Saturday, March 2
Starkville
11:30 AM
Mississippi State
14-3
13
vs
2
Alcorn State
5-12
1
2
3
4
5
R
H
E
Alcorn State
0
0
0
1
1
2
4
0
Mississippi State
2
3
0
8
X
13
10
1
State Powers Its Way To Saturday Sweep
March 02, 2024 | Softball
STARKVILLE – The bats were hot on Saturday, as No. 24/23 Mississippi State improved to 4-0 at the Bulldog Invitational presented by C Spire. The Bulldogs run-ruled Alcorn State, 13-2, in five innings before picking up 5-2 victory against Troy.
State drew a season-high nine walks against the Lady Braves (5-12), and the Bulldogs turned five of those into runs. Nadia Barbary went 2-for-3 with an RBI double and a three-run homer. Jessie Blaine also brought in two runs with a pair of hits, and Ella Wesolowski launched a pinch-hit, two-run homer.
"I'm really happy for the way we came out," head coach Samantha Ricketts said. "I thought we responded in Game 1, looking to score early and often. I thought we kind of took a while to get going, but they really answered well. It was good to get a lot of players in there and get them some time, some experience as well as different arms, just trying to rest some of our pitchers we've thrown a lot. I thought that was good."
Lexi Sosa drew the start against Alcorn State, going 4.0 innings with a season-high five strikeouts. Hosanna Lindblade made her collegiate debut, tossing the final frame and recording her first strikeout.
The second game of the day was a scoreless pitchers' duel for five and a half innings before the Bulldogs (15-3) loaded the bases in the bottom of the sixth. The go-ahead run came home on a passed ball before Kylee Edwards hit a grand slam to break the game open.
"We knew we were going to have a good game with Troy," Ricketts added. "That's their best pitcher. I think they were saving her for this game, and we knew it was going to be a good battle. I think we needed that game. I think we needed a close game that came down to the end that we weren't pressing and just trusted our training and our pitching staff. It was good to see that resolve and that fight out of the team late in the game today."
Troy (15-6) answered with a two-run homer in the seventh, but Aspen Wesley came in to shut the door for her second save of the season. Josey Marron earned her sixth win of the year along the way.
"They [Aspen Wesley and Josey Marron] are a dynamic duo. They favor each other very well. Josey held her own in that circle for a very long time and gave the offense some time for us to produce some runs and have her back. Her being able to hold her own was really great. Then Aspen coming in and getting those next three batters out was really, really good. She held her own and proved herself with those last three outs."
Kylee Edwards on her grand slam against Troy...
"I would say that the past couple of games I've been struggling at the plate, so for me today, it was just about going back to the basics. I was pretty locked in. I knew that if she was going to throw me that changeup that I was going to hit it, so I was ready for that pitch."
Career Firsts – Hosanna Lindblade made her collegiate debut against Alcorn State and recorded her first career strikeout … Jadyn Burney recorded her first career hit with an RBI single.
Nadia Barbary – Hit a three-run home run against Alcorn State … also doubled … drove in a career-high four runs … tied for the team lead with 18 hits.
Jessie Blaine – Drove in a pair of runs with a single and double against Alcorn State … also walked to reach in all three trips … leads the team with 20 RBIs … walked and singled against Troy.
Kylee Edwards – Turned two unassisted double plays against Troy … also doubled … hit her first career grand slam and recorded a career-high four RBIs … slam was the 51st in school history.
Riley Hull – Scored twice against Alcorn State.
Madisyn Kennedy – Doubled against Troy.
Lexi Sosa – Recorded a season-high five strikeouts against Alcorn State.
Brylie St. Clair – Tied her career high with two walks against Alcorn State.
Ella Wesolowski – Hit a two-run home run as a pinch hitter against Alcorn State … walked and singled against Troy.
Sierra Sacco walked and then stole second. Nadia Barbary doubled to right center field, scoring Sacco. Paige Cook walked. Madisyn Kennedy reached on a fielder's choice, allowing Cook to advance to second while Barbary was forced out at third. Jessie Blaine singled past the second baseman, sending Cook home.
Alcorn State 0, No. 24 Mississippi State 2
Bottom 2
Kat Wallace walked and then advanced to second on a passed ball. Brylie St. Clair walked. Sacco bunted the runners to second and third. Barbary hit a three-run homer to left field.
Alcorn State 0, No. 24 Mississippi State 5
Top 4
Paris Thompson hit a single through the left side. Kelsey Lockridge grounded out to third base, allowing Thompson to advance to second. Kiri Parker doubled Thompson home.
