Thursday, May 1
Starkville
6 p.m.
Mississippi State
36-15, 12-10
3
vs
1
#16 Ole Miss
34-15, 10-12
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
Ole Miss
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
1
6
0
Mississippi State
0
0
0
1
0
0
2
3
4
0
Photo by: Mississippi State Athletics
Blaine Crushes Walk-Off Homer To Open Rivalry Series Against Ole Miss
May 01, 2025 | Softball
STARKVILLE – After she had struck out with the bases-loaded in fifth inning of a tied game, senior Jessie Blaine launched a two-run walk-off homer in the bottom of the seventh to defeat No. 17 Ole Miss, 3-1, on Thursday night.
The Bulldogs (36-15, 12-10 SEC) had tied the game in the fourth inning on an RBI double from Ella Wesolowski after Ole Miss (34-15, 10-12 SEC) had opened the scoring on a solo homer in the top of the frame. State left runners in scoring position in both the fifth and the sixth inning before Blaine's redemptive heroics.
"It was a great way to start the series, and we knew it was going to be high emotions and high energy. They are a great team over there and I think it is an evenly matched series and it's always great to start it out with a win. I thought Raelin gave us another quality start and a great outing from her in the circle and just continued to fight and keep us in it. I loved the response from the offense to score right back in the fourth and I think the two plays in the game with Kiarra Sells throwing them out at third base, is a huge momentum shift that probably keeps one off the board and then it allows Jessie to come up and be the hero with the big homerun to end it for us."
Raelin Chaffin threw her 17th complete game of the year, striking out five and walking none. It was the 11th time this year that she has thrown a complete game while allowing two or fewer runs. With the win, she broke the MSU single-season record for wins in conference play by an individual pitcher (10) and moved into sole possession of sixth in program history with 21 total wins on the season, which leads the SEC.
"I know how hard she works on her throws all the time, and she is such a hard worker who puts in so much time and so much energy. To see her catch it and throw a dart 70 miles an hour on a line, I was just so happy for her and for me because that could have also gone bad having a runner on third. I was super happy for her, and I know she has my back."
Kiarra Sells on her thoughts when she saw the runner tag up...
"I was a little surprised, but it has been something we have been working on all week, so it worked out for me today."
Jessie Blaine on her walk-off home run...
"I got a hard pitch there at the end [of the at-bat]. She did throw handful of changeups, which were more than her stats suggested, but I was definitely ready there for that or a changeup. I hit something hard right back at her."
Nadia Barbary – Walked a career-high three times to match her career-long reached-base streak at 10 games.
Jessie Blaine – Hit a walk off home run for her fourth long ball of the season … drew her seventh walk in the last five games … walk put the tying run on base in the fourth before she was pinch ran for … extended her season-long reached-base streak to 10 games.
Raelin Chaffin – Broke the single-season school record with her 10th SEC win of the year … now has 21 wins on the season, which ranks sixth in program history and leads the SEC … threw her 17th complete game of the year after entering the season with just 10 in her career … struck out five and walked none … has struck out 16 batters in the past two games (14.0 IP) without allowing a walk.
Kiarra Sells – Hit her eighth double of the season for her 19th extra-base hit of the year … posted her eighth multi-hit game of the year … recorded her fourth outfield assist of the year, throwing out a runner at third for a double play.
Ella Wesolowski – Doubled home the game-tying run in the fourth.
Aliyah Binford hit a leadoff homer to right field.
No. 17 Ole Miss 1, No. 18 Mississippi State 0
Bottom 4
With one out, Jessie Blaine walked. Kalani Sells entered the game to pinch run first. With two outs, Ella Wesolowski doubled off the right field wall, scoring Sells.
No. 17 Ole Miss 1, No. 18 Mississippi State 1
Bottom 7
With two outs, Morgan Stiles walked before Jessie Blaine hit a walk-off homer to center.
No. 17 Ole Miss 1, No. 18 Mississippi State 3
For more information on the Bulldog softball program, follow on X, Facebook and Instagram by searching "HailStateSB."
The Bulldogs (36-15, 12-10 SEC) had tied the game in the fourth inning on an RBI double from Ella Wesolowski after Ole Miss (34-15, 10-12 SEC) had opened the scoring on a solo homer in the top of the frame. State left runners in scoring position in both the fifth and the sixth inning before Blaine's redemptive heroics.
