Friday, March 28
Starkville
4 p.m.
Mississippi State
29-6, 6-1
4
vs
3
#1 Texas
32-3, 5-2
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
Texas
0
0
0
0
0
3
0
3
4
1
Mississippi State
0
1
1
0
0
1
1
4
7
0
No. 18 State Splits Series-Opening Doubleheader With No. 1 Texas
March 28, 2025 | Softball
STARKVILLE – No. 18 Mississippi State upset No. 1 Texas in walk-off fashion, and came two outs away from sweeping the doubleheader on Friday night. After claiming a 4-3 victory to open the series, State led 3-1 entering the seventh inning in Game 2 before a six-run Longhorn rally resulted in a 7-3 loss.
Paige Ernstes was the hero in Game 1, delivering hit a pinch-hit double to score Abby Grace Richardson from first base. Morgan Stiles hit a solo homer in both contests, and Lexi Sosa homered in Game 2. Kiarra Sells delivered a sacrifice fly, and Nadia Barbary plated a run with a single.
"I think I saw exactly what I knew about [my team] already. They are fighters. They compete, and we expect to win and expect to play with the No. 1 team in the country," head coach Samantha Ricketts said. "I don't think there's any fear in this group. They're upset about that second game because we know we were right there with it, and we had our opportunities. I think the way they stuck together and, even in the bottom of the seventh, found ways to get the tying run on deck, we're not going to quit. We are going to fight, which is really good to see that grittiness that we know is in there. I thought they really exemplified that today."
Raelin Chaffin tossed her 12th complete game and collected her 16th win of the year in the series opener. She struck out six Texas (33-3, 6-2 SEC) batters, the most times they've been sat down in SEC play. Delainey Everett gave State (29-7, 6-2 SEC) a strong start in the nightcap, tossing 4.0 innings of one-run ball while allowing just two hits.
"This freshman class is really talented – and I know we don't see a lot of them out there right now because we have a lot of veterans – but they really are top to bottom an athletic group. They're competitive. They expect to win. They're here to help us continue to raise the standard here at Mississippi State softball, and I think that is exactly what they're all capable of. That is what we pride ourselves on in this program is bringing in larger, really quality freshman classes and watching them continue to grow over their four years. Morgan Stilies is special, and we've known that from the beginning. I think she is finally comfortable and confident after learning the speed of the game early on in the season, and she is having veteran at-bats up there, which is really cool to see. Two different types of pitches, she took a rise ball out and a drop ball from two quality pitchers on the other side for Texas. I loved her approach in both of those at-bats."
Samantha Ricketts on Paige Ernstes' walk-off double...
"She is one of the best pinch hitters I've ever seen, that I've ever had on the team. She loves the moment. She thrives in it. She's really ready all game, but as soon as I tell her to get ready for the next coming inning, she's in the dugout. She's got a whole routine to be ready for her one at-bat. It's just awesome to see her embrace it and just to have really veteran at-bats as a freshman. That's not getting as many as a starter would, but she's thriving in her role. She loves it, and it's just really cool to see her come up big for us there in Game 1."
Paige Ernstes on taking mental at bats…
"Coach Ricketts and I talked about taking at-bats with people while they're hitting. Even though I'm still in the dugout, I'm mentally taking that at-bat with them and seeing what pitching they're getting and trying to think, 'Okay, where are they going to throw her next? What do you think I would do in this situation?'"
Morgan Bernardini – Was hit by a pitch before executing a first-and-third play that led to MSU's first run in the series … extended her reached-base streak to a career-long 15 games with a single in the nightcap.
Jessie Blaine – Doubled as part of a two-hit night in Game 2 ... picked up her seventh multi-hit game of the season.
Raelin Chaffin – Struck out six Longhorns, marking Texas' season-high in strikeouts in SEC play … posted her 14th game of the season with at least five strikeouts ... picked up her 16th win of the season and 12th complete game.
Paige Ernstes – Hit a pinch-hit, walk-off double to win Game 1 … all of her six career RBIs have come as a pinch hitter.
Delainey Everett – Allowed just two hits across 4.0 innings pitched … tied her season high with four strikeouts.
Kylee Edwards – Scored on a first-and-third play for MSU's first run of the series … singled and walked twice to reach three times in Game 2.
Sierra Sacco – Has reached base in 34 of 36 games this season … picked up her 18th multi-hit game of the season in Game 1 … scored the tying run in the sixth inning of Game 1 … State is now 56-8 when she scores.
Lexi Sosa – Hit her ninth home run of the season in Game 2.
Morgan Stiles – Hit a solo home run in both games.
Kylee Edwards singled to shallow centerfield and moved to second when Morgan Bernardini was hit by a pitch. Edwards advanced to third on a fly out to right field from Lexi Sosa for the inning's second out. Bernardini and Edwards ran a first-and-third play that saw Bernardini caught stealing but not before Edwards scored.
No. 1 Texas 0, No. 18 Mississippi State 1
Bottom 3
With one out, Morgan Stiles hit a solo home run to left field.
