Friday, February 23
Cathedral City, Calif. (Big League Dreams - Wrigley Field)
7:30 PM
Mississippi State
10-2
3
vs
9
#1 Oklahoma
10-0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
Mississippi State
2
1
0
0
0
0
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3
7
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Oklahoma
2
2
1
2
2
0
X
9
12
0
Photo by: Softball America
Bulldogs Fall To Top-Ranked Oklahoma At Mary Nutter
February 24, 2024 | Softball
CATHEDRAL CITY, Calif. – No. 25/20 Mississippi State saw an early lead slip away to No. 1/1 Oklahoma on Friday night. After scoring in the first two innings, State was held scoreless the rest of the night, ultimately falling, 9-3.
Jessie Blaine opened the scoring with a loud two-run homer in the first. Oklahoma answered with a two-run homer of its own in the bottom of the frame. MSU (10-2) pushed across another in the second on a Sierra Sacco single, but the Sooners (10-0) scored twice in the bottom of the inning.
"I like the way we came out. I thought we were ready to play and aggressive from the jump," head coach Samantha Ricketts said. "Credit to Oklahoma. I thought they did a great job of staying under control and battling back. It was a good battle early on. I think we just can't give too many extra chances to a team like that. They take advantage of it. It was a good chance for us to measure up where we are early in the season and get back to work, using those lessons as we get closer to SEC play."
Oklahoma went on to score again in the third and twice in both the fourth and fifth innings. State is the third team to hold a lead over Oklahoma, and the Bulldogs' 2-0 lead in the middle of the first is the largest deficit the Sooners have faced this year.
Four Bulldog pitchers saw time in the circle. Aspen Wesley drew the start and struck out four. Josey Marron threw the final 1.1 innings, and only allowed one baserunner on a walk.
Seven of State's nine starters had a hit, and the Bulldogs drew six walks, which was one shy of their season high.
Paige Cook – Singled and scored … added two walks.
Sierra Sacco – Drew two walks and singled home a run to reach three times … made a diving catch in center field.
Brylie St. Clair – Doubled in the fourth inning.
Sierra Sacco drew a leadoff walk. With one out, Paige Cook appeared to double her home, but she was called out for leaving first early. Cook returned to the plate and singled. Jessie Blaine then hit a two-run homer to left.
No. 25 Mississippi State 2, No.1 Oklahoma 0
Bottom 1
Jayda Coleman singled off the shortstop to open the inning. With one out, Kinzie Hansen homered to left.
No. 25 Mississippi State 2, No. 1 Oklahoma 2
Top 2
Riley Hull and Madisyn Kennedy opened the inning with back-to-back singles, putting runners on the corners. Kylee Edwards reached on a fielder's choice as Hull was thrown out at home by the third baseman. Kiarra Sells pinch ran for Kennedy at second base. She scored on Sacco's two-out single off the diving shortstop's glove.
No. 25 Mississippi State 3, No. 1 Oklahoma 2
Bottom 2
Ella Parker singled through the right side to lead off. She advanced to second on Avery Hodge's one-out single. Rylie Boone doubled down the right field line, scoring Parker and pushing Hodge to third. Hodge came home on a sacrifice fly to center field.
No. 25 Mississippi State 3, No. 1 Oklahoma 4
Bottom 3
With one out, Alyssa Brito doubled down the left field line. She came home on Parker's two-out single into right field.
No. 25 Mississippi State 3, No. 1 Oklahoma 5
Bottom 4
With one out, Coleman walked. She scored on Tiare Jennings' double into the right-center gap. With two outs, Brito singled up the middle to score Jennings.
No. 25 Mississippi State 3, No. 1 Oklahoma 7
Bottom 5
K Pickering singled through the left side to open the inning. With two outs, she stole second. Coleman beat out an infield single to third, allowing Pickering to advance. Pickering scored and Coleman advanced to second on a wild pitch. Jennings then singled off the pitcher's leg to score Coleman.
No. 25 Mississippi State 3, No. 1 Oklahoma 9
For more information on the Bulldog softball program, follow on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram by searching "HailStateSB."
Jessie Blaine opened the scoring with a loud two-run homer in the first. Oklahoma answered with a two-run homer of its own in the bottom of the frame. MSU (10-2) pushed across another in the second on a Sierra Sacco single, but the Sooners (10-0) scored twice in the bottom of the inning.
