Mississippi State softball is having a fun year. The No. 18 Bulldogs closed out the regular season with a home, rivalry series win over a ranked Ole Miss squad to secure one of the best regular seasons the program has seen. Now, they're set for postseason play and head to Athens for the SEC Softball Tournament with some momentum.
Mississippi State softball had one of its best regular seasons in recent history
This Bulldog softball team is easily one of the best we've seen in Starkville. Their 37 wins matches the most the program has achieved in Sam Ricketts' six-year tenure, and they've reached that total in the regular season. With a 13-11 mark in SEC play, the program has its first winning conference record since 2001 and most conference wins since 2008. It's now the second-straight year that Mississippi State is ranked in the Top 25 at this point in the season, which has not typically been the case for the program.
SEC softball is a grind, and climbing the ladder in the league can be a massive challenge given the number of contending programs you're competing against. But Sam Ricketts has her program steadily improving, and entering the postseason, they look ready to make some noise.
Bulldogs can make a case to be a regional host in SEC Softball Tournament
There is a possibility that Mississippi State softball could make a late push towards earning a regional host. The Bulldogs sit at No. 21 in the RPI, owning the No. 22 strength of schedule and 18 Quad 1 wins. Right now, they're out of the hosting conversation due to having a lower RPI than the more realistic host options, a non-conference strength of schedule that doesn't stand out (No. 92), and owning a Quad 4 loss.
But the SEC Softball Tournament presents them the chance to at least make a case for hosting. 8-seed Mississippi State's first matchup is against No. 7 RPI LSU. Upsetting the Tigers would already provide a great RPI boost, and with a win, they'd then play No. 3 RPI Oklahoma. The Sooners swept State earlier this season, but the Bulldogs had chances in those games.
If MSU could spring two big upsets to advance to the SEC Tournament semifinals, their RPI should absolutely move into hosting range. And with two massive wins added to the resume in this hypothetical, they'd at least be forcing the selection committee to consider them to host a regional, something the program has never done.
Of course the odds are not high. Beating both the Tigers and Sooners is a tall task, and even if that happens, there's no guarantee those late wins in a tournament setting would propel State to hosting. In all likelihood, MSU is looking at being a 2-seed in someone else's regional, as has frequently been the case. But they'd be a 2-seed that any host would not want to face.
Mississippi State softball's first chance at bettering the positioning for a regional comes Wednesday at 10:00 AM CT against LSU in the SEC Tournament. The game will be broadcast on the SEC Network.