Saturday, May 3
Starkville
5 p.m.
Mississippi State
37-16, 13-11
4
vs
6
#16 Ole Miss
35-16, 11-13
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
Ole Miss
0
2
2
2
0
0
0
6
12
0
Mississippi State
2
0
0
2
0
0
0
4
6
0
State Drops Regular-Season Finale To No. 17 Ole Miss
May 03, 2025 | Softball
STARKVILLE – No. 18 Mississippi State lost 6-4 to No. 17 Ole Miss on Saturday night to close the regular season. The Bulldogs finished the conference slate with a 13-11 record in league play, their first time finishing above .500 since 2001 and their highest win total since the 2008 season.
State (37-16, 13-11 SEC) opened the scoring when Sierra Sacco homered on the first pitch a Bulldog batter saw in the bottom of the first. Jessie Blaine added another in the frame with an RBI single, marking her fourth consecutive game with an RBI.
Ole Miss (35-16, 11-13 SEC) scored with a pair of sacrifice flies in the second and added two-run homers in both the third and fourth to build a 6-2 lead. Morgan Bernardini drove in a run with a base hit in the fourth, and Sacco plated another with a sacrifice fly that tied the program record for sacrifice flies in a season.
"It's tough in this league and after [Raelin Chaffin] throwing the first two days there's no surprises really," head coach Samantha Ricketts said. "It's just finding ways to keep them off balance, and usually on Sundays, it's just who's going to be able to outscore the other. I thought they did a good job. They're aggressive. They're attacking. They're taking walks that were given to them. They're a good team. There's a reason that they've been ranked all season long, and I think it's just another good example of an SEC battle and why this conference is the deepest in the country."
State brought the tying run to the plate in the seventh, but a lineout double play ended the ballgame. Defensively, Kiarra Sells continued to put on a showcase in the series. She added a second diving catch and a second outfield assist from right field on Saturday night. She finished the game with a career-high five putouts.
"Yeah, we've really been missing a big hit the last few weeks. I think our offense has done a good job of being patient and taking walks when they are given to us. They've just been making contributions up-and-down the lineup. Consistency over the course of the season has been great for us, but especially when it comes down to the end of the year, we're going to need a timely hit. You're going to need a big hit, and that's just something we really couldn't seem to find today."
Jessie Blaine on the comeback effort...
"Yeah, I really do think we just ran out of outs. They're a good team, a good program with a lot of talent – a lot of experienced talent. It's hard to beat a team like that three times in a row. They showed up to play today, and we just ran out of outs."
Nadia Barbary – Walked to extend her career-long reached-base streak to 12 games.
Jessie Blaine – Drove in a run for the fourth consecutive game … extended her hitting streak to a career-long nine games … reached-base streak stands at 12 games, one shy of her career-long.
Sierra Sacco – Hit a leadoff homer for the fourth time this year and her third on the first pitch of a game … added a sacrifice fly … collected her 13th multi-RBI game of the season … recorded her 25th multi-hit game, which ranks sixth in MSU single-season history.
Kiarra Sells – Was hit by a pitch for the SEC-leading 18th time … made a diving catch in right field … recorded her second outfield assist of the series … recorded a career-high five putouts.
Sierra Sacco hit a solo home run to center on the first pitch of the inning. Nadia Barbary walked and advanced to second on a one-out single to right field from Morgan Stiles. Jessie Blaine singled up the middle, scoring Barbary.
No. 17 Ole Miss 0, No. 18 Mississippi State 2
Top 2
Mackenzie Pickens drew a leadoff walk followed by a bunt single from Ashton Lansdell. Angelina DeLeon was hit by a pitch to lead the bases before Taylor Malvin scored Pickens with a sacrifice fly to right field. Lansdell and DeLeon advanced on the throw to the plate. Jaden Pone walked to reload the bases before Lair Beautae scored Lansdell with a second sacrifice fly to center.
No. 17 Ole Miss 2, No. 18 Mississippi State 2
Top 3
Lexie Brady opened the inning with a double to center field. Pickens followed with a two-run homer to center field.
No. 17 Ole Miss 4, No. 18 Mississippi State 2
Top 4
Beautae opened the inning with a single to second base. Addison Duke entered to pinch run for Beautae before Aliyah Binford hit a two-run homer.
No. 17 Ole Miss 6, No. 18 Mississippi State 2
Bottom 4
Blaine opened the inning with a single up the middle, and Kalani Sells pinch ran. Ella Wesolowski walked, putting runners on first and second. Morgan Bernardini singled to right field, scoring Kalani Sells. Abby Grace Richardson came in to pinch run for Wesolowski at second. Kiarra Sells was hit by a pitch to load the bases before Sacco hit a sacrifice fly to score Richardson.
No. 17 Ole Miss 6, No. 18 Mississippi State 4
For more information on the Bulldog softball program, follow on X, Facebook and Instagram by searching "HailStateSB."
State (37-16, 13-11 SEC) opened the scoring when Sierra Sacco homered on the first pitch a Bulldog batter saw in the bottom of the first. Jessie Blaine added another in the frame with an RBI single, marking her fourth consecutive game with an RBI.
Ole Miss (35-16, 11-13 SEC) scored with a pair of sacrifice flies in the second and added two-run homers in both the third and fourth to build a 6-2 lead. Morgan Bernardini drove in a run with a base hit in the fourth, and Sacco plated another with a sacrifice fly that tied the program record for sacrifice flies in a season.
