| Game | Location | Day/Time (CT) | Media |
|---|---|---|---|
| vs. Mississippi State | Columbia, Mo. | Friday // 6:30 p.m. | Live Stats |
| vs. Mississippi State | Columbia, Mo. | Saturday // 1:00 p.m. | Live Stats |
| vs. Mississippi State | Columbia, Mo. | Sunday // 2:30 p.m. | Live Stats |
COLUMBIA, Mo.- No. 21 Mizzou Softball hosts Mississippi State in Southeastern Conference action this weekend. The crucial three-game series from April 10-12 begins Friday at 6:30 p.m. CT. The first two games of the series on Friday and Saturday will be streamed on SEC Network + and Sunday's afternoon matinee will be featured live on SEC Network.
It's Columbia Public Schools weekend. CPS students can get in free to every game with a valid voucher. General admission tickets cost $5 for adults. Gates will open one hour prior to the scheduled first pitch.
- TIGER TALES
• Mizzou stayed at No. 8 this week in the latest RPI rankings that came out on April 6. The Tigers have aleady faced seven teams in the RPI Top-25, with wins over No. 3 Auburn, No. 12 Arizona, No. 15 Tennessee and No. 25 Georgia. All nine of MU's losses on the year are to RPI Top-25 teams.
• Mizzou has 57 hits off of left-handed pitchers in 169 plate appearances, and MU is 6-0 this year vs. lefties. The team's .337 batting average against southpaws ranks third in the SEC, behind only Auburn and Georgia.
• With three more road games in the books after the Georgia series, the Tigers spent seven out of the last eight weekends away from home. Mizzou has played just six home games thus far with a 4-2 record at University Field. The Tigers have played 27 of their first 33 games away from Columbia, Mo. Mizzou is 14-3 in games played at a neutral site.
• This weekend's matchup with Mississippi State marks the fourth consecutive weekend that Mizzou has played a series against an opponent with a Top-25 RPI. The Bulldogs are ranked No. 22 in the latest RPI.
• The Tigers have blasted their way to success this season, pummeling 46 home runs in 2015. That is already the 10th-most homers in a single season in school history. Mizzou's 1.39 home runs per game ranks third in the SEC behind Auburn and Tennessee.
• After hitting eight home runs in their first 11 games combined, the Tigers have swatted 38 long balls in their last 22 games alone - including a school record-tying five bombs each in wins over Longwood and Illinois.
• Mizzou is 18-5 on the season when a Tiger hits a home run. Eleven different players on the roster have at least one dinger this season. Five of those 11 (Sanchez, Cousins, Bange, Harvey and Zolman) have all launched their first career HRs in 2015.
• Junior Sami Fagan currently boasts a 22-game on-base streak, which is the longest of her career. Fagan is one of three Tigers to put together an on-base streak of 15 games or more this season (Roth-20, Crane-15).
• Fagan has added power to her arsenal in 2015. After hitting just three home runs in her first two collegiate seasons, she has eight home runs already in the 2015 campaign. In the last 20 games, Fagan has 10 extra-base hits, 22 RBI and a .690 slugging percentage
• In the last 20 games, junior Emily Crane is batting a team-high .417 in the two-hole. She has 25 hits in that span, including nine doubles and her first career triple. With just under a season and a half left in her career, Crane currently holds the school record for career on-base percentage with a .454.
• Despite having a team-high 105 at-bats, Crane has struck out just five times this season. That is the lowest mark among Tigers who have played in at least 20 games. Meanwhile, the five-tool player has committed just one error in the last two seasons combined with 85 putouts in that stretch.
• Freshman Amanda Sanchez has settled down in the clean-up role over the last eight games. She is batting .379 (11-for-29) in the span, collecting a team-high 11 RBI and 23 total bases. Sanchez has hit four of her nine home runs in the clean-up spot and has a .793 slugging percentage since making the switch.
• Meanwhile, the savvy freshman has recorded 58 assists and committed just four errors while holding down the hot corner at third base, cementing herself as a likely four-year starter.
• Senior 1B Kelsea Roth has been on quite a tear recently, as she's worked her batting average all the way up to .311 from .167 just four weeks ago. In Roth's last 18 games over the last month, she is hitting a robust .409 (18-of-44), and has 21 RBI to go with 21 runs scored, while mashing 8 homers and drawing 15 walks.
• Roth, who is 6th all-time on the Mizzou career home runs chart, with 39, recently snapped a 20-game reached safely streak. She has been an on-base machine, drawing 21 walks in 2015. Roth is one of seven Tigers with at least 10 free passes this season.
• Sophomore Jordan Zolman seven hits and six RBI in just 22 at-bats and six starts this season. After monster plate appearances against No. 8 Auburn, Zolman smacked a game-tying, pinch-hit RBI single to tie the score in the 7th inning of Game 3 against No.9 Georgia. The Arbyrd, Mo., native is coming alive at a crucial point in the 2015 campaign.
- THE OPPONENT
• Mississippi State is 30-10 this season and the Bulldogs are currently riding a six-game win streak after dismantling No. 1 LSU on Wednesday. Led by head coach Vann Stuedeman, the Bulldogs are 8-7 in SEC play and boast an 8-3 record on the road.
• The Bulldogs are led by reigning SEC Pitcher of the Week, Alexis Silkwood. Silkwood has a 22-7 record. She has started 23 of her team's 40 games and has a 2.36 ERA. Opposing hitters have hit just 15 home runs off her and are batting .220 against her this season.
• Mississippi State has seven hitters in its lineup, who have made at least 36 starts or more, batting .333 or higher. Carolina Seitz provides power for the Bulldogs with a team-high 39 RBI, 11 home runs and a .662 slugging percentage.
