Monday, March 10
Starkville
7 p.m.
Mississippi State
22-3, 3-0
7
vs
4
#18 Auburn
20-4, 0-3
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
Auburn
0
2
1
1
0
0
0
4
10
2
Mississippi State
0
0
0
7
0
0
X
7
7
1
Seven-Run Inning Lifts Bulldogs To SEC-Opening Sweep
March 10, 2025 | Softball
STARKVILLE – Mississippi State only needed one inning. Despite trailing for nearly half the ballgame, the No. 21 Bulldogs scored seven runs in the fourth to erase a 4-0 deficit and sweep No. 18 Auburn on Monday night.
The Bulldogs (22-3, 3-0 SEC) sent 11 batters to the plate in the inning, loading the bases twice. They did all their scoring on just two hits. Morgan Stiles got things started with a single into center field that got past the outfielder and scored three runs. Nadia Barbary then hit the game-winning grand slam all before an out was recorded in the frame.
"This conference is so tough every weekend. A sweep is a really tough thing to do. I don't care who you're playing," head coach Samantha Ricketts said. "Three consecutive games, you've seen everything from both sides. It really is a testament to the mental toughness of the team. It's been a focus for us all offseason, and it's been a key word for us, finish. We mention it in practice – finish the day strong, finish the practice, finish the week, finish the weekend – knowing that when we got into SEC play it was going to be an emphasis for us as well. I thought they really did a great job of finding a way to generate our own energy in the dugout when things weren't really going our way the first couple of innings and knowing that we had time without really going into panic mode. We were saying, 'We have time. We can still finish this game strong. We just have to get back to playing our ballgame.'"
Raelin Chaffin had entered the game in relief in the top of the fourth, recording the final two outs in that inning. After she was given a lead, she shut the door the rest of the way to earn her 12th win of the season. Chaffin struck out six batters over the final three innings and allowed just one Auburn (20-4, 0-3 SEC) baserunner the rest of the night.
"That was one of my smarter moves I think I made this weekend. Being big on pitching matchups and having Paige Ernstes ready, she's been such a clutch pinch hitter for us off the bench. I thought she was a great matchup for the righty they had out there. As I was getting ready to enter her, I saw Auburn look to make a pitching change, and I thought I'll hold off on my substitution here and stuck with Morgan. She had some really good at bats off of [Chalea] Clemmons yesterday, their second pitcher they brought in yesterday. She was ready – and she definitely could've been sped up because she had to get ready again quickly in the dugout – but she's such a gamer and ballplayer. She doesn't play like a freshman. Just a really mature at-bat from her, not trying to get too big, just hit the ball hard and give us a chance to get on the board. I thought it sparked us and opened up the flood gates for us."
Raelin Chaffin on staying warm during a big inning...
"I actually got in a little bit of trouble with this a couple of weeks ago, not going to throw when we had a big inning, so I just made sure after Nadia [Barbary] hit the grand slam, I just got up and walked right to the bullpen. I threw a couple of pitches, came back in, and then I think it was pretty quickly after that I went back out there. It was good that I just got up, moved around, went and threw some pitches, so that helped me get back in the game ready to go."
Nadia Barbary on changing the game in one inning...
"Our fight doesn't stop. Just knowing what we have and trusting ourselves and trusting the preparation we have leading up to that, all it takes is one big inning. You know, we got started on it, the lead-off batters got on, Sierra [Sacco] walked and then I came up, and we just continued through that."
Call The Bomb Squad – The Bulldogs have scored 78 runs off homers this season, which accounts for 42.9 percent of their scoring this year … State has hit three grand slams this season.
Nadia Barbary – Hit her second career grand slam for her sixth home run of the season … stood as the go-ahead play and eventual game-winner … recorded her second four-RBI game this year … also drove in State's game-winning runs in last year's Monday night showcase win at Missouri.
Morgan Bernardini – Extended her reached-base streak to four games … drew a season-high two walks.
Jessie Blaine – Extended her reached-base streak to four games with her 19th walk of the season, which is second on the team … batted .667 in the series against her former team with a 1.000 slugging percentage.
Raelin Chaffin – Recorded her 12th win of the season … pitched 2.0 or more innings in all three games this series, posting a 2-0 record with a save in the middle game … struck out six and walked none.
Kylee Edwards - Hit her sixth double of the year … collected two hits in State's seven-run fourth inning … stands as her fifth multi-hit game of the season.
Sierra Sacco – Extended her reached-base streak to 23 games and is ranked sixth in the SEC with a .600 on-base percentage … walked twice and ranks fifth in the SEC with 23 walks this year.
Kiarra Sells – Extended her reached-base streak to a career-long 11 games and her hitting streak to four games.