No. 1 Texas 0, No. 18 Mississippi State 2
Top 6
Leighann Goode homered to left center field to open the inning. Kaydee Bennett walked and advanced to second on Ashton Maloney's single. Kayden Henry bunted the runners to second and third with the first out. Bennett scored on a sacrifice fly to left field from Mia Scott. Maloney scored on Reese Atwood's single.
No. 1 Texas 3, No. 18 Mississippi State 2
Bottom 6
Sierra Sacco singled to second and advanced on a throwing error by the second baseman. Sacco scored on a single to right field from Nadia Barbary.
No. 1 Texas 3, No. 18 Mississippi State 3
Bottom 7
Kiarra Sells singled to right field. Sosa reached first on a fielder's choice that saw Sells retired at second base. Abby Grace Richardson pinch ran for Sosa at first and scored on Paige Ernstes' pinch-hit double down the left field line.
No. 1 Texas 3, No. 18 Mississippi State 4
With one out, Lexi Sosa hit a solo home run to right field. With two outs, Morgan Stiles hit a solo shot over the left-field wall.
No. 1 Texas 0, No. 18 Mississippi State 2
Bottom 3
With one out, Jessie Blaine singled to left. She advanced to second on a wild pitch before Gretta Grassel came in to pinch run. Kylee Edwards drew a walk. Grassel advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on a sacrifice fly to center by Kiarra Sells.
No. 1 Texas 0, No. 18 Mississippi State 3
Top 4
Mia Scott hit a solo home run to center field.
No. 1 Texas 1, No. 18 Mississippi State 3
Top 6
Kayden Henry hit a leadoff single to left and stole second. She reached third on Scott's groundout to first. Reese Atwood singled to center, scoring Henry.
No. 1 Texas 2, No. 18 Mississippi State 3
Top 7
Joley Mitchel hit a solo home run with one out. Kaydee Bennett singled to the shortstop then advanced to second on an Ashton Maloney single to left. Bennett scored on a Henry single up the middle before Scott hit a three-run homer.
No. 1 Texas 7, No. 18 Mississippi State 3
For more information on the Bulldog softball program, follow on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram by searching "HailStateSB."
Paige Ernstes was the hero in Game 1, delivering hit a pinch-hit double to score Abby Grace Richardson from first base. Morgan Stiles hit a solo homer in both contests, and Lexi Sosa homered in Game 2. Kiarra Sells delivered a sacrifice fly, and Nadia Barbary plated a run with a single.
"I think I saw exactly what I knew about [my team] already. They are fighters. They compete, and we expect to win and expect to play with the No. 1 team in the country," head coach Samantha Ricketts said. "I don't think there's any fear in this group. They're upset about that second game because we know we were right there with it, and we had our opportunities. I think the way they stuck together and, even in the bottom of the seventh, found ways to get the tying run on deck, we're not going to quit. We are going to fight, which is really good to see that grittiness that we know is in there. I thought they really exemplified that today."
Raelin Chaffin tossed her 12th complete game and collected her 16th win of the year in the series opener. She struck out six Texas (33-3, 6-2 SEC) batters, the most times they've been sat down in SEC play. Delainey Everett gave State (29-7, 6-2 SEC) a strong start in the nightcap, tossing 4.0 innings of one-run ball while allowing just two hits.
Quotables
Samantha Ricketts on Morgan Stiles and the freshman class..."This freshman class is really talented – and I know we don't see a lot of them out there right now because we have a lot of veterans – but they really are top to bottom an athletic group. They're competitive. They expect to win. They're here to help us continue to raise the standard here at Mississippi State softball, and I think that is exactly what they're all capable of. That is what we pride ourselves on in this program is bringing in larger, really quality freshman classes and watching them continue to grow over their four years. Morgan Stilies is special, and we've known that from the beginning. I think she is finally comfortable and confident after learning the speed of the game early on in the season, and she is having veteran at-bats up there, which is really cool to see. Two different types of pitches, she took a rise ball out and a drop ball from two quality pitchers on the other side for Texas. I loved her approach in both of those at-bats."
Samantha Ricketts on Paige Ernstes' walk-off double...
"She is one of the best pinch hitters I've ever seen, that I've ever had on the team. She loves the moment. She thrives in it. She's really ready all game, but as soon as I tell her to get ready for the next coming inning, she's in the dugout. She's got a whole routine to be ready for her one at-bat. It's just awesome to see her embrace it and just to have really veteran at-bats as a freshman. That's not getting as many as a starter would, but she's thriving in her role. She loves it, and it's just really cool to see her come up big for us there in Game 1."
Paige Ernstes on taking mental at bats…
"Coach Ricketts and I talked about taking at-bats with people while they're hitting. Even though I'm still in the dugout, I'm mentally taking that at-bat with them and seeing what pitching they're getting and trying to think, 'Okay, where are they going to throw her next? What do you think I would do in this situation?'"
Quick Hitters
Taking Down Top-Ranked Texas – The Bulldogs defeated the No. 1-ranked team for the third time in program history … it was State's first win over No. 1 since defeating LSU, 9-4, in Nusz Park on April 8, 2015 … Samantha Ricketts now boasts 42 victories over NFCA-ranked teams, which is two shy of the MSU record.Morgan Bernardini – Was hit by a pitch before executing a first-and-third play that led to MSU's first run in the series … extended her reached-base streak to a career-long 15 games with a single in the nightcap.
