STARKVILLE — Opening day always has been special for Alexis Silkwood.
However, today at Nusz Park, Silkwood will be full of even more emotion as she begins her senior season by pitching for the Mississippi State softball team in its season opener against Georgia State at 3 p.m. at Nusz Park.
MSU will play five games in three days in the Bulldog Kickoff Classic to open the 2017 season. MSU also will face Western Kentucky at 5:30 p.m. today.
“When (MSU coach Vann Stuedeman) told me I was getting the ball for the first game, I was excited,” Silkwood said. “As seniors, it is our job to lead. We want to take the field and start making some positive memories. My emotions will be high, but I look forward to being out there to get this season started.”
Last season, MSU finished 26-31 and missed a NCAA tournament regional for the first time since 2011. In 2015, Silkwood won 26 of MSU’s 36 games. Overall, she appeared in 47 of the team’s 57 games.
Stuedeman felt Silkwood was overworked her sophomore season and had little to give the team when it played three games at a regional tournament in Lafayette, Louisiana.
By design, Silkwood didn’t pitch last February in hopes of having her better rested for postseason play. She also needed the time to help heal some minor injuries. Her first appearance came in the team’s 19th game and her first complete game came a week later in the 22nd game.
“It was one of the hardest things to do,” Silkwood said. “I am fully healthy now and really ready to contribute. It was really hard to get my season going last year. I am embracing a chance to throw first this season.”
The Bulldogs won 10-straight games to start 2016, including five straight at home in a season-opening tournament. The free fall took place later in the season after losing non-conference losses to Central Arkansas, Alabama-Birmingham, and South Alabama at home. After winning 18 of its first 21 games, MSU lost 28 of its final 36 games. In Southeastern Conference play, MSU hit .192 and finished 3-21.
“No one was really prepared for anything like that,” said Stuedeman said. “I think you have to learn from the disappointment of last season and use that to make you a better player this season. We have had more team-building activities this year. I think our chemistry is at an all-time high.”
MSU returns 16 letterwinners and six position starters from last season. The Bulldogs will play 31 times at Nusz Park this season. The conference schedule includes South Carolina and Arkansas at home — two teams closer to the bottom of the conference standings. South Carolina, MSU, and Arkansas were picked 11th, 12th, and 13th in the SEC preseason poll.
Ole Miss has taken the last two conference series from MSU. However, the teams aren’t scheduled to play a conference series this year. Instead, one midweek, non-conference game is planned in Oxford.
“I just think there is a different attitude this year,” MSU third baseman Caroline Seitz said. “We lost our confidence in the middle of the season last year and never got it back. It was frustrating. You can’t dwell on it, though. You have to learn from the past and move on.”
Stephen F. Austin rounds out the field for the Bulldog Kickoff Classic. Each of MSU’s three home tournaments will follow the same format. A round robin will be played, prior to two semifinal games (based on team’s records), a third-place game, and a championship game. This means each team will play five times in three days at each tournament.
It is the second season of Nusz Park. The Bulldogs were 16-13 in the stadium last season.
“Every time I drive by the park, my eyes light up,” Seitz said. “To be part of the first group of players that got to play here is special. It will forever be a program changer. We now have one of the nicest places to play in the country.”
Silkwood said she is eager to start a new season and to have a fresh start.
“It will be great, opening at home before all of our fans,” Silkwood said. “We are ready to make a name for ourselves. It’s time to go to work.”
Follow Dispatch sports writer Scott Walters on Twitter @dispatchscott
Scott was sports editor for The Dispatch.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 41 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.