Morgan Stiles – Opened MSU's scoring with a two-RBI single that plated three runs … recorded half of her season total for multi-RBI games in the series.
AnnaLea Adams singled up the middle then advanced to second on a wild pitch. Amelia Lech singled to left field to advance Adams to third. Thalia Martin came in to pinch run for Adams, and Georgia Lessmann came in to pinch run for Lech. Lessmann and Martin scored on a single to left center field by Kylie Brockman.
No. 18 Auburn 2, No. 21 Mississippi State 0
Top 3
KK McCrary drew a two-out walk. Adams singled through the left side to advance McCrary to second. Lech walked to load the bases. McCrary scored on a single to center field by Brockman.
No. 18 Auburn 3, No. 21 Mississippi State 0
Top 4
Abbey Smith hit a leadoff triple. Icess Tresvik reached third on a fielder's choice while Smith was caught in a rundown. Tresvik scored off a single down the right field line by Nelia Peralta.
No. 18 Auburn 4, No. 21 Mississippi State 0
Bottom 4
Kylee Edwards hit a leadoff double to center field. Morgan Bernardini drew a walk, and Kalani Sells came in to pinch run for her at first. Jessie Blaine drew a walk to load the bases. Morgan Stiles singled to center field and advanced to third on an error by the center fielder, scoring Blaine, Sells and Edwards. Riley Hull reached on a fielder's choice to second base where the throw came home, but Stiles retreated safely. Sierra Sacco drew a walk to reload the bases before Nadia Barbary hit a grand slam.
No. 18 Auburn 4, No. 21 Mississippi State 7
For more information on the Bulldog softball program, follow on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram by searching "HailStateSB."
The Bulldogs (22-3, 3-0 SEC) sent 11 batters to the plate in the inning, loading the bases twice. They did all their scoring on just two hits. Morgan Stiles got things started with a single into center field that got past the outfielder and scored three runs. Nadia Barbary then hit the game-winning grand slam all before an out was recorded in the frame.
"This conference is so tough every weekend. A sweep is a really tough thing to do. I don't care who you're playing," head coach Samantha Ricketts said. "Three consecutive games, you've seen everything from both sides. It really is a testament to the mental toughness of the team. It's been a focus for us all offseason, and it's been a key word for us, finish. We mention it in practice – finish the day strong, finish the practice, finish the week, finish the weekend – knowing that when we got into SEC play it was going to be an emphasis for us as well. I thought they really did a great job of finding a way to generate our own energy in the dugout when things weren't really going our way the first couple of innings and knowing that we had time without really going into panic mode. We were saying, 'We have time. We can still finish this game strong. We just have to get back to playing our ballgame.'"
Raelin Chaffin had entered the game in relief in the top of the fourth, recording the final two outs in that inning. After she was given a lead, she shut the door the rest of the way to earn her 12th win of the season. Chaffin struck out six batters over the final three innings and allowed just one Auburn (20-4, 0-3 SEC) baserunner the rest of the night.
Quotables
Samantha Ricketts on almost pinch hitting for Morgan Stiles..."That was one of my smarter moves I think I made this weekend. Being big on pitching matchups and having Paige Ernstes ready, she's been such a clutch pinch hitter for us off the bench. I thought she was a great matchup for the righty they had out there. As I was getting ready to enter her, I saw Auburn look to make a pitching change, and I thought I'll hold off on my substitution here and stuck with Morgan. She had some really good at bats off of [Chalea] Clemmons yesterday, their second pitcher they brought in yesterday. She was ready – and she definitely could've been sped up because she had to get ready again quickly in the dugout – but she's such a gamer and ballplayer. She doesn't play like a freshman. Just a really mature at-bat from her, not trying to get too big, just hit the ball hard and give us a chance to get on the board. I thought it sparked us and opened up the flood gates for us."
Raelin Chaffin on staying warm during a big inning...
"I actually got in a little bit of trouble with this a couple of weeks ago, not going to throw when we had a big inning, so I just made sure after Nadia [Barbary] hit the grand slam, I just got up and walked right to the bullpen. I threw a couple of pitches, came back in, and then I think it was pretty quickly after that I went back out there. It was good that I just got up, moved around, went and threw some pitches, so that helped me get back in the game ready to go."
Nadia Barbary on changing the game in one inning...
"Our fight doesn't stop. Just knowing what we have and trusting ourselves and trusting the preparation we have leading up to that, all it takes is one big inning. You know, we got started on it, the lead-off batters got on, Sierra [Sacco] walked and then I came up, and we just continued through that."
