29, with senior OF Mackenzie Sykes blasting a walk-off, three-run shot in the bottom of the seventh for a 6-3 victory over UGA. Before Sykes' big blast, junior 3B/C Angela Randazzo tied the game up with a big RBI knock to left field. The clutch single marked her 22nd RBI of the 2014 campaign. Sykes leads Mizzou with her 36 RBI in 2014.

• All good things must come to an end. During her 29-game hitting streak that ended last Sunday, redshirt sophomore OF Taylor Gadbois batted .485, going 49-for-101, with 27 of her 30 stolen bases recorded during the 29-game stretch. Gadbois had 15 multi-hit games during the streak.

• Mizzou has continued its aggressive strategies on the base paths. Through 34 games last season, the Tigers had just 41 stolen bases, compared to this season's 66-steal total. A big part of the steal surge is assuredly Gadbois' prowess for thievery, with her 29 stolen bases ranking No. 1 in the SEC.

• Freshman 3B/2B Natalie Fleming's first career home run in the second game of the Illinois State doubleheader sweep (March 19) was normal. The shot was a deeply driven fly to left field. Her second home run that came in Mizzou's 9-6 win over Illinois on March 26 was not typical, as it was an inside-the-park long ball for the Tiger. Fleming put a sharp, dropping liner into right field, forcing a diving try by Illinois. The ball rolled to the fence and Fleming was home free.

• Mizzou's most exciting win of the Mizzou Tournament came against Big 12 Conference foe Oklahoma State (March 22) during the second day of the tournament. Freshman P Tori Finucane held the Cowgirls to one run and just three hits while matching her season-best with nine strikeouts in the 2-1 victory. Her final three strikeouts may have been the most impressive, with the Tiger hurler recording the three whiffs consecutively in the top of the seventh with Oklahoma State runners at first base and second base.

• Earleywine is in his eighth season leading Mizzou and 11th season as a head softball coach with a major milestone within reach. The former Georgia Tech head coach (2004-06) went 146-55 in Atlanta before returning to his home state to lead the Tigers, winning 351 games to run his career total to 497.

THE OPPOSITION - MISSISSIPPI STATE - Mississippi State (29-10, 2-7 SEC) is a team built around stout pitching, with three hurlers holding ERAs below 2.00 heading into the Mizzou-MSU series. Conversely, the Bulldogs feature just three batters hitting above .300 at the plate, with only one of the trio serving as a regular starter.

• Head coach Vann Stuedeman's team has played 10 ranked foes, going 2-8 in those games. MSU has wins over No. 8 Kentucky and No. 21 Auburn.

• MSU's leading batter, Caroline Seitz, is hitting .368 from the plate with an impressive 16 doubles and seven home runs to her credit. Sam Lenahan leads Mississippi State with 31 RBI, matching Seitz for the team-lead in home runs with seven.

• The Bulldogs are a running team, stealing 76 bases out of 91 attempts, both numbers that lead the league. In comparison, MSU's 83.5-percent success rate in steals is bested by Mizzou's 85.7-percent mark (66 stolen bases in 77 attempts). Alison Owen heads up MSU's pitching department, logging a team-best 117.0 innings in the circle with a 1.85 ERA. Batters are hitting just .168 against her.