The Mississippi State Lady Bulldog softball team will spend its first weekend on the road this season in Las Vegas, participating in the 26-team UNLV Desert Classic.MSU (4-1) took home the Bulldog Round Robin championship last weekend and will look to continue its early-season success out west.
“Our goal is to keep improving every time we go out,” sixth-year MSU head coach Jay Miller said. “We need to play better this weekend than we did last weekend. We’ve got some tougher competition out there. We’ll step up in the level of competition, and we hope we’ll step up our game to match that.”
The Bulldogs opened play Thursday at 7 p.m. against the BYU Cougars (5-0).
The Maroon and White will compete twice today, taking on the No. 10 California Golden Bears (3-1) at 10 a.m. and the Cal-Davis Aggies (0-0) at 4 p.m.
State’s final two games of the Classic will take place Saturday as the team goes up against the red-hot Hawaii Rainbow Warriors (5-1), who defeated two Top 25 teams last weekend. The Dawgs will face the Warriors at 10 a.m.
MSU’s last game will be played at 1 p.m. Saturday against the Utah State Aggies (2-2).
The Bulldog softball squad is excited about the weekend for two reasons.
Not only do they get the opportunity to play some top-notch West Coast teams, but the tournament takes place in one of the most exciting cities in America.
Pitcher-catcher duo Kelli Miller (3-0) and Blair Hewett, both seniors, voiced the team’s excitement about the weekend.
“We’re excited because we’ve played in California several times already, but this is Vegas,” Miller said. “We finally get to play in Vegas. However, we’re also excited because we get to play some pretty good teams. We enjoy playing good, challenging teams that aren’t in the SEC.”
Miller said she visited Las Vegas when she was 12 years old and remembers how exciting the bright colors and the neon lights of the city were.
“The players are really excited about it, but I think the coaches are a little stressed out,” Miller joked.
Hewett added that even though the visit to Vegas is on the business of playing softball, she is anxious to see the city for the first time with her own eyes.
“I’ve never been,” she said, “so it’ll be nice to get to see it. I know we won’t get to do a whole lot, which is fine. We’re going out there to play ball. But I’ve heard a lot about it, so I’m ready to see it myself.”
Miller said he doesn’t want the girls to get too into the “Vegas hype,” and he wants the team to remain focused on its primary goal: winning ballgames.
He added that the team’s curfew on Saturday night will depend on how well the team performs during the tournament.
“We’re going out there to play ball,” Miller said. “We’re not going out there for leisure time. We play Thursday, Friday and Saturday. On Saturday evening we’ll have time to walk around and see the sights a little bit.
“We’re going to Vegas to play some top competition that will prepare us for the NCAA Tournament. We’re not going there to play around.”
Kelli Miller believes that though the Vegas curfew incentive provides extra motivation, it is not the team’s primary focus.
“I don’t think hanging out in Vegas is our only incentive to play well,” she said. “If it was, then our priorities would be a little messed up. We want to play well no matter what, but Vegas is just a little added bonus.”
Coach Miller also added that he likes to play tournaments in Las Vegas more when there are more upperclassmen than freshman due to the number of girls over the age of 21 that will be making the trip.
Freshman catcher/infielder Chelsea Bramlett says that her young age won’t hinder her experience in Las Vegas and that the older half of the team won’t abandon her and the other younger players.
“We’ll stay together most of the time, and age really won’t affect what we do,” she said. “I’m sure there might be some girls who go off and do their own thing or whatever, but for the most part, we’ll stay together and hang out as a team.
“I won’t have any less fun because I’m not 21 yet.”
On the topic of gambling, Miller and Hewett agree that there is one main reason that neither of them plan on doing much of it.
“We probably won’t gamble a whole lot,” they said, “because we are both broke.