STARKVILLE — Southeastern Conference Network analyst Maria Taylor asked Mississippi State softball coach Vann Stuedeman a question hoping to elicit a long answer.
Instead, Stuedeman took the simple approach to explain her team’s offensive resurgence.
“It’s the Ricketts effect,” Stuedeman said.
Mississippi State (35-19) hopes the efforts of first-year hitting coach Samantha Ricketts will pay off at 5:30 p.m. Friday when it faces Baylor (38-15) in the first game of the NCAA tournament’s Lafayette Regional. Host Louisiana-Lafayette (39-9) will play host to Weber State (38-17) at 8 p.m. Friday in the nightcap of the first day of the double-elimination event at Lamson Park.
MSU will match a school record by playing in its fourth-straight regional. Overall, this is MSU’s 12th postseason appearance. However, the offense will have to deliver if MSU wants to earn its first super regional trip.
Thanks in large part to Ricketts, who helped transform the Wichita State program in her three seasons there, MSU’s offense will give it a chance to hold its own.
“There is no question we had to change the way we were doing some things,” said Stuedeman, who has led her squad to the postseason in all four seasons as head coach. “We have a different hitting approach now. It’s a new mind-set. It is as much mental as it is physical. We are lucky to have Samantha, and we will have to fight like heck to keep her.
“The girls love her. More importantly, the girls believe in her. That is big.”
The 2015 season has seen higher offensive numbers throughout the nation. While region games in the past hovered in the 1-0 and 2-1 range, it is believed the trend will extend to the postseason. To be able to advance, teams will have to be better suited to produce at the plate.
“It used to be the team with the best pitcher was going to win,” MSU junior shortstop Kayla Winkfield said. “It’s different now. No lead is safe. As far as our team goes, we just have a different confidence level. (Ricketts) has worked with each player and put them in a position to have the most success.
“It’s a different feeling when you think you can always battle back.”
The Bulldogs have hit a school-record 52 home runs. MSU enters the regional hitting .318. Only one team has hit .300 or better in program history. That squad hit .311. This season, MSU has eclipsed its totals from last season in home runs (52), doubles (81), triples (16), hits (460), runs scored (320), RBIs (288), and stolen bases (95).
“We have worked more on the mental approach at the plate than anything else,” Ricketts said. “This group was hungry for the knowledge. They had a buy-in right away. If you have a buy-in right away, the talent is going to come through.”
The Bulldogs have had 10 or more hits in a game 23 times this season after only accomplishing that feat 14 times in the past two seasons. After finishing last in the SEC in batting average a year ago, the Bulldogs are sixth in the league and 40th nationally.
Catcher Katie Anne Bailey leads the team with a .351 average. The Bulldogs have seven players with 50 or more starts hitting .319 or better.
“This team has a competitive spirit like none other I have ever been on,” Bailey said. “We always feel like we can turn a game around. Some of the early wins really made us believe that even more.”
MSU had three straight Sundays when it used seventh-inning dramatics to earn SEC home wins. The Bulldogs also were solid from the beginning, posting a 21-1 record when scoring first in a game.
With limited depth in the circle, MSU’s bats might need to be even hotter.
Baylor enters the regional hitting .319 and averaging five runs per game. Louisiana-Lafayette is hitting .351 as a team and averaging 8.3 rpg. The Cajuns have hit 106 home runs — 22 less than the total of the other three regional teams. Weber State is hitting .323 and averaging 6.2 rpg.
MSU is averaging 5.9 rpg.
“It’s a different game,” Stuedeman said. “You have to be able to score runs to win in the postseason. Fortunately, we are better equipped to do that.”
Follow Dispatch sports writer Scott Walters on Twitter @dispatchscott
Scott was sports editor for The Dispatch.
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