If the Mississippi State Lady Bulldog softball team had a chance to put its request in for this weekend’s weather, they’d more than likely ask for a few 70-degree clear, sunny days with just a small breeze.
“I think the weather affects me and my teammates a lot,” Bulldog centerfielder Hayle Guess said. “When it’s rainy and cold, you really just have to push through it. We just can’t let the weather control us. We have been put to the test with weather this year, and so far the whole team has worked through it.”
After persevering through the icy Bulldog Classic last weekend and emerging undefeated, the Bulldogs (9-0) will look to keep their undefeated streak alive this weekend as they head into the Third Annual Bulldog Round-Robin (BRR) to face three more opponents from the southeast region of the country.
The MSU softball squad has jumped to its best start in program history, this being the 24th year of Bulldog softball.
The program started in 1982, when the Dawgs finished with a 2-18 record on the season.
“The chemistry on the team is great this year,” Guess said. “We work together every game and that is what makes a successful team. Every game this year, everyone has contributed to our wins. I really believe that is why we are 9-0 right now.”
This year’s BRR features three teams from three different states, and three teams with completely different backgrounds.
The Redhawks of Southeast Missouri State (0-0) haven’t played a game all season due to the fact that their opening tournament at University of Tennessee-Martin was cancelled,The Northwestern State Demons (5-5), of Natchitoches, La., much like MSU, has played in two tournaments thus far in the 2006 campaign. They have come out of their tournaments at Louisiana State and Houston with an even .500 record and no tournament championship victory.
Fellow Mississippians Alcorn State (1-8) has faced many struggles in the 2006 season thus far. Its lone win came against Jackson State on Feb. 11, in its first tournament of the season in Hammond, La. The Braves sport a .208 batting average so far, compared to MSU’s .341.
The Bulldogs were scheduled to play at Samford Wednesday, but that game was postponed until March 1, when MSU will face off against the Bulldogs in a double-header.
Guess, back from a season-ending shoulder injury last season that required surgery, currently leads the squad in batting with a .567 average, runs scored with 11 and stolen bases and attempts, going eight for eight on the year so far. She also hasn’t made an error in centerfield.
Her shoulder hasn’t given her many problems so far in the season.
The forecast for the BRR this weekend says that, although Friday and Sunday will be mostly dry, Saturday brings a 60 percent chance of showers. The temperature high will be around 60 degrees all weekend long.