Friday, February 27
Clemson, S.C.
9 a.m.
Mississippi State
16-1
9
vs
1
Wofford
14-2
1
2
3
4
5
6
R
H
E
Mississippi State
0
2
0
1
1
5
9
12
1
Wofford
0
0
0
1
0
0
1
5
1
Big Inning Lifts Bulldogs To Run-Rule Victory Against Wofford
February 27, 2026 | Softball
CLEMSON, S.C. – A five-run sixth inning lifted No. 12 Mississippi State to a 9-1 run-rule victory over Wofford on Friday morning at the Tiger Invitational.
The Bulldogs (16-1) got on the board in the second inning with an RBI triple from Morgan Bernardini, who then scored on a single from Tatum Silva. Abby Grace Richardson raced to an inside-the-park home run in the fourth to extend the lead before Wofford scored its lone run in the bottom of the fourth.
Bernardini plated another in the fifth with a sacrifice fly before the Bulldogs passed the bat in the sixth. State sent 10 hitters to the plate in that frame. Abigail Stevens, Morgan Stiles, Kinley Keller, Des Rivera and Paige Ernstes all drove in a run.
"I think it was just, you know, the process of the game and learning from earlier at bats and from each other," head coach Samantha Ricketts said. "I think understanding team at-bats, and it's when they're trying to not get too big. We'll take a sac fly. We'll take a double and everyone was just kind of doing their job and understanding their role. I thought they did a really good job of that, whether it was the hitters in the lineup at the start or the ones coming in late in the game. There were a lot of opportunities out there, and they're very mature in their at-bats and approaches, which is always good to see."
In the circle, Leila Ammon picked up her fourth victory while striking out five in 4.1 innings. Alyssa Faircloth struck out all three hitters she faced on just 10 pitches, and Delainey Everett made her season debut in the final frame.
"It was really good to get both Z and Delainey back today. They've been working hard to get back in it, and we're going to continue to ease them back in. We know they're a big part of our team in the long run, so I'm excited for both of them. They just continue to embrace their roles, and we'll get them in as much as we can the next few weeks."
Samantha Ricketts on Morgan Bernardini's team-leading RBI production…
"Mo B is she's just so consistent. Year-in and year-out, she does a great job understanding the situation, knowing what the pitchers are going to do to attack her, what they want to do, and what her goal needs to be to have a team at-bat to pick up RBIs. She's very mature, very collected, doesn't get too big, and I think that's a huge part of why she picks up the RBIs. She does it by not swinging for the fence, and just understanding that a ground ball to the right side will work or a sacrifice fly will work, whatever it'll take."
Nadia Barbary – Extended her errorless streak to a career-long 60 chances dating back to last season.
Morgan Bernardini – Drove in a run with her first career triple … extended her hitting streak to a season-long five games and her reached-base streak to seven … added a sacrifice fly as well for her team-leading fifth multi-RBI game of the year.
Alyssa Faircloth – Struck out all three batters she faced on just 10 pitches.
Abby Grace Richardson – Hit an inside-the-park home run in the fourth inning.
Des Rivera – Has hit safely in four straight games … finished with her fourth multi-hit game of the year.
Kiarra Sells – Matched her season-long hitting streak at five games … recorded her team-leading seventh multi-hit game … stole her team-leading sixth base of the year.
Tatum Silva – Has a hit in three straight games … recorded the first outfield assist of her MSU career.
Morgan Stiles - Has reached to open the MSU half of the first inning in 13 of 17 games … walked and singled today … has reached safely in all but one games this year … ran her hitting streak to four games.
Des Rivera led off with a single up the middle and scored on Morgan Bernardini's triple to right-center field. With two outs, Tatum Silva drove in Bernardini with a single up the middle.
No. 12 Mississippi State 2, Wofford 0
Top 4
With one out, Abby Grace Richardson hit an inside-the-park home run to the right-center gap.
