Softball

No. 17 Arkansas Welcomes No. 20 Mississippi State for SEC Home Opener

Grace Tafolla
Grace Tafolla March 21, 2024
Arkansas Game Notes MSU Game Notes

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – It’ll be a top-20 showdown in No. 17 Arkansas’ SEC home opening series vs. No. 20 Mississippi State on March 22-24 at Bogle Park. Friday’s series opener between the Razorbacks and Bulldogs is set for 6 p.m. CT on SEC Network+.

Game two is slated for 2 p.m. Saturday, and Sunday’s series finale is scheduled for Noon. All three games will be available on SEC Network+ with Brett Dolan (PxP) and former Razorback, 2022 SEC Player of the Year and First Team All-America selection KB Sides (Analyst) on the call. On Friday, the Hogs have a chance to claim their seventh straight SEC home opening win.

Leading Off

  • Last weekend, Arkansas filed its fourth consecutive series win over the Auburn Tigers on March 16-17 in Auburn, Ala.
  • Arkansas swept March 16’s doubleheader to capture the series win. The Hogs defeated Auburn, 6-1, in the series opener before clinching a 5-1 win in game two to seal the series.
  • For the sixth straight year, Arkansas won its SEC opener.
  • In a tight battle on March 17, Auburn avoided the sweep with a 2-1 victory.
  • Arkansas throttled Texas A&M-Commerce, 8-0 (5 inn.), on March 18 to cap the four-game road tilt.

History Lesson

  • The Razorbacks are 35-38 all-time vs. Mississippi State in a rivalry that dates back to the SEC’s inaugural season in 1997.
  • Arkansas rides a nine-game win streak against Mississippi State into the weekend, which dates back to 2017.
  • The Hogs are chasing their fourth consecutive series sweep against Mississippi State. Arkansas has swept the Bulldogs in three straight series dating back to 2018.
  • Arkansas has swept the Bulldogs in back-to-back series in Fayetteville.
  • The Razorbacks haven’t dropped a game to Mississippi State since 2015.

Bri Bombs

  • Junior first baseman Bri Ellis is the back-to-back SEC Player of the Week after earning the honor again on Tuesday.
  • She’s the first Razorback in program history to win SEC Player of the Week in back-to-back weeks.
  • The Houston native is hitting .421 with RISP.
  • She’s the only SEC player to receive the accolade twice this season.
  • Making the most of her return to the Plains, Ellis slashed an astronomical .667/1.444/.692 (6-for-9) with a team-leading six hits, two home runs, six RBI, five runs scored, 13 total bases, three walks and a sacrifice fly. In the series opener vs. the Tigers Saturday, Ellis smoked a three-run home run to give the Razorbacks an early 3-0 lead in the first. In game two, Ellis jacked her team-leading 10th home run on a solo shot to guide the Razorbacks seal the series win. After hammering a double against Texas A&M-Commerce, Ellis stretched her hitting streak to nine games and reached bases streak to 17 games.
  • Anchoring the infield at first, the Houston native compiled a 1.000 fielding percentage with 27 putouts and zero errors. Ellis also assisted in turning three double plays across four games, helping the Hogs spearhead the SEC in double plays turned with 17 on the season.
  • As a sophomore at Auburn in 2023, Ellis was one of two Tigers to start all 62 games and held a .275 batting average, .601 slugging percentage and .415 on-base percentage behind 42 hits, 47 RBI and 14 home runs.
  • As a true freshman in 2022, Ellis held a .302 batting average behind 45 hits and 20 home runs. Her 20 home runs shattered the program’s freshman home run record.
  • Ellis led Auburn in multiple offensive categories as a sophomore in 2023, pacing the Tigers in home runs (14), RBI (47), total bases (92), slugging percentage (.601), HBP (7) and sacrafice flies.
  • She proved to be an integral part of Auburn’s defense at first, carrying a .989 fielding percentage which stands sixth in Auburn’s all-time program history.

Miller Madness

  • Freshman catcher Kennedy Miller has quickly established herself as one of the best freshmen in the country.
  • Miller earned her first career SEC Freshman of the Week selection on March 19 following a dominant showing during Arkansas’ four-game road swing at Auburn and Texas A&M-Commerce.
  • In her SEC debut over the weekend, Miller put up a .545/1.091/.545 slash line across four games and paced the Hogs in hits with six and home runs with two.
  • The Georgetown, Texas, product played flawless behind the plate with 18 putouts, three assists and zero errors. Miller recorded her second career multi-home run outing in game two against Auburn, smashing a two-run home run in the first and a solo home run in the fourth.
  • The catcher tied her career high in hits after finishing 3-for-3 with two home runs, three RBI and two runs scored in game two to solidify the series win.
  • The rookie leads all SEC freshmen and third in the league with a .448 batting average this season.
  • Miller hits .524 with RISP and .571 as leadoff.

Double Trouble

  • Arkansas has turned an SEC-leading 17 double plays this season.
  • The Hogs’ .980 fielding percentage sits second in the SEC.
  • Arkansas has the second-fewest errors in the conference after only committing 16 through 29 games.

Sooie Spinners

  • The Arkansas pitching staff boasts the sixth-best ERA in the conference this season (1.85). The Hogs’ pitching staff has recorded the most batters struck out looking (53) and the sixth-most strikeouts (188) by an SEC staff this season.
  • Arkansas’ nine shutouts this season rank fourth in the league and ninth nationally.
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