On the road, you are miles from home. On the road in college softball, no one cheers for you. On the road in college softball in the SEC, you just hope to survive.
This is the situation for the Mississippi State softball team. The Lady Bulldogs have lost 12 of their first 19 road games including Wednesdays 6-0 loss to Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg. The loss was the first of an eight game road stint for the Lady Dawgs. This weekend they visit Kentucky for three games.
There are many adjustments that go into road games. Travel arrangements vary from trip to trip, but the end result never varies: decreased practice time.
“We usually leave Friday after class (for SEC weekend road games),” said head coach Jay Miller. “So where we usually get to practice on Friday, we are on the road. So you basically get one less day to prepare.”
Senior outfielder Iyhia McMichael says that losing the extra day hurts in making adjustments on the field, but it also hampers the players off the field.
“You have to deal with time changes. Your body has to adjust to the new time and that can throw you off. On the field, it’s very tough as well. The crowd is always rooting against you, and you know that they’re going to get all the calls (from the umpires).”
Senior catcher Blair Brown says that insecurity can play a big part in a player’s performance on the road.
“You just feel like you’re out of your safety blanket. You just have to be confident and go out and play the sport you know.”
As if playing on the road wasn’t tough enough, Miller’s Bulldogs play in one of the premier softball conferences in the nation. Currently the SEC has seven teams in the national Top 25.
“It’s tough to win in the SEC, period,” Miller said. “But on the road those losses are magnified. It can rattle you, especially some of our younger kids. It’s a new experience for them.”
Miller said he does not treat road games any different from a coaching standpoint.
“It makes less of a difference in our sport than in other sports. We just prepare for the opponent; prepare the pitcher for the hitters and the hitter for the pitchers.”
Brown has a very different perspective of life on the road. She is a native of Yucaipa, Ca., and says she enjoys getting the chance to visit new places.
“Almost everywhere we go is new to me. So I enjoy the chance to see the South. It’s more like a vacation.”
The team has already endured two of their toughest road series, going 1-2 at Georgia and losing all three at LSU. Georgia and LSU are ranked fifth and eighth in the nation, respectively.
McMichael said Baton Rouge is a player’s worst nightmare.
“They are just intimidating. They have such intense fans, and all you see is purple and gold.”
With the team’s next seven contests being away from the Bulldog-friendly campus of MSU, winning on the road has reached the point of necessity. At 2-10 in the SEC, the Lady Dawgs must find a way to right the ship, and their next home series could be too late.
“This is a real turning point for us,” Brown said about this weekend’s Kentucky trip. “We’re frustrated with the way the season has gone so far. We seniors especially are ready to turn this thing around and prove to people that we have more talent than our record shows.”