Saturday, April 5
Knoxville, Tenn.
3 p.m.
Mississippi State
31-9, 7-4
12
at
4
#7 Tennessee
31-8, 6-5
1
2
3
4
5
6
R
H
E
Mississippi State
8
0
2
0
0
2
12
10
1
Tennessee
1
0
3
0
0
0
4
6
0
Bulldogs Claim 13th Run-Rule Victory In Doubleheader Split
April 05, 2025 | Softball
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Playing a doubleheader due to Sunday rains, No. 17 Mississippi State evened the series at No. 7 Tennessee with a run-rule victory before dropping the series finale on Saturday night.
The Bulldogs (31-10, 7-5 SEC) took the first game of the day by a score of 12-4 in six innings. The Lady Vols (32-8, 7-5 SEC) claimed the nightcap with a run-rule of their own, 8-0, in five innings.
"I think this conference is such a gauntlet, and you have to be ready," head coach Samantha Ricketts said. "Every game is a battle and can swing either way. When someone punches you, you've got to be ready to take it and get back up and swing back. I thought we did a good job of that in the first game today, particularly in the first inning just setting the tone. But it's about finding ways to compete in every game, in every inning. That's the goal every weekend out."
Offensively, MSU made the most of an eight-run first inning in Game 1 that was highlighted by home runs from Sierra Sacco and Nadia Barbary to open the ballgame. Lexi Sosa and Morgan Stiles also homered in the game, and Kylee Edwards collected a team-leading three RBIs.
Delainey Everett improved to 9-0 on the year, while throwing a season-high 76 pitches in Game 1. Sosa closed that ballgame with 2.0 scoreless innings, and she added 2.0 more in Game 2 before her lone hit allowed in that game left the yard for a game-ending solo homer.
"I thought Lexi gave us quality innings in the circle and something that we really needed today. She was competing. She was not afraid to go inside. She had quality at-bats in the box and quality pitches in the circle. I think she did her job when we needed her to today."
Samantha Ricketts on Kylee Edwards…
"Kylee's just matured so much since last year. She's a complete hitter. She'll take a walk. She can do a two-out, two-strike swing when we need it. She knows how to drive in runs. I love the maturity and the growth we've seen out of her as a sophomore. I'm excited for her future, not just the rest of this year, and how she's continuing to grow on both sides of the ball. She's been a steady presence for us on the field and has just gotten better and better in the box."
Calling The Bomb Squad – State hit four home runs in Game 1 … Sierra Sacco and Nadia Barbary hit the team's fourth pair of back-to-back homers this season, which is the third-most by the team in a season … Lexi Sosa became the first Bulldog to 10 homers this year … the Bulldogs have hit 54 homers this season, which is tied for fifth in MSU single-season history … 103 of State's 275 runs (37.5 percent) have been scored via the long ball.
Nadia Barbary – Hit her eighth homer of the year, which is a single-season career high … also brought home a run on a bases-loaded walk … added a single for her 14th multi-hit game of the season.
Jessie Blaine – Drove in two runs in State's eight-run first inning in Game 1.
Kylee Edwards – Led MSU with three RBIs in Game 1 … was her team-leading 10th multi-RBI game of the year and ninth multi-hit game.
Delainey Everett – Earned her ninth win of the season … threw a season-high 76 pitches.
Sierra Sacco – Led off Game 1 with a solo home run … now has seven home runs on the year after entering the season with two for her career … drew three walks in her next three plate appearances … reached base in every plate appearance in Game 1 and scored twice … MSU is now 58-8 when she scores.
Lexi Sosa – Hit her team-leading 10th home run of the year … threw the final 2.0 innings in Game 1 without allowing a run.
Morgan Stiles – Finished 2-for-4 in Game 1 with RBIs on both hits … launched her sixth career home run.
Sierra Sacco and Nadia Barbary opened the game with back-to-back homers. Kylee Edwards singled, and Lexi Sosa walked. Morgan Bernardini was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Morgan Stiles singled to right field, scoring Edwards. Jessie Blaine then singled into the right-center gap, which scored Sosa and Bernardini as Stiles advanced to third. Stiles scored on Riley Hull's groundout to first base. Kiarra Sells was hit by a pitch, and Sacco walked to reload the bases. Barbary walked to score Blaine before Edwards brought home Sells with a sacrifice fly.
No. 17 Mississippi State 8, No. 7 Tennessee 0
Bottom 1
Saviya Morgan walked. With one out, Taylor Pannell hit into a fielder's choice to third base that saw Morgan retired for the second out. McKenna Gibson walked, pushing Pannel to second. Pannell scored on Sophia Nugent's single to center.