Jessie Blaine – Doubled as part of a two-hit night in Game 2 ... picked up her seventh multi-hit game of the season.
Raelin Chaffin – Struck out six Longhorns, marking Texas' season-high in strikeouts in SEC play … posted her 14th game of the season with at least five strikeouts ... picked up her 16th win of the season and 12th complete game.
Paige Ernstes – Hit a pinch-hit, walk-off double to win Game 1 … all of her six career RBIs have come as a pinch hitter.
Delainey Everett – Allowed just two hits across 4.0 innings pitched … tied her season high with four strikeouts.
Kylee Edwards – Scored on a first-and-third play for MSU's first run of the series … singled and walked twice to reach three times in Game 2.
Sierra Sacco – Has reached base in 34 of 36 games this season … picked up her 18th multi-hit game of the season in Game 1 … scored the tying run in the sixth inning of Game 1 … State is now 56-8 when she scores.
Lexi Sosa – Hit her ninth home run of the season in Game 2.
Morgan Stiles – Hit a solo home run in both games.
Game 1 Scoring Recap
Bottom 2Kylee Edwards singled to shallow centerfield and moved to second when Morgan Bernardini was hit by a pitch. Edwards advanced to third on a fly out to right field from Lexi Sosa for the inning's second out. Bernardini and Edwards ran a first-and-third play that saw Bernardini caught stealing but not before Edwards scored.
No. 1 Texas 0, No. 18 Mississippi State 1
Bottom 3
With one out, Morgan Stiles hit a solo home run to left field.
No. 1 Texas 0, No. 18 Mississippi State 2
Top 6
Leighann Goode homered to left center field to open the inning. Kaydee Bennett walked and advanced to second on Ashton Maloney's single. Kayden Henry bunted the runners to second and third with the first out. Bennett scored on a sacrifice fly to left field from Mia Scott. Maloney scored on Reese Atwood's single.
No. 1 Texas 3, No. 18 Mississippi State 2
Bottom 6
Sierra Sacco singled to second and advanced on a throwing error by the second baseman. Sacco scored on a single to right field from Nadia Barbary.
No. 1 Texas 3, No. 18 Mississippi State 3
Bottom 7
Kiarra Sells singled to right field. Sosa reached first on a fielder's choice that saw Sells retired at second base. Abby Grace Richardson pinch ran for Sosa at first and scored on Paige Ernstes' pinch-hit double down the left field line.
No. 1 Texas 3, No. 18 Mississippi State 4
Game 2 Scoring Recap
Bottom 2With one out, Lexi Sosa hit a solo home run to right field. With two outs, Morgan Stiles hit a solo shot over the left-field wall.
No. 1 Texas 0, No. 18 Mississippi State 2
Bottom 3
With one out, Jessie Blaine singled to left. She advanced to second on a wild pitch before Gretta Grassel came in to pinch run. Kylee Edwards drew a walk. Grassel advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on a sacrifice fly to center by Kiarra Sells.
No. 1 Texas 0, No. 18 Mississippi State 3
Top 4
Mia Scott hit a solo home run to center field.
No. 1 Texas 1, No. 18 Mississippi State 3
Top 6
Kayden Henry hit a leadoff single to left and stole second. She reached third on Scott's groundout to first. Reese Atwood singled to center, scoring Henry.
No. 1 Texas 2, No. 18 Mississippi State 3
Top 7
Joley Mitchel hit a solo home run with one out. Kaydee Bennett singled to the shortstop then advanced to second on an Ashton Maloney single to left. Bennett scored on a Henry single up the middle before Scott hit a three-run homer.
No. 1 Texas 7, No. 18 Mississippi State 3
Next Up
The series finale is set for 1 p.m. CT on Sunday on SEC Network+. With Saturday's game being played as part of Friday's doubleheader, the two teams will now participate in the SEC's All For Alex weekend on Sunday. Both teams will wear teal in honor of the late Alex Wilcox, who played at MSU in 2018 while battling the ovarian cancer that would ultimately take her life.For more information on the Bulldog softball program, follow on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram by searching "HailStateSB."
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Chaffin, Raelin (16-2)
L: Kavan, Teagan (14-2)
Batting:
HR: Goode, Leighann 1
RBI: Scott, Mia 1 ; Atwood, Reese 1 ; Goode, Leighann 1
SH: Henry, Kayden 1
SF: Scott, Mia 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Maloney, Ashton 1 ; Goode, Leighann 1 ; Bennett, Kaydee 1
Batting:
2B: Ernstes, Paige 1
HR: Stiles, Morgan 1
RBI: Barbary, Nadia 1 ; Ernstes, Paige 1 ; Stiles, Morgan 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Sacco, Sierra 1 ; Edwards, Kylee 1 ; Richardson, Abby Grace 1 ; Stiles, Morgan 1
HBP: Bernardini, Morgan 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
1
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
P
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OF
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C/INF
/ SoftballOF
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INF
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