Mississippi State Series Notes in PDF Format

April 5, 2002

LEXINGTON, Ky. –

The University of Kentucky softball team will look to win its first Southeastern Conference series of the year and snap a seven-game conference losing streak when it plays host to Mississippi State at the UK Softball Complex this weekend. The series starts with a 1 p.m. ET doubleheader on Saturday, April 6 and concludes with a single game on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET.

The Wildcats (16-18, 1-8 SEC) are the third most consistent team at the plate in the SEC, hitting .304 as a team. Senior Beth Fogle leads the Cats offensively as she is hitting .427 with 14 stolen bases in 14 attempts. Also hitting well for the Cats are juniors Nikki Jones (.409) and Lyndsey Angus (.393). Leading the pitching corps is freshman Meghan Cooper with a 2.50 ERA.

“Mississippi State is a very good offensive club,” UK Coach Beth Kirchner said. “We will aim to pitch smart against them and limit our own mistakes.”

The Bulldogs (23-17, 5-6) enter the series as the third-place team in the SEC Western Division. MSU hits .266 as a team and has a team ERA of 2.15. Senior Kelli Wilkerson paces the Bulldogs both offensively and from the pitching circle, hitting a team-best .400 at the plate while owning a 1.45 ERA in 43.1 innings of work with nine saves. Wilkerson already owns the NCAA record for career saves with 27 and tied the record for walks received in a career (162) this past week.

The Cats and Dogs have met 12 previous times with MSU holding a 7-5 advantage in the series. UK is 1-3 all-time versus the Bulldogs in Lexington.

The games can be followed live on the Internet by logging onto UKathletics.com and clicking on the “Live Box Score” link on the right side of the front page.

-UK-