This weekend at the MSU Softball Field, there will be much more than three softball games taking place. When the Mississippi State Bulldogs take the field for the first time against the No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide under first-year head coach Vann Stuedeman, the spectrum of relevance spans wider than simply winning. As the budding rivalry between the Bulldogs and Tide continues to build, the anticipation within the MSU program of this weekend’s games is evident amongst both coaches and players.
“We have to control our emotions. We can’t get too high, and we can’t get too low,” Stuedeman said, who was a long-time assistant for the Crimson Tide before accepting the MSU head coaching position. “This weekend will not be about me; it will be about 25 Mississippi State softball players.”
During her tenure at Alabama, Stuedeman guided six Crimson Tide pitchers to 11 different All-American honors. The pitching coach also played a part in the Tide’s three SEC championships and six Women’s College World Series appearances during her span as an assistant. Last June, however, Stuedeman’s tenure at Alabama came to a screeching halt when head coach Patrick Murphy was rehired by the Crimson Tide after accepting the LSU head coaching position just four days earlier. Upon returning to the program, Murphy elected to part ways with Stuedeman, officially ending her 11-season stint as an assistant at Alabama.
Two weeks after she officially parted ways with the Alabama softball program, Stuedeman was hired as MSU’s new head coach. Her first hire was hitting coach Alan Reach, who served as a student manager at Alabama during Stuedeman’s tenure. In January, Stuedeman reached out to Kelsi Dunne, a graduate student at the University of Alabama who was a four-time All-American and two-time SEC Pitcher of the Year. Dunne, who is set to get her master’s degree in May, is spending her last semester as an intern with the MSU softball team.
While hiring assistants from former jobs is sometimes seen as a cliché in the coaching business, Stuedeman said both Reach and Dunne had certain qualities that made them right for State’s softball program.
“Coach Reach had been a head coach for six years and he had also coached in the league, so I knew he was familiar with the caliber of play and the type of players that we will need to compete in this league and in the postseason,” Stuedeman said. “And Kelsi’s experience of competing in the best level of college softball is priceless.”
Dunne, who is officially labeled as a volunteer assistant coach for MSU, said this weekend’s series against the Crimson Tide is certainly one she looks forward to.
“Playing at Alabama for four years was a great experience, and I have some fond memories there,” said Dunne. “But at the same time, we’re just focusing on the process and our opponents being ourselves.”
The many connections between the MSU and Alabama softball programs do not end there, though. Erin Nesbit, the starting shortstop for the Bulldogs, and teammate sister Megan, a freshman, are cousins with Crimson Tide centerfielder Jennifer Fenton.
While emotions are sure to be high within the family, Erin, the elder of the two Nesbit sisters, said she is not preparing for this weekend’s series against Fenton and the Crimson Tide any differently than she normally would.
“It’s going to be different, and my whole family is going to be there,” said Nesbit. “But I just prepare for it the same as I would for any other game.”
On the field, the Bulldogs will have their work cut out for them against Alabama. The Crimson Tide is currently ranked first nationally and boast an SEC best 30-1 record. To beat a team that is widely considered as one of the best in the country, Nesbit said MSU has to continue pushing through adversity.
“We have to fight,” Nesbit said. “This team is made up of fighters. If we come out here and play our game, there’s no stopping us.”
Stuedeman, who has guided State to an 18-15 overall record midway through her first season at the helm, said her team must take what was learned from facing other top-tier opponents and apply it to this weekend’s matchup with the Crimson Tide.
“We’ve faced four of the nation’s top-ten teams in the last month alone,” Stuedeman said. “The girls have taken it head on, like a bull in a china shop, and we are looking forward to another opportunity this weekend.”