BULLDOG BITS

Baseball

The 2023 Mississippi State baseball season is nine days away and the opening weekend game times are set. The Diamond Dawgs will open the season at 3 p.m. on Friday, February17, at Dudy Noble Field in Starkville.

The Diamond Dawgs host VMI in a three-game series to open the season. Following the season opener at 3 p.m., the Bulldogs and Keydets return to action on Saturday (Feb. 18) for a first pitch at 2 p.m. The series finale is set for Sunday (Feb. 19) at 1 p.m. at The Dude.

Friday's game will be carried on the Mississippi State Sports Network powered by Learfield along with a live audio stream via Hailstate.com/plus.

General admission season tickets are currently on sale at $260 for the general public or $208 for Mississippi State University faculty and staff. MSU faculty and staff tickets must be done over the phone. Tickets can be purchased at Hailstate.com/tickets, in person at the MSU Athletics Ticket Office located in the Bryan Athletic Building, or via the phone at 662-325-2600.

General admission singlegame tickets, the baseball flex plan, and student tickets for those without an All-access Pass are on sale now and can be purchased at Hailstate. com/tickets.

Mississippi State's 56game schedule features 33 home games, 16 road contests, and seven neutral-site matchups. The schedule features a pair of lengthy homestands, as Dudy Noble Field hosts an eight-game homestand to open the campaign (Feb. 1826), followed by nine straight home games from March 21-April 4.

Men’s Basketball

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama – Former Mississippi State basketball great Jerry Jenkins will be celebrated as the program's Allstate Southeastern Conferencec Basketball Legend selection at next month's SEC Men's Basketball Tournament at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville (March 8-12).

Jenkins captured a pair of ALL-SEC first team selections by the coaches during the 1973-74 and 1974-75 seasons. He currently sits 11th on MSU'S all-time scoring list and fourth among players who played only three seasons with 1,503 career points.

Jenkins, a native of Gulfport, is one of only seven players to secure at least 1,500 career points and 500 career rebounds in program history. He averaged 19.3 points per game over his career which is fourth only behind fellow SEC legends Bailey Howell, Jim Ashmore and Jeff Malone.

Jenkins along with Larry Fry were the program's first African American players. He also ranks among MSU'S top 10 in field goals made (603 – seventh) and free throw percentage (80.7 – ninth).

Softball

BIRMINGHAM,

Ala. – Mississippi State's softball program will play 11 nationally televised games this spring. In addition, all remaining home games and conference contests will air on SEC Network+.

The No. 23 Bulldogs will play in the Taxact Clearwater Invitational, hosted by ESPN Events next weekend (Feb. 17-19). State opens the tournament against Indiana on SEC Network at 11:30 a.m. on Feb. 17 and closes the event against UCF on ESPN2 at 7 p.m. on Feb. 19. The remaining three games in Clearwater will be available on ESPN+.

One game of the Bulldog Invitational in Starkville will be carried by SEC Network. The Bulldogs host No. 1 Oklahoma on March 11 at 3 p.m. on the conference network.

When MSU travels to Athens, Georgia, their Saturday contest (March 25) against the other Bulldogs will air on SEC Network at 11 a.m.

State's series at Texas A&M (April 8-10) will be the league's showcase series as the Bulldogs and Aggies meet in Bryan-college Station in SEC Network's Saturdaymonday slot. All three games will be carried on the network with first pitches set for 7 p.m., 2 p.m. and 6 p.m.

On Sunday, April 16, a Super Bulldog Weekend crowd will be on display when State hosts No. 9 Alabama on SEC Network at 1 p.m. The SEC'S annual All for Alex initiative, which was led by Samantha Ricketts and LSU head coach Beth Torina, will have a special spotlight this year. State and LSU will play on ESPN2 at 7 p.m. on April 22 when the entire conference wears teal to raise ovarian cancer awareness.

MSU will host Kentucky on April 29 at 4 p.m. on SEC Network when the Bulldogs honor their senior class. State's broadcast slate wraps up with a trip to Auburn on May 7. The 11 a.m. first pitch will be broadcast on SEC Network. The SEC Tournament on May 9-13 will once again be broadcast in its entirety on SEC Network from Fayetteville, Arkansas.

Today's season opener at Florida Atlantic at 5 p.m. will be available on C-USA.TV. The remaining games at the Paradise Classic in Boca Raton, Florida, will be available to stream with a subscription to Flosports.

Volleyball

Mississippi State volleyball's spring schedule has been announced and features a home match for the 2023 Bulldogs.

"It's always fun to be able to compete in the spring," MSU head coach Julie Darty Dennis said. "We are putting in so much work on our individual skills, and to see the strides you have made and how you stack up against another team. This group is working really hard, and they are really focused right now. Letting them have fun and compete towards the end of our training will be fun for us!"

The Bulldogs will first make a trip to New Orleans to take on Tulane on Sunday, March 26.

The spring schedule is set to conclude with Mississippi State hosting a match against Ole Miss. MSU will kick things off at noon on Saturday at the Newell-grissom Building for Super Bulldog Weekend. Admission to the match is free.

"We are looking forward to a spring tournament at Tulane," Dennis said. "We, of course, are thrilled to be part of the SBW lineup with our match against Ole Miss."

The 2023 spring roster features three new Bulldogs who arrived in Starkville in January: Karli Schmidt (Kansas; Lansing, Kan.), Amina Shackelford (Butler; Sanford, Fla.) and Ashley Sturzoiu (Buford HS; Buford, Ga.).

The MSU program also announced a new face in the gym with the signing of graduate setter Alexa Fortin.

"Alexa is an experienced setter who joins us from the University of Georgia," Dennis said. "I am so excited to bring Alexa in and have her join our program. I have never had an engaged couple go through the transfer process together and this was such a unique and special experience for us – We are just thrilled to add Alexa to our Family and it is so sweet that Ryland will also be coming to Starkvegas, too. It was clear through the conversations we had during this process that Alexa and I aligned on goals, values and team culture so this will be a seamless transition for all of us. We are absolutely thrilled to get a quality person and player to join us here and continue to help us build our program. Welcome to the Family, Alexa and Hail State!"

Fortin comes to Starkville in the fall after spending four years at Georgia. She saw action during the 2020-21, 2021, and 2022 seasons, totaling 553 assists, 237 digs and 34 aces.