"I like the way we came out. I thought we were ready to play and aggressive from the jump," head coach Samantha Ricketts said. "Credit to Oklahoma. I thought they did a great job of staying under control and battling back. It was a good battle early on. I think we just can't give too many extra chances to a team like that. They take advantage of it. It was a good chance for us to measure up where we are early in the season and get back to work, using those lessons as we get closer to SEC play."
Oklahoma went on to score again in the third and twice in both the fourth and fifth innings. State is the third team to hold a lead over Oklahoma, and the Bulldogs' 2-0 lead in the middle of the first is the largest deficit the Sooners have faced this year.
Four Bulldog pitchers saw time in the circle. Aspen Wesley drew the start and struck out four. Josey Marron threw the final 1.1 innings, and only allowed one baserunner on a walk.
Seven of State's nine starters had a hit, and the Bulldogs drew six walks, which was one shy of their season high.
Quick Hitters
Jessie Blaine – Hit a two-run homer in the first … leads the team with three homers and 14 RBIs.Paige Cook – Singled and scored … added two walks.
Sierra Sacco – Drew two walks and singled home a run to reach three times … made a diving catch in center field.
Brylie St. Clair – Doubled in the fourth inning.
Scoring Recap
Top 1Sierra Sacco drew a leadoff walk. With one out, Paige Cook appeared to double her home, but she was called out for leaving first early. Cook returned to the plate and singled. Jessie Blaine then hit a two-run homer to left.
No. 25 Mississippi State 2, No.1 Oklahoma 0
Bottom 1
Jayda Coleman singled off the shortstop to open the inning. With one out, Kinzie Hansen homered to left.
No. 25 Mississippi State 2, No. 1 Oklahoma 2
Top 2
Riley Hull and Madisyn Kennedy opened the inning with back-to-back singles, putting runners on the corners. Kylee Edwards reached on a fielder's choice as Hull was thrown out at home by the third baseman. Kiarra Sells pinch ran for Kennedy at second base. She scored on Sacco's two-out single off the diving shortstop's glove.
No. 25 Mississippi State 3, No. 1 Oklahoma 2
Bottom 2
Ella Parker singled through the right side to lead off. She advanced to second on Avery Hodge's one-out single. Rylie Boone doubled down the right field line, scoring Parker and pushing Hodge to third. Hodge came home on a sacrifice fly to center field.
No. 25 Mississippi State 3, No. 1 Oklahoma 4
Bottom 3
With one out, Alyssa Brito doubled down the left field line. She came home on Parker's two-out single into right field.
No. 25 Mississippi State 3, No. 1 Oklahoma 5
Bottom 4
With one out, Coleman walked. She scored on Tiare Jennings' double into the right-center gap. With two outs, Brito singled up the middle to score Jennings.
No. 25 Mississippi State 3, No. 1 Oklahoma 7
Bottom 5
K Pickering singled through the left side to open the inning. With two outs, she stole second. Coleman beat out an infield single to third, allowing Pickering to advance. Pickering scored and Coleman advanced to second on a wild pitch. Jennings then singled off the pitcher's leg to score Coleman.
No. 25 Mississippi State 3, No. 1 Oklahoma 9
Next Up
The Bulldogs will close their time at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic with two games on Saturday night. MSU meets Cal State Fullerton at 4:30 p.m. CT before concluding the tournament against Fresno State at 9:30 p.m. Both games will stream on FloSoftball.For more information on the Bulldog softball program, follow on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram by searching "HailStateSB."
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: May, Nicole (4-0)
L: Wesley, Aspen (4-1)
Batting:
2B: St. Clair, Brylie 1
HR: Blaine, Jessie 1
RBI: Sacco, Sierra 1 ; Blaine, Jessie 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Cook, Paige 1 ; Blaine, Jessie 1 ; Sells, Kiarra 1
Batting:
2B: Jennings, Tiare 1 ; Brito, Alyssa 1 ; Boone, Rylie 1
HR: Hansen, Kinzie 1
RBI: Coleman, Jayda 1 ; Jennings, Tiare 2 ; Hansen, Kinzie 2 ; Brito, Alyssa 1 ; Parker, Ella 1 ; Boone, Rylie 1
SF: Coleman, Jayda 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Coleman, Jayda 3 ; Jennings, Tiare 1 ; Hansen, Kinzie 1 ; Brito, Alyssa 1 ; Parker, Ella 1 ; Pickering, Kasidi 1 ; Hodge, Avery 1
SB: Coleman, Jayda 1 ; Pickering, Kasidi 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
2
R
0
H
1
RBI
1
AB
2
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
2
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
C/OF
/ SoftballUTL
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INF
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INF
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INF
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/ SoftballOF
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UTL
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