No. 17 Mississippi State 8, No. 7 Tennessee 1
Top 3
With two outs, Sacco walked, and Barbary singled to shallow center, allowing Sacco to reach third. Edwards then doubled off the left-center field wall, scoring both runners.
No. 17 Mississippi State 10, No. 7 Tennessee 1
Bottom 3
Morgan reached on a throwing error by the pitcher to open the inning and advanced to second on the error. With one out, Pannell singled to left field, and Morgan advanced to third before Gibson hit a three-run homer.
No. 17 Mississippi State 10, No. 7 Tennessee 4
With two outs, Gabby Leach was hit by a pitch, and Saviya Morgan singled up the middle. Kinsey Fiedler singled to center, scoring Leach. Meanwhile, Morgan advanced to third and Fielder moved to second on the throw. Taylor Pannell hit a three-run homer to left, and McKenna Gibson followed with a solo shot to right field.
No. 17 Mississippi State 0, No. 7 Tennessee 5
Bottom 3
Laura Mealer doubled to left-center, and Emma Clarke bunted her to third. Ella Dodge walked and stole second. Gabby Leach executed a squeeze bunt to score Mealer, and the third baseman's diving flip to the plate was errant, allowing Dodge to score from second.
No. 17 Mississippi State 0, No. 7 Tennessee 7
Bottom 5
With two outs, Leach hit a solo homer.
No. 17 Mississippi State 0, No. 7 Tennessee 8
For more information on the Bulldog softball program, follow on X, Facebook and Instagram by searching "HailStateSB."
The Bulldogs (31-10, 7-5 SEC) took the first game of the day by a score of 12-4 in six innings. The Lady Vols (32-8, 7-5 SEC) claimed the nightcap with a run-rule of their own, 8-0, in five innings.
"I think this conference is such a gauntlet, and you have to be ready," head coach Samantha Ricketts said. "Every game is a battle and can swing either way. When someone punches you, you've got to be ready to take it and get back up and swing back. I thought we did a good job of that in the first game today, particularly in the first inning just setting the tone. But it's about finding ways to compete in every game, in every inning. That's the goal every weekend out."
Offensively, MSU made the most of an eight-run first inning in Game 1 that was highlighted by home runs from Sierra Sacco and Nadia Barbary to open the ballgame. Lexi Sosa and Morgan Stiles also homered in the game, and Kylee Edwards collected a team-leading three RBIs.
Delainey Everett improved to 9-0 on the year, while throwing a season-high 76 pitches in Game 1. Sosa closed that ballgame with 2.0 scoreless innings, and she added 2.0 more in Game 2 before her lone hit allowed in that game left the yard for a game-ending solo homer.
Quotables
Samantha Ricketts on Lexi Sosa's pitching performances…"I thought Lexi gave us quality innings in the circle and something that we really needed today. She was competing. She was not afraid to go inside. She had quality at-bats in the box and quality pitches in the circle. I think she did her job when we needed her to today."
Samantha Ricketts on Kylee Edwards…
"Kylee's just matured so much since last year. She's a complete hitter. She'll take a walk. She can do a two-out, two-strike swing when we need it. She knows how to drive in runs. I love the maturity and the growth we've seen out of her as a sophomore. I'm excited for her future, not just the rest of this year, and how she's continuing to grow on both sides of the ball. She's been a steady presence for us on the field and has just gotten better and better in the box."
Quick Hitters
Passing The Bat – State sent 13 batters to the plate in an eight-run first inning in Game 1 … eight of nine starters reached base and scored in the frame and six had an RBI … it marked 10th time MSU batted around in an inning this season.Calling The Bomb Squad – State hit four home runs in Game 1 … Sierra Sacco and Nadia Barbary hit the team's fourth pair of back-to-back homers this season, which is the third-most by the team in a season … Lexi Sosa became the first Bulldog to 10 homers this year … the Bulldogs have hit 54 homers this season, which is tied for fifth in MSU single-season history … 103 of State's 275 runs (37.5 percent) have been scored via the long ball.
Nadia Barbary – Hit her eighth homer of the year, which is a single-season career high … also brought home a run on a bases-loaded walk … added a single for her 14th multi-hit game of the season.
Jessie Blaine – Drove in two runs in State's eight-run first inning in Game 1.
Kylee Edwards – Led MSU with three RBIs in Game 1 … was her team-leading 10th multi-RBI game of the year and ninth multi-hit game.
Delainey Everett – Earned her ninth win of the season … threw a season-high 76 pitches.
