STARKVILLE — For most of her life, Mississippi State University softball player Erin Nesbit has followed a similar path to her sister, Courtney.
Erin will try to continue that trend this season, as the redshirt sophomore eagerly anticipates playing in her first NCAA regional, a place Courtney saw two seasons at MSU end.
MSU (32-19, 11-14 Southeastern Conference) can take a major step toward nailing down a postseason invitation this weekend when it travels to Auburn University (31-19, 10-15) for the final conference series of the regular season.
Game times are 6 p.m. Friday, 1 p.m. Saturday, and 1 p.m. Sunday at Jane B. Moore Field.
“When I was 3 years old, I was the bubble gum girl on Courtney’s team,” Erin Nesbit said. “Then, I started playing when I was 5. From 5 years old to last year, I had always played with Courtney. It seems very odd not having her around. The good news, though, is I do have a sister with me since Megan is on this year’s team.”
Courtney completed her four-year playing career last season. Erin, a shortstop who used a medical redshirt, is in her third year in the program, while Megan is a freshman. Morgan, 16, and Mallori, 9, also play softball at home in Acworth, Ga.
“My mom and dad (David and Kim) have really made the major sacrifice,” Erin Nesbit said. “They have five softball-playing daughters and they hardly ever miss a game. We traveled the country during the recruiting process.
“All the road trips, all the camps, all the games, they have done so many things for each of us. My parents have only missed one series this year, and my grandmother was at that one. We are just one big softball-crazed family.”
MSU first-year coach Vann Stuedeman has tried to build a softball-crazed team. To transform the Bulldogs, she needed a new approach that focused on the mental side more than the physical parts of the game.
“The thing I remember from our first meeting this year was we didn’t talk about softball,” Erin Nesbit said. “Coach Vann talked about being winners in life. She talked about building relationships, having character, having integrity. This game is so much mental. She got us hyped about life and about each other long before she got us hyped about softball.”
Now the Bulldogs are also hyped about softball. MSU enters the final weekend of league play on an 11-game win streak — the second-best streak in one of the nation’s best conferences. MSU can secure third place in the SEC’s Western Division with a win this weekend.
Already guaranteed a spot in the SEC tournament next week in Tuscaloosa, Ala., MSU could move as high as the sixth seed (with one more win than the University of Kentucky gets against LSU). MSU will enter the weekend seeded seventh, one game behind Kentucky and one game ahead of Auburn.
“This team is really pumped about the weekend,” Erin Nesbit said. “It is another chance for us to show our state what we are made of. Hopefully, we can continue to get more support. The fan support this year has been great. We are playing for the fans and we want their support. The support of everybody is one of the reasons why we have had success. It fuels us.
“(After final examinations this week) everybody is super excited about getting going with this series this weekend.”
MSU wasn’t as excited earlier in the year after it lost three games to the University of Alabama and slipped to 19-18. The Bulldogs responded with wins in 13 of their next 14 games, and capped the best month of April in school history with a 13-2 mark.
“Coach Vann was telling us today we should take pride in having the best April in school history,” said Erin Nesbit, who has appeared in all 51 games, including 49 starts. She is hitting .176 with two home runs and 12 RBIs. She has committed seven errors and had a .951 fielding percentage. “She also reminded us not to get too high because there is a lot of softball left to be played. She is the most enthusiastic coach I have ever been around. But she does a great job of keeping emotions in check.
“We are never too high after a win and never too low after a loss. It’s a totally different mind-set. That has given us the confidence we have needed, because so many of our wins have been come-from-behind.”
The confidence for late-season success was built through a multitude of close losses in March.
“In the past, we would play somebody like Alabama and it would be, ‘Oh my gosh, it’s Alabama. We don’t belong on the field,’ ” Erin Nesbit said. “But this year is totally different. We don’t really get an in-depth scouting report before each game. We treat each opponent the same way. We respect everybody we play but we also feel like have a chance to win every game we play.
“The coaches are so enthusiastic about everything. Even when you lose a game, they look at the things you did right. A two-strike hit is a win. Moving a runner into scoring position is a win. Getting the side out on defense is a win. The little things excite them. They recognize the little things. They know the little things can add up in the big picture.”
MSU hopes the big picture includes a return to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2009. Courtney Nesbit played in regionals in Tempe, Ariz., and Tallahassee, Fla. With an RPI of 34 this week, it appears likely Erin Nesbit will make her first postseason trip.
“The most exciting thing is the fact I have two more years with this coaching staff,” Erin Nesbit said. “I wanted to play in an elite conference with some of the best players and best fans in the nation. I could not be any luckier or happier than to be a Division I softball player at Mississippi State.”
Scott was sports editor for The Dispatch.
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