Quick Hitters
The Magic Number – Mississippi State has scored five or more runs in 68 of its 84 wins (81.0 percent) over the past three years … the Bulldogs are 138-15 under Samantha Ricketts when scoring at least five.Call The Bomb Squad – The Bulldogs have scored 78 runs off homers this season, which accounts for 42.9 percent of their scoring this year … State has hit three grand slams this season.
Nadia Barbary – Hit her second career grand slam for her sixth home run of the season … stood as the go-ahead play and eventual game-winner … recorded her second four-RBI game this year … also drove in State's game-winning runs in last year's Monday night showcase win at Missouri.
Morgan Bernardini – Extended her reached-base streak to four games … drew a season-high two walks.
Jessie Blaine – Extended her reached-base streak to four games with her 19th walk of the season, which is second on the team … batted .667 in the series against her former team with a 1.000 slugging percentage.
Raelin Chaffin – Recorded her 12th win of the season … pitched 2.0 or more innings in all three games this series, posting a 2-0 record with a save in the middle game … struck out six and walked none.
Kylee Edwards - Hit her sixth double of the year … collected two hits in State's seven-run fourth inning … stands as her fifth multi-hit game of the season.
Sierra Sacco – Extended her reached-base streak to 23 games and is ranked sixth in the SEC with a .600 on-base percentage … walked twice and ranks fifth in the SEC with 23 walks this year.
Kiarra Sells – Extended her reached-base streak to a career-long 11 games and her hitting streak to four games.
Morgan Stiles – Opened MSU's scoring with a two-RBI single that plated three runs … recorded half of her season total for multi-RBI games in the series.
Scoring Recap
Top 2AnnaLea Adams singled up the middle then advanced to second on a wild pitch. Amelia Lech singled to left field to advance Adams to third. Thalia Martin came in to pinch run for Adams, and Georgia Lessmann came in to pinch run for Lech. Lessmann and Martin scored on a single to left center field by Kylie Brockman.
No. 18 Auburn 2, No. 21 Mississippi State 0
Top 3
KK McCrary drew a two-out walk. Adams singled through the left side to advance McCrary to second. Lech walked to load the bases. McCrary scored on a single to center field by Brockman.
No. 18 Auburn 3, No. 21 Mississippi State 0
Top 4
Abbey Smith hit a leadoff triple. Icess Tresvik reached third on a fielder's choice while Smith was caught in a rundown. Tresvik scored off a single down the right field line by Nelia Peralta.
No. 18 Auburn 4, No. 21 Mississippi State 0
Bottom 4
Kylee Edwards hit a leadoff double to center field. Morgan Bernardini drew a walk, and Kalani Sells came in to pinch run for her at first. Jessie Blaine drew a walk to load the bases. Morgan Stiles singled to center field and advanced to third on an error by the center fielder, scoring Blaine, Sells and Edwards. Riley Hull reached on a fielder's choice to second base where the throw came home, but Stiles retreated safely. Sierra Sacco drew a walk to reload the bases before Nadia Barbary hit a grand slam.
No. 18 Auburn 4, No. 21 Mississippi State 7
Next Up
Mississippi State closes its 11-game homestand with on Wednesday, March 12 against Middle Tennessee. First pitch is set for 3 p.m. CT, and the game will be broadcast on SEC Network+.For more information on the Bulldog softball program, follow on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram by searching "HailStateSB."
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Chaffin, Raelin (12-1)
L: Chalea Clemmons (4-2)
Batting:
3B: Abbey Smith 1
RBI: Nelia Peralta 1 ; Kylie Brockman 3
SH: Abbey Smith 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Icess Tresvik 1 ; KK McCrary 1 ; Thalia Martin 1 ; Georgia Lessmann 1
SB: KK McCrary 1 ; Georgia Lessmann 1
Batting:
2B: Edwards, Kylee 1
HR: Barbary, Nadia 1
RBI: Barbary, Nadia 4 ; Stiles, Morgan 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Sacco, Sierra 1 ; Barbary, Nadia 1 ; Edwards, Kylee 1 ; Sells, Kalani 1 ; Blaine, Jessie 1 ; Stiles, Morgan 1 ; Hull, Riley 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
4
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
INF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
C/OF
/ Softball
P
/ SoftballINF
/ Softball
C/INF
/ Softball
INF
/ SoftballOF
/ Softball
OF
/ SoftballOF
/ Softball
INF
/ SoftballSOFTBALL | Postgame Press Conference vs. Washington
Saturday, May 17
SOFTBALL | Postgame Press Conference vs. Texas Tech
Saturday, May 17
SOFTBALL | Raelin Chaffin ESPN2 Postgame Interview
Saturday, May 17
SOFTBALL | Postgame Press Conference vs. Washington
Friday, May 16