Sierra Sacco – Led off Game 1 with a solo home run … now has seven home runs on the year after entering the season with two for her career … drew three walks in her next three plate appearances … reached base in every plate appearance in Game 1 and scored twice … MSU is now 58-8 when she scores.
Lexi Sosa – Hit her team-leading 10th home run of the year … threw the final 2.0 innings in Game 1 without allowing a run.
Morgan Stiles – Finished 2-for-4 in Game 1 with RBIs on both hits … launched her sixth career home run.
Game 1 Soring Recap
Top 1Sierra Sacco and Nadia Barbary opened the game with back-to-back homers. Kylee Edwards singled, and Lexi Sosa walked. Morgan Bernardini was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Morgan Stiles singled to right field, scoring Edwards. Jessie Blaine then singled into the right-center gap, which scored Sosa and Bernardini as Stiles advanced to third. Stiles scored on Riley Hull's groundout to first base. Kiarra Sells was hit by a pitch, and Sacco walked to reload the bases. Barbary walked to score Blaine before Edwards brought home Sells with a sacrifice fly.
No. 17 Mississippi State 8, No. 7 Tennessee 0
Bottom 1
Saviya Morgan walked. With one out, Taylor Pannell hit into a fielder's choice to third base that saw Morgan retired for the second out. McKenna Gibson walked, pushing Pannel to second. Pannell scored on Sophia Nugent's single to center.
No. 17 Mississippi State 8, No. 7 Tennessee 1
Top 3
With two outs, Sacco walked, and Barbary singled to shallow center, allowing Sacco to reach third. Edwards then doubled off the left-center field wall, scoring both runners.
No. 17 Mississippi State 10, No. 7 Tennessee 1
Bottom 3
Morgan reached on a throwing error by the pitcher to open the inning and advanced to second on the error. With one out, Pannell singled to left field, and Morgan advanced to third before Gibson hit a three-run homer.
No. 17 Mississippi State 10, No. 7 Tennessee 4
Game 2 Soring Recap
Bottom 2With two outs, Gabby Leach was hit by a pitch, and Saviya Morgan singled up the middle. Kinsey Fiedler singled to center, scoring Leach. Meanwhile, Morgan advanced to third and Fielder moved to second on the throw. Taylor Pannell hit a three-run homer to left, and McKenna Gibson followed with a solo shot to right field.
No. 17 Mississippi State 0, No. 7 Tennessee 5
Bottom 3
Laura Mealer doubled to left-center, and Emma Clarke bunted her to third. Ella Dodge walked and stole second. Gabby Leach executed a squeeze bunt to score Mealer, and the third baseman's diving flip to the plate was errant, allowing Dodge to score from second.
No. 17 Mississippi State 0, No. 7 Tennessee 7
Bottom 5
With two outs, Leach hit a solo homer.
No. 17 Mississippi State 0, No. 7 Tennessee 8
Next Up
With only SEC games remaining, things slow down for the Bulldogs next week. Mississippi State returns to Nusz Park on April 11-13 to host Missouri in a three-game series. The opener on Friday is set for 6 p.m., and Saturday's first pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m. The series finale will be played at 1 p.m. on Sunday. All three games will air on SEC Network+.For more information on the Bulldog softball program, follow on X, Facebook and Instagram by searching "HailStateSB."
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Everett, Delainey (9-0)
L: Erin Nuwer (5-2)
Batting:
2B: Edwards, Kylee 1
HR: Sacco, Sierra 1 ; Barbary, Nadia 1 ; Sosa, Lexi 1 ; Stiles, Morgan 1
RBI: Sacco, Sierra 1 ; Barbary, Nadia 2 ; Edwards, Kylee 3 ; Sosa, Lexi 1 ; Stiles, Morgan 2 ; Blaine, Jessie 2 ; Hull, Riley 1
SF: Edwards, Kylee 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Sacco, Sierra 2 ; Barbary, Nadia 2 ; Edwards, Kylee 1 ; Sosa, Lexi 2 ; Bernardini, Morgan 1 ; Stiles, Morgan 2 ; Blaine, Jessie 1 ; Sells, Kiarra 1
SB: Sacco, Sierra 1
HBP: Bernardini, Morgan 1 ; Sells, Kiarra 1
Batting:
HR: McKenna Gibson 1
RBI: McKenna Gibson 3 ; Sophia Nugent 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Saviya Morgan 1 ; Taylor Pannell 2 ; McKenna Gibson 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
3
R
2
H
2
RBI
2
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
3
AB
4
R
2
H
2
RBI
2
AB
1
R
2
H
1
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
INF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
C/OF
/ SoftballINF
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
INF
/ SoftballOF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
INF
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