No. 18 Mississippi State Drops Series Opener At No. 14 Missouri

Saturday, April 27

Columbia, Mo.

8:00 PM

Mississippi State

30-15, 9-10

#14 Missouri

36-13, 9-10

Mississippi State

Missouri

No. 18 Mississippi State Drops Series Opener At No. 14 Missouri

April 27, 2024 | Softball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

By: Brian Ogden, Associate Director/Communications

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Miscues cost No. 18/18 Mississippi State on Saturday night as the Bulldogs fell, 4-0, at No. 14/14 Missouri. Two of the Tigers' four runs were unearned, and the Bulldogs made three errors in the game.

Aspen Wesley battled throughout the game, striking out seven, including four batters looking. The first two Tiger runs scored after a base hit bounced past the left fielder in the first inning. Missouri added a third run in the fifth as the runner beat the throw home on a fielder's choice. Another error allowed the fourth run to reach base and eventually score with two outs.

"I thought Aspen pitched well enough for us to win. She was attacking the zone, mixing speeds and pitches," head coach Samantha Ricketts said. "We have to be able to make plays behind her and not make her throw extra pitches and get extra outs. If she pitches like that, we have to be able to give her a little bit more run support and play cleaner behind her for sure."

Offensively, Nadia Barbary, Paige Cook and Kylee Edwards had hits for State. Madisyn Kennedy also drew a walk, but the Bulldogs never got a runner past second base.

Quick Hitters

Nadia Barbary – Singled to reach base in back-to-back games.

Paige Cook – Collected a base hit … now 8-for-22 (.364) in her last 10 games.

Kylee Edwards – Reached base twice on a single and a fielder's choice.

Madisyn Kennedy – Drew her 25th walk of the season, which ranks third on the team.

Aspen Wesley – Struck out seven, including four looking.

Scoring Recap

Bottom 1
With one out, Alex Honnold was hit by a pitch. She advanced to second on Maddie Gallagher's single to left. Abby Hay singled into left field, scoring Honnold, but the ball got past the outfielder, allowing Gallagher to score from first and Hay to reach third.
No. 18 Mississippi State 0, No. 14 Missouri 2

Bottom 5
Jenna Laird led off with a single to center. Honnold beat out a bunt at first, and Laird advanced to third on the play. With one out, Honnold stole second. Hay reached on a fielder's choice to the diving second baseman, but the throw home was not in time as Laird scored.
No. 18 Mississippi State 0, No. 14 Missouri 3

Bottom 6
With one out, Chantice Phillips reached on an error when the first baseman dropped the throw. She was bunted to second by Kayley Lenger with the second out. Jenna Laird hit a popup that fell in between two fielders for a double and scored Phillips.
No. 18 Mississippi State 0, No. 14 Missouri 4

Next Up

The Bulldogs and Tigers continue the series on Sunday evening at 5 p.m. CT. The game will air on SEC Network, and it is Missouri's senior day.

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