Alcorn State 1, No. 24 Mississippi State 5
Bottom 4
Kiarra Sells was hit by pitch. Riley Hull singled to center field and advanced on the throw as Sells reached third. Both runners advanced on a passed ball, scoring Sells. Blaine doubled to deep left field, bringing Hull home. Aquana Brownlee hit a single up the middle, allowing Blaine to score, and advanced to second on the throw. Morgan Bernadini pinch ran for Brownlee. She reached third on Kylee Edwards' single up the middle. Edwards then stole second, and Bernadini scored when the catcher's throw sailed into the outfield. Lexi Sosa hit for herself and drew a walk before Wallace re-entered to run at first. Jadyn Burney singled through the right side, then advanced on the throw, moving Wallace to third and sending Edwards home. Sacco hit a sacrifice fly to right field, scoring Wallace as Burney advanced to third. Ella Wesolowski pinch hit and launched a two-run homer on the first pitch she saw.
Alcorn State 1, No. 24 Mississippi State 13
Top 5
Jamyiyah Cotten singled to left field and then advanced to second on a wild pitch. Ka'miya Dillon reached base on a throwing error by the third baseman, allowing Cotten to advance to third and then score on the error.
Alcorn State 2, No. 24 Mississippi State 13
With one out, Paige Cook was hit by a pitch. Jadyn Burney pinch ran at first. Madisyn Kennedy doubled to left center, allowing Burney to advance to third. Riley Hull pinch ran for Kennedy. Jessie Blaine walked to load the bases, and Kat Wallace ran for her. Burney scored on a passed ball before Ella Wesolowski walked to reload the bases. With two outs, Kylee Edwards hit a grand slam to straightaway center.
Troy 0, No. 24 Mississippi State 5
Top 7
Audra Thompson doubled to left center to open the inning before Libby Baker hit a two-run homer.
Troy 2, No. 24 Mississippi State 5
For more information on the Bulldog softball program, follow on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram by searching "HailStateSB."
State drew a season-high nine walks against the Lady Braves (5-12), and the Bulldogs turned five of those into runs. Nadia Barbary went 2-for-3 with an RBI double and a three-run homer. Jessie Blaine also brought in two runs with a pair of hits, and Ella Wesolowski launched a pinch-hit, two-run homer.
"I'm really happy for the way we came out," head coach Samantha Ricketts said. "I thought we responded in Game 1, looking to score early and often. I thought we kind of took a while to get going, but they really answered well. It was good to get a lot of players in there and get them some time, some experience as well as different arms, just trying to rest some of our pitchers we've thrown a lot. I thought that was good."
Lexi Sosa drew the start against Alcorn State, going 4.0 innings with a season-high five strikeouts. Hosanna Lindblade made her collegiate debut, tossing the final frame and recording her first strikeout.
The second game of the day was a scoreless pitchers' duel for five and a half innings before the Bulldogs (15-3) loaded the bases in the bottom of the sixth. The go-ahead run came home on a passed ball before Kylee Edwards hit a grand slam to break the game open.
"We knew we were going to have a good game with Troy," Ricketts added. "That's their best pitcher. I think they were saving her for this game, and we knew it was going to be a good battle. I think we needed that game. I think we needed a close game that came down to the end that we weren't pressing and just trusted our training and our pitching staff. It was good to see that resolve and that fight out of the team late in the game today."
Troy (15-6) answered with a two-run homer in the seventh, but Aspen Wesley came in to shut the door for her second save of the season. Josey Marron earned her sixth win of the year along the way.
Quotables
Nadia Barbary on State's pitching against Troy..."They [Aspen Wesley and Josey Marron] are a dynamic duo. They favor each other very well. Josey held her own in that circle for a very long time and gave the offense some time for us to produce some runs and have her back. Her being able to hold her own was really great. Then Aspen coming in and getting those next three batters out was really, really good. She held her own and proved herself with those last three outs."
Kylee Edwards on her grand slam against Troy...
"I would say that the past couple of games I've been struggling at the plate, so for me today, it was just about going back to the basics. I was pretty locked in. I knew that if she was going to throw me that changeup that I was going to hit it, so I was ready for that pitch."
Quick Hitters
Our State – The Bulldogs are now 24-4 against in-state foe under Samantha Ricketts and have outscored Mississippi teams, 206-65, in her tenure.Career Firsts – Hosanna Lindblade made her collegiate debut against Alcorn State and recorded her first career strikeout … Jadyn Burney recorded her first career hit with an RBI single.
Nadia Barbary – Hit a three-run home run against Alcorn State … also doubled … drove in a career-high four runs … tied for the team lead with 18 hits.
Jessie Blaine – Drove in a pair of runs with a single and double against Alcorn State … also walked to reach in all three trips … leads the team with 20 RBIs … walked and singled against Troy.
Kylee Edwards – Turned two unassisted double plays against Troy … also doubled … hit her first career grand slam and recorded a career-high four RBIs … slam was the 51st in school history.
Riley Hull – Scored twice against Alcorn State.
Madisyn Kennedy – Doubled against Troy.
Lexi Sosa – Recorded a season-high five strikeouts against Alcorn State.
