March 5, 2004

South Carolina softball opens SEC play this weekend as they travel to Starkville, Miss. to take on the Mississippi State Bulldogs. The two teams will play a doubleheader on Saturday, Feb. 6 at noon (CST) and close out the three-game series on Sunday with a 12:30 p.m. game. The No. 14 Gamecocks are 11-2 while the Bulldogs are 16-9.

MSU opened SEC play Thursday night when they traveled to LSU and the Bulldogs were swept 3-0 in the series. The Gamecocks are 14-7 all-time against MSU and last season won the series 2-1. The Gamecocks defeated the Bulldogs at the 2003 SEC Tournament 2-1 and has won the last three straight meetings.

In season openers, USC is 5-2 and lost their last opener to the Bulldogs just last season. USC has played MSU in four conference openers and boasts a 3-1 record. In series openers, the Gamecocks have lost only one and that was to Florida in 1998. In 1999, USC went 2-2 in their opening series, which was also against the Gators.