"It's tough in this league and after [Raelin Chaffin] throwing the first two days there's no surprises really," head coach Samantha Ricketts said. "It's just finding ways to keep them off balance, and usually on Sundays, it's just who's going to be able to outscore the other. I thought they did a good job. They're aggressive. They're attacking. They're taking walks that were given to them. They're a good team. There's a reason that they've been ranked all season long, and I think it's just another good example of an SEC battle and why this conference is the deepest in the country."
State brought the tying run to the plate in the seventh, but a lineout double play ended the ballgame. Defensively, Kiarra Sells continued to put on a showcase in the series. She added a second diving catch and a second outfield assist from right field on Saturday night. She finished the game with a career-high five putouts.
Quotables
Samantha Ricketts on the team's late push and not completing the comeback..."Yeah, we've really been missing a big hit the last few weeks. I think our offense has done a good job of being patient and taking walks when they are given to us. They've just been making contributions up-and-down the lineup. Consistency over the course of the season has been great for us, but especially when it comes down to the end of the year, we're going to need a timely hit. You're going to need a big hit, and that's just something we really couldn't seem to find today."
Jessie Blaine on the comeback effort...
"Yeah, I really do think we just ran out of outs. They're a good team, a good program with a lot of talent – a lot of experienced talent. It's hard to beat a team like that three times in a row. They showed up to play today, and we just ran out of outs."
Quick Hitters
Pack The Park – Tonight's attendance of 1,870 is the second-largest regular-season crowd in Nusz Park history and the fourth-largest crowd overall.Nadia Barbary – Walked to extend her career-long reached-base streak to 12 games.
Jessie Blaine – Drove in a run for the fourth consecutive game … extended her hitting streak to a career-long nine games … reached-base streak stands at 12 games, one shy of her career-long.
Sierra Sacco – Hit a leadoff homer for the fourth time this year and her third on the first pitch of a game … added a sacrifice fly … collected her 13th multi-RBI game of the season … recorded her 25th multi-hit game, which ranks sixth in MSU single-season history.
Kiarra Sells – Was hit by a pitch for the SEC-leading 18th time … made a diving catch in right field … recorded her second outfield assist of the series … recorded a career-high five putouts.
Scoring Recap
Bottom 1Sierra Sacco hit a solo home run to center on the first pitch of the inning. Nadia Barbary walked and advanced to second on a one-out single to right field from Morgan Stiles. Jessie Blaine singled up the middle, scoring Barbary.
No. 17 Ole Miss 0, No. 18 Mississippi State 2
Top 2
Mackenzie Pickens drew a leadoff walk followed by a bunt single from Ashton Lansdell. Angelina DeLeon was hit by a pitch to lead the bases before Taylor Malvin scored Pickens with a sacrifice fly to right field. Lansdell and DeLeon advanced on the throw to the plate. Jaden Pone walked to reload the bases before Lair Beautae scored Lansdell with a second sacrifice fly to center.
No. 17 Ole Miss 2, No. 18 Mississippi State 2
Top 3
Lexie Brady opened the inning with a double to center field. Pickens followed with a two-run homer to center field.
No. 17 Ole Miss 4, No. 18 Mississippi State 2
Top 4
Beautae opened the inning with a single to second base. Addison Duke entered to pinch run for Beautae before Aliyah Binford hit a two-run homer.
No. 17 Ole Miss 6, No. 18 Mississippi State 2
Bottom 4
Blaine opened the inning with a single up the middle, and Kalani Sells pinch ran. Ella Wesolowski walked, putting runners on first and second. Morgan Bernardini singled to right field, scoring Kalani Sells. Abby Grace Richardson came in to pinch run for Wesolowski at second. Kiarra Sells was hit by a pitch to load the bases before Sacco hit a sacrifice fly to score Richardson.
No. 17 Ole Miss 6, No. 18 Mississippi State 4
Next Up
The postseason begins on Tuesday, May 6, with the first round of the SEC Tournament in Athens, Georgia. Mississippi State will be the No. 8 seed and play No. 9 LSU in the second round at 10 a.m. CT on Wednesday. Every game of the SEC Tournament will be broadcast on SEC Network.For more information on the Bulldog softball program, follow on X, Facebook and Instagram by searching "HailStateSB."
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Miali Guachino (15-10)
L: Chaffin, Raelin (21-8)
Batting:
2B: Jamie Mackay 1 ; Lexie Brady 1 ; Angelina DeLeon 1
HR: Aliyah Binford 1 ; Mackenzie Pickens 1
RBI: Lair Beautae 1 ; Aliyah Binford 2 ; Mackenzie Pickens 2 ; Taylor Malvin 1
SF: Lair Beautae 1 ; Taylor Malvin 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Addison Duke 1 ; Aliyah Binford 1 ; Lexie Brady 1 ; Mackenzie Pickens 2 ; Ashton Lansdell 1
SB: Jaden Pone 1 ; Lexie Brady 1
CS: Ashton Lansdell 1
HBP: Aliyah Binford 1 ; Angelina DeLeon 1
Batting:
HR: Sacco, Sierra 1
RBI: Sacco, Sierra 2 ; Blaine, Jessie 1 ; Bernardini, Morgan 1
SF: Sacco, Sierra 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Sacco, Sierra 1 ; Barbary, Nadia 1 ; Sells, Kalani 1 ; Richardson, Abby Grace 1
HBP: Sells, Kiarra 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
2
c/dp
AB
3
R
0
H
2
RBI
1
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
2
R
0
H
1
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
INF
/ SoftballOF
/ SoftballC/OF
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
C/INF
/ SoftballOF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
OF
/ SoftballINF
/ Softball
C/OF
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