Mississippi State Hosts Arizona In Starkville Super Regional

STARKVILLE – History will be made on Friday morning when No. 13 Mississippi State hosts No. 16 Arizona in the first NCAA Softball Super Regional ever played on Mississippi soil.

The Bulldogs won the Tallahassee Regional by surviving four consecutive elimination games in just over 25 hours. The Bulldogs won consecutive games against No. 2 Florida State, marking the first time a No. 1 or No. 2 national seed has been eliminated in the regional round.

"We're just super excited and really honored to host this weekend and host the first ever Super Regional in Starkville for our softball program," head coach Samantha Ricketts said. "It's really been a long time coming for this team, this program and our alumni. The excitement that we've seen from them all week long – and really all season long, they've been our biggest supporters. This team has bought into what we are selling which was to make history for this program and to be the first to attend a Super Regional. For that to come to fruition over the weekend, I'm just so excited for them to experience what postseason softball is all about. We're looking forward to it."

Meanwhile, Arizona a No. 3 seed in the Columbia Regional, took down No. 15 national seed Missouri to reach the Super Regionals for the eighth consecutive season. The Wildcats have made an NCAA-record 35 consecutive tournament fields in their history.

Despite its history, Arizona actually brings less NCAA Tournament experience to the table this year than Mississippi State. The Bulldogs' roster has combined for 137 career games of NCAA Tournament experience, but Arizona's roster features just 97 games of NCAA Tournament experience.

Mia Davidson, Montana Davidson and Arizona's Hannah Martinez were all on the teams' rosters when they met in the 2019 Tuscon Regional, but only Mia Davidson played. Arizona's Bailey Thompson played three of her six career tournament games with Seattle University, and two of those came against MSU in 2019.

Mississippi State has expanded the outfield decking at Nusz Park, and the outfield parking lot has been converted into a standing room only plaza. All reserved seating tickets have been sold out. Remaining standing room only passes for the weekend went on sale at 3 p.m. CT on Thursday and will remain on sale while supplies last.

"We're looking forward to a great crowd. Everyone here at Mississippi State has really been working hard and long hours to make this happen," Ricketts added. "We're so excited to see what's going on in the outfield and all around to accommodate as many people as we can for this weekend's games. [Our alumni] have been back for alumni weekends and unofficial alumni weekends. We'll have a big crowd for them again. They really have been a big part of building this program, trusting these coaches and buying into what Mississippi State softball is all about. I think they've really laid the foundation for this group."

Radio broadcasts will be available for all three games of the series on HailState.com and the Hail State app. The coverage can be heard over the air on two affiliate stations: WFCA 107.9 FM in French Camp and WMOX 1010 AM in Meridian.

Game Coverage

Leading Off

Super Dawgs: MSU has advanced to the first Super Regional in program history. The Bulldogs won four straight elimination games and are the first team to advance to a Super Regional after losing its regional opener since Texas in 2019.

Topping Two In Tallahassee: The Bulldogs won consecutive games against No. 2 Florida State, marking the first time a No. 1 or No. 2 national seed has been eliminated in the regional round.

Magic Number: MSU is 24-1 this season when the Bulldogs score more than five runs and 35-13 when allowing five or fewer. However, State is 2-12 when allowing more than five.

Lineup Log: Samantha Ricketts has used 43 different batting orders and 24 different defensive alignments to start the game. She used 17 or more players in a game 12 times this year.

All Hail The Queen: Mia Davidson's 91 career homers are the most in SEC baseball or softball history and fifth in NCAA softball history.

Let Her Go: Davidson has broken the MSU career hit-by-pitch record (57) and tied the single-season mark (22) this year. Between walks and HBPs, she has been given first base 65 times, more times than she has hit safely (59).

Dawg Defense: State turned in a season-long 46.0-inning errorless streak over its last eight games. The Bulldogs have a .984 fielding percentage in that span.

Dawgs In The Draft: Davidson and Annie Willis were selected in this year's Athletes Unlimited and Women's Pro Fastpitch drafts, respectively. MSU is one of four programs nationally with multiple draft picks in the two leagues (Arkansas, Texas and Florida State).

Clutch Chloe: Chloe Malau'ulu's two-run single in the final game of the Tallahassee Regional was her first game-winning RBI of the year.

Chloe's Cannon: Malau'ulu has her second season with seven outfield assists, and her 15 career assists are third in school history.

About Arizona (36-20, 8-16 Pac-12)

Rankings: NFCA Coaches – NR | USA Softball – RV | D1Softball - NR | Softball America - 16
Head Coach: Caitlin Lowe | Record at ARZ: 37-20 (1st Year) |Career Record: 37-20 (1st Year)
Batting Average: .326 | Runs Per Game: 6.2 | Hits Per Game: 8.4 | Slugging Pct: .569
ERA: 3.80 | K/7: 4.9 | K/BB Ratio: 2.1 | Opp. Batting Avg: .264

Series History
Overall: 1-3 | Home: 0-0 | Away: 0-2 | Neutral: 1-1
Current Streak: Lost 3 | Last Meeting: May 20, 2018 in Tuscon, Ariz. (MSU 3, ARIZ 4)

Scouting the Wildcats
The Wildcats shut out No. 15-seed Missouri twice to win the Columbia Regional. Arizona finished tied for last in the Pac-12 standings but earned one of the last spots in the NCAA Tournament field. The Wildcats have made an NCAA-record 35 straight tournament brackets and will play in their 16th Super Regional after making the round of 16 in eight straight years. All-time, Arizona is 181-65 in the NCAA Tournament. The Wildcats led the Pac-12 in batting average (.329), RBIs (317), hits (446) and runs scored (334) in the regular season.

On Deck

The winner of the series will advance to Oklahoma City for the Women's College World Series. It would be Mississippi State's first appearance, and the Bulldogs would be just the third team in NCAA history to reach the WCWS before having ever hosted a regional.

Follow the Bulldogs

For more information on the Bulldog softball program, follow on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram by searching "HailStateSB."

Mississippi State Hosts Arizona In Starkville Super Regional

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Mia Davidson

Montana Davidson

Chloe Malau'ulu

Annie Willis

Mississippi State University Athletics

Mississippi State Hosts Arizona In Starkville Super Regional

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Mia Davidson

Montana Davidson

Chloe Malau'ulu

Annie Willis

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