No. 12 Mississippi State 3, Wofford 0
Bottom 4
Rivers Sampson beat out an infield single to second base. She scored on Kalli Petty's one-out double to left-center field.
No. 12 Mississippi State 3, Wofford 1
Top 5
Sells singled to short and advanced to second on a passed ball before Anna Carder walked. Kinley Keller pinch ran for Carder at first. Rivera bunted the runners to second and third, and Bernardini scored Sells with a sacrifice fly to right field.
No. 12 Mississippi State 4, Wofford 1
Top 6
Gabby Schaeffer was hit by a pitch and scored on Abigail Stevens' pinch-hit double. Silva re-entered to run at second. She scored when the shortstop failed to handle Morgan Stiles' ground ball up the middle. Nadia Barbary singled into left field, and Stiles moved to second. Kiarra Sells dropped a single on the right field foul line to load the bases. Kinley Keller drove in Stiles with a sacrifice fly to center, and Rivera scored Barbary with a single to left. Kiarra Sells and Rivera stole second and third before Kalani Sells walked to reload the bases. Paige Ernstes battled through 13 pitches to draw an RBI walk, scoring Kiarra Sells.
No. 12 Mississippi State 9, Wofford 1
For more information on the Bulldog softball program, follow on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook and Instagram by searching "HailStateSB."
The Bulldogs (16-1) got on the board in the second inning with an RBI triple from Morgan Bernardini, who then scored on a single from Tatum Silva. Abby Grace Richardson raced to an inside-the-park home run in the fourth to extend the lead before Wofford scored its lone run in the bottom of the fourth.
Bernardini plated another in the fifth with a sacrifice fly before the Bulldogs passed the bat in the sixth. State sent 10 hitters to the plate in that frame. Abigail Stevens, Morgan Stiles, Kinley Keller, Des Rivera and Paige Ernstes all drove in a run.
"I think it was just, you know, the process of the game and learning from earlier at bats and from each other," head coach Samantha Ricketts said. "I think understanding team at-bats, and it's when they're trying to not get too big. We'll take a sac fly. We'll take a double and everyone was just kind of doing their job and understanding their role. I thought they did a really good job of that, whether it was the hitters in the lineup at the start or the ones coming in late in the game. There were a lot of opportunities out there, and they're very mature in their at-bats and approaches, which is always good to see."
In the circle, Leila Ammon picked up her fourth victory while striking out five in 4.1 innings. Alyssa Faircloth struck out all three hitters she faced on just 10 pitches, and Delainey Everett made her season debut in the final frame.
Quotables
Samantha Ricketts on Delainey Everett and Xiane Romero returning from injury…"It was really good to get both Z and Delainey back today. They've been working hard to get back in it, and we're going to continue to ease them back in. We know they're a big part of our team in the long run, so I'm excited for both of them. They just continue to embrace their roles, and we'll get them in as much as we can the next few weeks."
Samantha Ricketts on Morgan Bernardini's team-leading RBI production…
"Mo B is she's just so consistent. Year-in and year-out, she does a great job understanding the situation, knowing what the pitchers are going to do to attack her, what they want to do, and what her goal needs to be to have a team at-bat to pick up RBIs. She's very mature, very collected, doesn't get too big, and I think that's a huge part of why she picks up the RBIs. She does it by not swinging for the fence, and just understanding that a ground ball to the right side will work or a sacrifice fly will work, whatever it'll take."
Quick Hitters
Leila Ammon – Earned her fourth win of the season … struck out five over 4.1 innings with just one run allowed.Nadia Barbary – Extended her errorless streak to a career-long 60 chances dating back to last season.
Morgan Bernardini – Drove in a run with her first career triple … extended her hitting streak to a season-long five games and her reached-base streak to seven … added a sacrifice fly as well for her team-leading fifth multi-RBI game of the year.
Alyssa Faircloth – Struck out all three batters she faced on just 10 pitches.
Abby Grace Richardson – Hit an inside-the-park home run in the fourth inning.
