Mississippi State Softball continues to climb the rankings
The Mississippi State Softball team, on the back of a six game winning streak, now finds itself firmly inside the top 25 in virtually every poll in the country.
D1 Softball has the Bulldogs as high as 17, while USA Softball has them at 23, Softball America at 18 and the RPI has the Bulldogs at 24.
Coming into the non-conference slate, Mississippi State was picked towards the bottom of the SEC in nearly every single preseason poll. During media days, veteran players like Brylie St. Clair and Paige Cook made sure to make it known that they weren’t putting a lot of stock in those polls. They knew how hard they had been working this offseason, how good the previous two incoming classes of freshmen and transfers were and the kind of results they could yield.
Some of those freshmen and transfers have made bigger impacts on the offensive end than anyone could have anticipated, though. Auburn transfer Jessie Blane is currently hitting .388 on the season with a .755 slug, and no, that’s not a typo. Louisiana Tech transfer Sierra Sacco currently leads the team in OBP with a striking .549, and freshman infielder Salen Hawkins has been remarkably consistent as well slashing .353 at the plate.
Blaine leads the team in home runs with five, but hot on her heels with four is freshman phenom Kylee Edwards. Edwards is averaging .348 and slugging .739 in her freshman campaign.
The Diamond Queens have made serious strides on the defensive end, too. At this point, the team ERA is sitting at 1.57. While that number may not be sustainable over the long term, only allowing an average of less than two runs when playing the crop of top tier teams that Mississippi State has is special.
Aspen Wesley is in peak form as the veteran leader of the squad, while Josey Marron is 7-0 through 10 total starts on the year already. Graduate UCLA transfer Lexi Sosa has been dynamic as well in her first stint as a Bulldog and currently sits at .91 ERA through six appearances with 23 innings pitched.
Now 17-3 overall with wins over teams like Notre Dame, Utah, UCF and Clemson, the Bulldogs are looking towards the start of conference play that leads off with none other than Ole Miss. That weekend series of games will be aired on the SEC Network+, starting Friday night in Oxford at 6 p.m., with the following two days’ games both being at 3 p.m.
