Mississippi
Mississippi State Coach Praises ‘Incredibly Dominant’ Texas Longhorns
For its first-ever SEC conference game, Texas will face off against the Mississippi State Bulldogs. In his Monday press conference, Bulldogs head coach Jeff Lebby talked about what his team will be up against.
“They’ve been incredibly dominant in all three phases,” Lebby said. “Defensively, they’re as good as there is in America, giving up five points a game.”
The Longhorns, who are ranked No. 1 in the AP Poll, have dominated in every aspect of all four games they’ve played this season. Mississippi State has struggled its way to a 1-3 record this season under Lebby. The Bulldogs are coming into Austin after losing to Florida 45-28 in Starkville.
In Mississippi State’s loss to the Gators, the Bulldogs lost quarterback Blake Shapen to a season-ending shoulder injury. Freshman Michael Van Buren will be tasked with going up against the stellar Texas defense in front of 100,000 fans in Austin.
In the loss to Florida, Van Buren was 7 of 13 for 100 yards in just over one quarter of football. In Texas’ win over ULM, the Longhorns gave up 111 total yards. Van Buren will have his work cut out for him, but so will the Mississippi State defense.
“Offensively they’ve got this incredible amount of skill, they’re playing really good (football) up front,” Lebby said. “Regardless of who the QB is going to be, both those guys have the ability to run the offense the way Sark wants them to and then they’re very very aggressive from a team standpoint, so again it’s a football team that’s playing as a good as anybody in the country.”
The Texas offense has been as dominant as ever, and the Mississippi State defense has struggled to stop everyone. Texas averages just over 47 points per game and the Bulldogs have given up an average of just over 30 points per game.
Lebby’s team has quite the task ahead of it this weekend, but its up for the challenge. The Bulldogs are still shaking off the frustration from the loss to Florida, but Lebby says they are in good spirits going into facing the No. 1 team.
“It’s like we talked about as a group (Monday), what an unbelievable opportunity for us to see how we’re going to respond,” Lebby said. “Our guys, they had energy on the practice field today, (they’re) frustrated, disappointed without a doubt, but our energy, our toughness, our effort and our focus is about us. We’re going to continue to focus on those things and get ready to roll.”
Texas and Mississippi State will kick off at 3:15 on Saturday and will air on the SEC Network.
Mississippi
Mississippi College Baseball Wins Series vs. West Florida for First Time
Mississippi College baseball has won the series against West Florida for the first time ever
The Choctaws have been playing UWF since 2015
MC won the first two games and put on a bit of a comeback in game 3
Next: GSC at Delta St., then Conference Tournament
Mississippi
George County High School senior killed in Highway 26 crash, MHP says
GEORGE COUNTY, Miss. (WLOX) — A George County High School senior is dead after an SUV hit him while bicycling on Highway 26 Friday night.
Mississippi Highway Patrol (MHP) officials said at 8:15 p.m. the MHP responded to a fatal crash on Highway 26 in George County.
Those officials said a Ford SUV traveling west on Highway 26 collided with 18-year-old Tyree Bradley of McLain, Mississippi, who was bicycling.
Bradley was fatally injured and died at the scene, MHP officials said.
The crash remains under investigation by the MHP.
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Mississippi
Mississippi State Drops Series Opener at Texas A&M Despite Late Chances
Some losses feel like they drag on longer than the box score suggests, and Mississippi State’s 3-1 opener at Texas A&M fits that category.
It wasn’t a blowout. It wasn’t a game where the Bulldogs looked outmatched.
It was just one of those nights where the early mistakes stuck around and the offense never quite found the swing that could shake them loose.
The frustrating part is how quickly the hole formed. Two solo homers and a wild pitch in the first two innings put Mississippi State behind 3-0, and that was basically the ballgame.
Against a top tier SEC team on the road, spotting three runs that early is a tough ask. The Bulldogs didn’t fold, but they also didn’t cash in when the door cracked open.
“I liked our fight. I think we’re really just working through some things offensively, and trying to stay together,” Mississippi State coach Samantha Ricketts said. “This team still believes, and we’re going to battle and fight every chance we get, and I think I saw a lot of that. I’m encouraged for what that means for us moving forward, but, you know, they’re a good hitting team, and we’ve got to be able to shut them down early. I don’t think Peja [Goold] had her best stuff, but she continued to battle out there and find ways to get outs.”
They had chances. Two runners stranded in the fifth. Two more in the sixth. Another in the seventh. Des Rivera finally got the Bulldogs on the board with an RBI single, but the big hit that usually shows up for this lineup never arrived.
It wasn’t a lack of traffic. It was a lack of finish.
If there was a bright spot, it came from the bullpen. Delainey Everett gave Mississippi State exactly what it needed after the rocky start.
“That was just a huge relief appearance by Delaney to keep us in it,” Ricketts said. “It’s really good to have her back and healthy these last few weeks because these are the moments where we really need her and rely on her. We know that she’s going to be a big part of the remainder of the season going forward as well.”
Three hitless innings, one baserunner, and a reminder that she’s quietly putting together a strong stretch.
There were individual positives too. Nadia Barbary keeps climbing the doubles list. Kiarra Sells keeps finding ways on base.
But the bigger picture is simple. Mississippi State is now 6-10 in the SEC, and the margin for error is shrinking. Nights like this one are the difference between climbing back into the race and staying stuck in the middle.
They get another shot this morning with the schedule bumped up for weather. The formula isn’t complicated.
Clean up the early innings, keep getting quality relief, and find one or two timely swings. The Bulldogs didn’t get them Friday. They’ll need them today.
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