Sunday, March 16
Tuscaloosa, Ala.
1:30 p.m.
Mississippi State
24-5, 5-1
4
at
3
#25 Alabama
21-9, 1-2
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
Mississippi State
0
0
3
0
0
1
0
4
5
2
Alabama
1
0
2
0
0
0
0
3
7
3
No. 19 Bulldogs Win Series At No. 25 Alabama For First Time In Program History
March 16, 2025 | Softball
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – No. 19 Mississippi State will return from Tuscaloosa with a series win for the first time in program history after defeating No. 25 Alabama, 4-3, in comeback fashion on Sunday.
"I think this team came in with the mindset that we've been working on all year, and really it started with previous years," head coach Samantha Ricketts said. "It's to prove ourselves right, knowing how good we are and how good we can be. Teams have to play us. We want to come in with a confidence and a swagger, and you see it from [leadoff hitter] Sierra Sacco on. I think we're just not going to be afraid. We're going to come out and compete and know we play our game best when we're attacking, we're aggressive. That's exactly what we did today."
Alabama (21-9, 1-2 SEC) took the lead in the bottom of the first, but State (24-5, 5-1 SEC) responded with a three-spot in the top of the third. The Crimson Tide evened the score in the bottom of the third before the defenses tightened up. In the sixth, Alabama intentionally walked Sierra Sacco, who reached base in all but one plate appearance in the series, to face Nadia Barbary. Barbary laced a single into left to score pinch runner Gretta Grassel from third for the winning run.
Raelin Chaffin took care of things from there. The Bulldog ace tossed her 10th complete game of the year to earn her 14th victory. After MSU took its final lead, she did not allow another hit in the ballgame.
"Raelin is the ultimate competitor. She doesn't give in. She's going to fight every pitch, from the first pitch of the game to the last. Just the fire, the confidence, she's really never shaken. If there's an error or a hit behind her, so what? It bleeds into the offense and the team behind her. They love playing behind her. They know she has their back, and they're going to have her back. I'm just so proud of her, her efforts and the way she competed for us this weekend."
Raelin Chaffin on how Taryne Mowatt-McKinney has made her a better pitcher…
"I've said it before, but it's been the greatest experience of my life getting to work with her. She trusted me. She works with me every day. There's not a single day I go to the field that she's not ready to buy into me 100 percent. It shows. She's in it with me every pitch. Every time I look into the dugout, she's looking right back at me in the eye, and I just have to stay ready to compete."
Nadia Barbary on seeing Sierra Sacco intentionally walked ahead of her…
"It seems to be something teams feel comfortable doing, and I hope they're starting to realize that it's not a good idea for them. It hasn't worked the past couple of times. Sierra's been hot, so you know, they're scared to throw her the ball. They're a little bit more comfortable with me, and I'm starting to prove them wrong."
Nadia Barbary – Drove in the game-winning run and had MSU's only RBI of the day … has driven in the game-winning run in the final game of both of State's SEC series … drove in three runs in the series.
Raelin Chaffin – Tossed her 10th complete game of the year to earn her 14th win … struck out four … did not allow a hit in the final two innings after MSU took its final lead … pitched to a 1.62 ERA in the series, winning both of her appearances in complete game fashion … struck out 11 batters in 13.0 innings against Alabama.
Kylee Edwards – Reached base safely in all three games of the series.
Riley Hull – Singled and stole a base … now has six stolen bases this year after recording just four combined in her first three seasons … also laid down a sacrifice bunt to advance the winning run into scoring position.
Sierra Sacco – Extended her reached-base streak to 27 games, which is the ninth-longest streak in program history … doubled to extend her hitting streak to a career-long 14 games … reached base safely in all but one plate appearance in the series … was intentionally walked in her final trip to the plate … finished the series with a .750 batting average (6-for-8) with two doubles and four walks.
With one out, Larissa Preuitt doubled to left-center. She scored on Kali Heivilin's two-out single up the middle.
No. 19 Mississippi State 0, No. 25 Alabama 1
Top 3
Riley Hull beat out an infield single to lead off. With one out, Hull stole second. Sierra Sacco doubled off the left-center wall, and Hull advanced to third. Nadia Barbary walked to load the bases. Jessie Blaine hit a ground ball to short and the throw came home, but the catcher never had her foot on the plate, allowing Hull to score. A wild pitch scored Sacco and the throw home from the catcher was wild, allowing Barbary to round third and score as well.
No. 19 Mississippi State 3, No. 25 Alabama 1
Bottom 3
With one out, Alexis Pupillo singled off the pitcher's glove, and Heivilin was hit by a pitch. Both runners advanced a base on Abby Duchscherer's fly out to center. Brooke Ellestad drove both runners in with a double to right-center field.
No. 19 Mississippi State 3, No. 25 Alabama 3
Top 6
Morgan Bernardini drew a leadoff walk, and Gretta Grassel pinch ran. Hull bunted her to second base. With two outs, Sacco was intentionally walked before Barbary laced a single into left to score Grassel from second.
No. 19 Mississippi State 4, No. 25 Alabama 3
For more information on the Bulldog softball program, follow on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram by searching "HailStateSB."
"I think this team came in with the mindset that we've been working on all year, and really it started with previous years," head coach Samantha Ricketts said. "It's to prove ourselves right, knowing how good we are and how good we can be. Teams have to play us. We want to come in with a confidence and a swagger, and you see it from [leadoff hitter] Sierra Sacco on. I think we're just not going to be afraid. We're going to come out and compete and know we play our game best when we're attacking, we're aggressive. That's exactly what we did today."