"It was a great way to start the series, and we knew it was going to be high emotions and high energy. They are a great team over there and I think it is an evenly matched series and it's always great to start it out with a win. I thought Raelin gave us another quality start and a great outing from her in the circle and just continued to fight and keep us in it. I loved the response from the offense to score right back in the fourth and I think the two plays in the game with Kiarra Sells throwing them out at third base, is a huge momentum shift that probably keeps one off the board and then it allows Jessie to come up and be the hero with the big homerun to end it for us."
Raelin Chaffin threw her 17th complete game of the year, striking out five and walking none. It was the 11th time this year that she has thrown a complete game while allowing two or fewer runs. With the win, she broke the MSU single-season record for wins in conference play by an individual pitcher (10) and moved into sole possession of sixth in program history with 21 total wins on the season, which leads the SEC.
Quotables
Raelin Chaffin on Kiarra Sells throwing out a potential go-ahead runner at third in the sixth..."I know how hard she works on her throws all the time, and she is such a hard worker who puts in so much time and so much energy. To see her catch it and throw a dart 70 miles an hour on a line, I was just so happy for her and for me because that could have also gone bad having a runner on third. I was super happy for her, and I know she has my back."
Kiarra Sells on her thoughts when she saw the runner tag up...
"I was a little surprised, but it has been something we have been working on all week, so it worked out for me today."
Jessie Blaine on her walk-off home run...
"I got a hard pitch there at the end [of the at-bat]. She did throw handful of changeups, which were more than her stats suggested, but I was definitely ready there for that or a changeup. I hit something hard right back at her."
Quick Hitters
Ranked Rivals – Friday night marked the first time in the history of the Mississippi State-Ole Miss rivalry that both teams were ranked in the NFCA poll when they faced each other … with the win Samantha Ricketts tied the school-record with 44 career victories against NFCA-ranked opponents.Nadia Barbary – Walked a career-high three times to match her career-long reached-base streak at 10 games.
Jessie Blaine – Hit a walk off home run for her fourth long ball of the season … drew her seventh walk in the last five games … walk put the tying run on base in the fourth before she was pinch ran for … extended her season-long reached-base streak to 10 games.
Raelin Chaffin – Broke the single-season school record with her 10th SEC win of the year … now has 21 wins on the season, which ranks sixth in program history and leads the SEC … threw her 17th complete game of the year after entering the season with just 10 in her career … struck out five and walked none … has struck out 16 batters in the past two games (14.0 IP) without allowing a walk.
Kiarra Sells – Hit her eighth double of the season for her 19th extra-base hit of the year … posted her eighth multi-hit game of the year … recorded her fourth outfield assist of the year, throwing out a runner at third for a double play.
Ella Wesolowski – Doubled home the game-tying run in the fourth.
Soring Recap
Top 4Aliyah Binford hit a leadoff homer to right field.
No. 17 Ole Miss 1, No. 18 Mississippi State 0
Bottom 4
With one out, Jessie Blaine walked. Kalani Sells entered the game to pinch run first. With two outs, Ella Wesolowski doubled off the right field wall, scoring Sells.
No. 17 Ole Miss 1, No. 18 Mississippi State 1
Bottom 7
With two outs, Morgan Stiles walked before Jessie Blaine hit a walk-off homer to center.
No. 17 Ole Miss 1, No. 18 Mississippi State 3
Next Up
The series continues on Friday as part of Mississippi State's annual Super Bulldog Weekend. First pitch has been moved to 11 a.m. CT by mutual agreement of the two teams in light of the most-recent weather forecasts.For more information on the Bulldog softball program, follow on X, Facebook and Instagram by searching "HailStateSB."
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Chaffin, Raelin (21-7)
L: Aliyah Binford (8-3)
Batting:
2B: Mackenzie Pickens 1
HR: Aliyah Binford 1
RBI: Aliyah Binford 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Aliyah Binford 1
SB: Ashton Lansdell 1
Batting:
2B: Wesolowski, Ella 1 ; Sells, Kiarra 1
HR: Blaine, Jessie 1
RBI: Blaine, Jessie 2 ; Wesolowski, Ella 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Stiles, Morgan 1 ; Blaine, Jessie 1 ; Sells, Kalani 1
HBP: Stiles, Morgan 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
3
R
0
H
2
RBI
0
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
2
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
1
AB
4
R
0
H
0
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
INF
/ SoftballC/OF
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
OF
/ SoftballOF
/ Softball
INF
/ SoftballC/OF
/ 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