Des Rivera – Has hit safely in four straight games … finished with her fourth multi-hit game of the year.
Kiarra Sells – Matched her season-long hitting streak at five games … recorded her team-leading seventh multi-hit game … stole her team-leading sixth base of the year.
Tatum Silva – Has a hit in three straight games … recorded the first outfield assist of her MSU career.
Morgan Stiles - Has reached to open the MSU half of the first inning in 13 of 17 games … walked and singled today … has reached safely in all but one games this year … ran her hitting streak to four games.
Scoring Recap
Top 2Des Rivera led off with a single up the middle and scored on Morgan Bernardini's triple to right-center field. With two outs, Tatum Silva drove in Bernardini with a single up the middle.
No. 12 Mississippi State 2, Wofford 0
Top 4
With one out, Abby Grace Richardson hit an inside-the-park home run to the right-center gap.
No. 12 Mississippi State 3, Wofford 0
Bottom 4
Rivers Sampson beat out an infield single to second base. She scored on Kalli Petty's one-out double to left-center field.
No. 12 Mississippi State 3, Wofford 1
Top 5
Sells singled to short and advanced to second on a passed ball before Anna Carder walked. Kinley Keller pinch ran for Carder at first. Rivera bunted the runners to second and third, and Bernardini scored Sells with a sacrifice fly to right field.
No. 12 Mississippi State 4, Wofford 1
Top 6
Gabby Schaeffer was hit by a pitch and scored on Abigail Stevens' pinch-hit double. Silva re-entered to run at second. She scored when the shortstop failed to handle Morgan Stiles' ground ball up the middle. Nadia Barbary singled into left field, and Stiles moved to second. Kiarra Sells dropped a single on the right field foul line to load the bases. Kinley Keller drove in Stiles with a sacrifice fly to center, and Rivera scored Barbary with a single to left. Kiarra Sells and Rivera stole second and third before Kalani Sells walked to reload the bases. Paige Ernstes battled through 13 pitches to draw an RBI walk, scoring Kiarra Sells.
No. 12 Mississippi State 9, Wofford 1
Next Up
The Bulldogs continue the Tiger Invitational with two games on Saturday. State plays Georgia Southern at 11:30 a.m. CT and Clemson at 2 p.m. The game against Clemson will be available on ACC Network Extra.For more information on the Bulldog softball program, follow on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook and Instagram by searching "HailStateSB."
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Ammon, Leila (4-0)
L: Margaret Axelson (4-1)
Batting:
2B: Stevens, Abigail 1
3B: Bernardini, Morgan 1
HR: Richardson, Abby Grace 1
RBI: Stiles, Morgan 1 ; Keller, Kinley 1 ; Rivera, Des 1 ; Bernardini, Morgan 2 ; Richardson, Abby Grace 1 ; Ernstes, Paige 1 ; Silva, Tatum 1 ; Stevens, Abigail 1
SH: Rivera, Des 1
SF: Keller, Kinley 1 ; Bernardini, Morgan 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Stiles, Morgan 1 ; Barbary, Nadia 1 ; Sells, Kiarra 2 ; Rivera, Des 1 ; Bernardini, Morgan 1 ; Richardson, Abby Grace 1 ; Schaeffer, Gabby 1 ; Silva, Tatum 1
SB: Sells, Kiarra 2 ; Rivera, Des 1 ; Schaeffer, Gabby 1
HBP: Schaeffer, Gabby 1
Batting:
2B: Kate Platte 1 ; Kalli Petty 1
RBI: Kalli Petty 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Rivers Sampson 1
Game Leaders
rf/dp
AB
4
R
2
H
3
RBI
0
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
AB
2
R
1
H
1
RBI
1
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
P
/ SoftballINF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
C
/ Softball
C/INF
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
UTL
/ SoftballC
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
OF
/ SoftballOF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
P
/ SoftballINF
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SOFTBALL | Highlights vs. Belmont
Saturday, February 21