Alabama (21-9, 1-2 SEC) took the lead in the bottom of the first, but State (24-5, 5-1 SEC) responded with a three-spot in the top of the third. The Crimson Tide evened the score in the bottom of the third before the defenses tightened up. In the sixth, Alabama intentionally walked Sierra Sacco, who reached base in all but one plate appearance in the series, to face Nadia Barbary. Barbary laced a single into left to score pinch runner Gretta Grassel from third for the winning run.
Raelin Chaffin took care of things from there. The Bulldog ace tossed her 10th complete game of the year to earn her 14th victory. After MSU took its final lead, she did not allow another hit in the ballgame.
Quotables
Samantha Ricketts on Raelin Chaffin serving as the team's ace…"Raelin is the ultimate competitor. She doesn't give in. She's going to fight every pitch, from the first pitch of the game to the last. Just the fire, the confidence, she's really never shaken. If there's an error or a hit behind her, so what? It bleeds into the offense and the team behind her. They love playing behind her. They know she has their back, and they're going to have her back. I'm just so proud of her, her efforts and the way she competed for us this weekend."
Raelin Chaffin on how Taryne Mowatt-McKinney has made her a better pitcher…
"I've said it before, but it's been the greatest experience of my life getting to work with her. She trusted me. She works with me every day. There's not a single day I go to the field that she's not ready to buy into me 100 percent. It shows. She's in it with me every pitch. Every time I look into the dugout, she's looking right back at me in the eye, and I just have to stay ready to compete."
Nadia Barbary on seeing Sierra Sacco intentionally walked ahead of her…
"It seems to be something teams feel comfortable doing, and I hope they're starting to realize that it's not a good idea for them. It hasn't worked the past couple of times. Sierra's been hot, so you know, they're scared to throw her the ball. They're a little bit more comfortable with me, and I'm starting to prove them wrong."
Quick Hitters
History Made – State claimed its first series victory in Tuscaloosa in program history … it was the Bulldogs' first series win over Alabama since 2014 and third overall … entering the weekend, MSU had never played Alabama when ranked higher than the Crimson Tide, and no ranked Bulldog squad had ever played Alabama on the road.Nadia Barbary – Drove in the game-winning run and had MSU's only RBI of the day … has driven in the game-winning run in the final game of both of State's SEC series … drove in three runs in the series.
Raelin Chaffin – Tossed her 10th complete game of the year to earn her 14th win … struck out four … did not allow a hit in the final two innings after MSU took its final lead … pitched to a 1.62 ERA in the series, winning both of her appearances in complete game fashion … struck out 11 batters in 13.0 innings against Alabama.
Kylee Edwards – Reached base safely in all three games of the series.
Riley Hull – Singled and stole a base … now has six stolen bases this year after recording just four combined in her first three seasons … also laid down a sacrifice bunt to advance the winning run into scoring position.
Sierra Sacco – Extended her reached-base streak to 27 games, which is the ninth-longest streak in program history … doubled to extend her hitting streak to a career-long 14 games … reached base safely in all but one plate appearance in the series … was intentionally walked in her final trip to the plate … finished the series with a .750 batting average (6-for-8) with two doubles and four walks.
Scoring Recap
Bottom 1With one out, Larissa Preuitt doubled to left-center. She scored on Kali Heivilin's two-out single up the middle.
No. 19 Mississippi State 0, No. 25 Alabama 1
Top 3
Riley Hull beat out an infield single to lead off. With one out, Hull stole second. Sierra Sacco doubled off the left-center wall, and Hull advanced to third. Nadia Barbary walked to load the bases. Jessie Blaine hit a ground ball to short and the throw came home, but the catcher never had her foot on the plate, allowing Hull to score. A wild pitch scored Sacco and the throw home from the catcher was wild, allowing Barbary to round third and score as well.
No. 19 Mississippi State 3, No. 25 Alabama 1
Bottom 3
With one out, Alexis Pupillo singled off the pitcher's glove, and Heivilin was hit by a pitch. Both runners advanced a base on Abby Duchscherer's fly out to center. Brooke Ellestad drove both runners in with a double to right-center field.
No. 19 Mississippi State 3, No. 25 Alabama 3
Top 6
Morgan Bernardini drew a leadoff walk, and Gretta Grassel pinch ran. Hull bunted her to second base. With two outs, Sacco was intentionally walked before Barbary laced a single into left to score Grassel from second.
No. 19 Mississippi State 4, No. 25 Alabama 3
Next Up
The Bulldogs will return to the state of Alabama next week to play at UAB on March 19. First pitch is set for 5 p.m. CT on ESPN+. MSU won the first meeting of the year, 11-1, in five innings on Feb. 26. From there, State will stay in Birmingham before flying to Chicago to face Northwestern in a three-game series.For more information on the Bulldog softball program, follow on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram by searching "HailStateSB."
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Chaffin, Raelin (14-1)
L: Jocelyn Briski (9-7)
Batting:
2B: Sacco, Sierra 1
RBI: Barbary, Nadia 1
SH: Hull, Riley 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Sacco, Sierra 1 ; Barbary, Nadia 1 ; Grassel, Gretta 1 ; Hull, Riley 1
SB: Hull, Riley 1
Batting:
2B: Larissa Preuitt 1 ; Brooke Ellestad 1
RBI: Kali Heivilin 1 ; Brooke Ellestad 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Larissa Preuitt 1 ; Alexis Pupillo 1 ; Kali Heivilin 1
HBP: Kali Heivilin 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
2
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
1
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
2
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
INF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
C/OF
/ Softball
P
/ SoftballINF
/ Softball
OF
/ SoftballINF
/ SoftballOF
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