Brylie St. Clair – Tied her career high with two walks against Alcorn State.
Ella Wesolowski – Hit a two-run home run as a pinch hitter against Alcorn State … walked and singled against Troy.
Scoring Recap vs. Alcorn State
Bottom 1 Sierra Sacco walked and then stole second. Nadia Barbary doubled to right center field, scoring Sacco. Paige Cook walked. Madisyn Kennedy reached on a fielder's choice, allowing Cook to advance to second while Barbary was forced out at third. Jessie Blaine singled past the second baseman, sending Cook home.
Alcorn State 0, No. 24 Mississippi State 2
Bottom 2
Kat Wallace walked and then advanced to second on a passed ball. Brylie St. Clair walked. Sacco bunted the runners to second and third. Barbary hit a three-run homer to left field.
Alcorn State 0, No. 24 Mississippi State 5
Top 4
Paris Thompson hit a single through the left side. Kelsey Lockridge grounded out to third base, allowing Thompson to advance to second. Kiri Parker doubled Thompson home.
Alcorn State 1, No. 24 Mississippi State 5
Bottom 4
Kiarra Sells was hit by pitch. Riley Hull singled to center field and advanced on the throw as Sells reached third. Both runners advanced on a passed ball, scoring Sells. Blaine doubled to deep left field, bringing Hull home. Aquana Brownlee hit a single up the middle, allowing Blaine to score, and advanced to second on the throw. Morgan Bernadini pinch ran for Brownlee. She reached third on Kylee Edwards' single up the middle. Edwards then stole second, and Bernadini scored when the catcher's throw sailed into the outfield. Lexi Sosa hit for herself and drew a walk before Wallace re-entered to run at first. Jadyn Burney singled through the right side, then advanced on the throw, moving Wallace to third and sending Edwards home. Sacco hit a sacrifice fly to right field, scoring Wallace as Burney advanced to third. Ella Wesolowski pinch hit and launched a two-run homer on the first pitch she saw.
Alcorn State 1, No. 24 Mississippi State 13
Top 5
Jamyiyah Cotten singled to left field and then advanced to second on a wild pitch. Ka'miya Dillon reached base on a throwing error by the third baseman, allowing Cotten to advance to third and then score on the error.
Alcorn State 2, No. 24 Mississippi State 13
Scoring Recap vs. Troy
Bottom 6With one out, Paige Cook was hit by a pitch. Jadyn Burney pinch ran at first. Madisyn Kennedy doubled to left center, allowing Burney to advance to third. Riley Hull pinch ran for Kennedy. Jessie Blaine walked to load the bases, and Kat Wallace ran for her. Burney scored on a passed ball before Ella Wesolowski walked to reload the bases. With two outs, Kylee Edwards hit a grand slam to straightaway center.
Troy 0, No. 24 Mississippi State 5
Top 7
Audra Thompson doubled to left center to open the inning before Libby Baker hit a two-run homer.
Troy 2, No. 24 Mississippi State 5
Next Up
State will rematch with Alcorn State on Sunday at 12:30 p.m. CT before playing Samford at 3 p.m. to close the Bulldog Invitational presented by C Spire. Both games will air on SEC Network+.For more information on the Bulldog softball program, follow on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram by searching "HailStateSB."
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Sosa, Lexi (3-1)
L: Kiri Parker (2-6)
Batting:
2B: Kiri Parker 1
RBI: Kiri Parker 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Paris Thompson 1 ; Jamyiyah Cotten 1
Batting:
2B: Barbary, Nadia 1 ; Blaine, Jessie 1
HR: Barbary, Nadia 1 ; Wesolowski, Ella 1
RBI: Sacco, Sierra 1 ; Barbary, Nadia 4 ; Wesolowski, Ella 2 ; Blaine, Jessie 2 ; Brownlee, Aquana 1 ; Burney, Jadyn 1
SH: Sacco, Sierra 1
SF: Sacco, Sierra 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Sacco, Sierra 1 ; Barbary, Nadia 1 ; Wesolowski, Ella 1 ; Cook, Paige 1 ; Sells, Kiarra 1 ; Hull, Riley 1 ; Blaine, Jessie 1 ; Bernardini, Morgan 1 ; Edwards, Kylee 1 ; Wallace, Kat 2 ; St. Clair, Brylie 1 ; Burney, Jadyn 1
SB: Sacco, Sierra 1 ; Bernardini, Morgan 1 ; Edwards, Kylee 1 ; St. Clair, Brylie 1
HBP: Sells, Kiarra 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
4
pr/1b
AB
2
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
AB
2
R
1
H
2
RBI
2
AB
1
R
1
H
1
RBI
2
Players Mentioned
INF
/ SoftballC/OF
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
UTL
/ Softball
INF
/ SoftballINF
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
UTL
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
P
/ SoftballC/OF
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