Seventh-Inning Rally Lifts State To Series-Opening Win At Arkansas

Friday, March 22

Fayetteville, Ark.

6:00 PM

Mississippi State

23-6, 4-3

#18 Arkansas

23-7, 2-2

Mississippi State

Arkansas

Seventh-Inning Rally Lifts State To Series-Opening Win At Arkansas

March 22, 2024 | Softball

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By: Brian Ogden, Associate Director/Communications

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Trailing by one run, No. 20/20 Mississippi State put up four in the final frame to rally back for a series-opening win on the road at No. 18/17 Arkansas. In all State scored six unanswered runs to win the ballgame.

Madisyn Kennedy delivered the go-ahead swing with a three-run double. Ella Wesolowski later drove in Kennedy for an insurance run to give MSU (23-6, 4-3 SEC) a three-run lead that would hold in the bottom half.

"I think it started in the fifth," head coach Samantha Ricketts said. "We had to commit to some pretty big swing adjustments because we weren't getting the results we needed early on. She's a good pitcher. She really moves the ball well, and we had to be pretty drastic in our gameplans. I thought the hitters really bought in and strung it together. The biggest thing was the belief. The entire game, there was no doubt that we were going to come back and win. I just love that from the team perspective, and I think it showed in the seventh with everyone coming together – people off the bench getting hits like Riley Hull, taking ball in the dirt reads like Kiarra Sells. It was all a team effort."

Arkansas (23-7, 2-2 SEC) took the lead first on a three-run homer in the top of the fourth. Aspen Wesley had retired the Razorbacks in order for the first three frames, and she picked up where she left off after the blast. Wesley struck out the next hitter to end the frame and would only allow one more baserunner on a hit-by-pitch in the seventh.

The Bulldogs' comeback began in the fifth after Wesolowski hit a leadoff double and scored on Aquana Brownlee's pinch-hit single with two outs. In the sixth, Paige Cook and Jessie Blaine hit back-to-back singles with one out, and Kylee Edwards reached on an error that allowed pinch runner Jadyn Burney to score and cut the lead to one.

Quotables

Samantha Ricketts on Aspen Wesley's response…
"I thought Aspen really held her composure and bounced right back. You know, she had one tough inning, but everyone had all the confidence in her. I thought she was mixing well all night long and really did a great job of shutting them down after we started scoring some runs for her. She had lots of shutdown innings, giving us a chance to compete, a chance to get back in the dugout, and a great finish."

Samantha Ricketts on key pinch-hit appearances from Aquana Brownlee and Matalasi Faapito…
"I think the entire team has really embraced doing everything together, fighting together, throwing punches together. It doesn't matter what their role is, they're going to embrace it and do it well. We talk all the time that pinch hitting is one of the toughest things to do, coming off the bench in a tough situation. Both of them have a lot of experience, a lot of at-bats under their belt. They're composed. They know exactly what they need to do with their chance and give us quality at-bats like they did."

Madisyn Kennedy on the team's belief in the seventh inning…
"There was tons of belief. Riley [Hull] came up to me when I was on deck, and she was like, 'Madi, just go have fun because it just doesn't matter what happens. You're not going to remember in two months. If you get a hit, it may be good.' But she was like just go have fun and you be you. It was really reassuring. It was a message to go enjoy myself. Stop dwelling on the past at-bats because those don't matter. You can't do anything about that now. Just go do something for the Dawgs."

Aspen Wesley on how she bounced back from the home run…
"Honestly, having so many home runs hit off me last week, it really has helped me. It's helped me get over that big hump and say so what, who cares. Even after that home run, not one time did I have a negative thought in my mind. I had all the faith in the world that we were going to comeback. Win or lose, we were going to put something up on the scoreboard. That's what we do. We just chip away every single time. It doesn't have to be a big home run. We all work together. If it's a walk, a blooper, a grounder, a hit, whatever, we just always find a way."

Quick Hitters

Madisyn Kennedy – Hit a three-run double in the seventh to drive in the game-winning run … now has three or more RBIs in three of the last four games … has reached base in a career-long 16 straight games … 11 of her last 13 hits have gone for extra bases … now has a team-leading nine multi-RBI games.

Sierra Sacco – Turned in her seventh multi-hit game of the year … scored the game-winning run in the seventh.

Aspen Wesley – Retired the first nine batters, in order, to open the ballgame … struck out three, all looking, in that span … did not allow a hit in six of seven innings … struck out six total batters and allowed just four baserunners ... has now thrown a career-high five complete games this year, winning all five.

Ella Wesolowski – Doubled on her way to her fourth multi-hit game of the year … also drove in a run.

Scoring Recap

Bottom 4
Reagan Johnson singled into shallow center off the diving centerfielder's glove. Nia Carter then singled to left. Bri Ellis flied out to right field, and Johnson advanced to third on the play. Kennedy Miller popped up to second for the second out before Hannah Gammill hit a three-run homer to right-center field.
No. 20 Mississippi State 0, No. 18 Arkansas 3

Top 5
Ella Wesolowski hit a leadoff double to right field, and Kat Wallace pinch ran at second. With one out, Salen Hawkins flew out to center, allowing Wallace to tag up and take third. Aquana Brownlee pinch hit and singled to the diving third baseman to score Wallace.
No. 20 Mississippi State 1, No. 18 Arkansas 3

Top 6
With one out, Paige Cook singled through the left side, and Jadyn Burney pinch ran at first. Jessie Blaine singled to center to put runners on first and second, and Riley Hull entered to run for her. Wesolowski reached on a fielder's choice that saw Hull retired at second as Burney reached third. Kylee Edwards reached on a throwing error by the pitcher that allowed Burney to score.
No. 20 Mississippi State 2, No. 18 Arkansas 3

Top 7
Matalasi Faapito drew a pinch-hit, leadoff walk, and Kiarra Sells ran for her at first. Sierra Sacco beat out an infield single to third, forcing Sells to second. Sells then took third on a wild pitch. Nadia Barbary hit a flare to second that the diving infielder did not catch, allowing her to reach and load the bases. Madisyn Kennedy hit a bases-clearing double to take the lead. With two outs, Hull singled to shallow left field. Kennedy would have been thrown out at third, but the third baseman dropped the ball on the tag. Wesolowski then singled up the middle, scoring Kennedy.
No. 20 Mississippi State 6, No. 18 Arkansas 3

Next Up

The Bulldogs and Razorbacks continue their series on Saturday at 2 p.m. CT. The game will air on SEC Network+. Sunday's series finale will also air on SEC Network+ at noon.

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