Saturday, February 28
Clemson, S.C.
11:30 a.m.
Mississippi State
17-1
8
vs
0
Georgia Southern
7-9
1
2
3
4
5
R
H
E
Georgia Southern
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
Mississippi State
0
0
3
4
1
8
8
0
State Splits Saturday At Tiger Invitational, Rematch With No. 25 Clemson Set For Sunday
February 28, 2026 | Softball
CLEMSON, S.C. – No. 12 Mississippi State run-ruled Georgia Southern, 8-0, before falling by a score of 3-0 at No. 25 Clemson on Saturday afternoon.
The Bulldogs (17-2) and Tigers (13-6) will face each other again on Sunday afternoon at 11:30 a.m. CT. That game will air on ACC Network Extra.
"We knew it was going to be a tight game," head coach Samantha Ricketts said. "[Clemson] did a great job coming out and setting the tone early, and I think we needed to make some adjustments earlier and do a better job of finding different ways to get out and not continue to do the same thing over and over each at-bat. I'd like to see a little bit more maturity and better approaches at the plate. Really, the message was, we just need to continue to play Mississippi State softball and do what we do well, no matter who the opponent is."
With their win against the Eagles (7-9), the Bulldogs set a program record for wins in the month of February. State scored three in the third on a Kiarra Sells' home run. Abby Grace Richardson hit a two-run homer in the fourth and picked up another RBI with a double in the fifth. Nadia Barbary provided the remaining runs with a two-run double in the fourth.
Peja Goold went the distance against Georgia Southern, striking out eight while allowing just one hit.
In the second game of the day, Clemson struck first with two runs in the first. A leadoff walk scored on a double to left center. Following a wild pitch, the runner came home on a sacrifice fly. In the fourth, a single off the third base bag got things started, before a hard-hit ball just inside the third base chalk went for an RBI double. The Bulldogs meanwhile went 0-for-9 with runners on base.
"Morgan's steady. She's just consistent. She's competitive. She's hard-working, and she's going to do whatever it takes for the team. And, you know, just, I love her competitiveness, her spirit. You know, she's mad when we lose and when she gets out, and she just wants to do whatever she can for not just herself, but for the Bulldogs."
Samantha Ricketts on Peja Goold's complete game…
"I think Peja was working on a couple things. She kind of got her changeup working again and did a good job mixing, keeping them off balance. It was good to see her out there against a different type of lineup that we haven't really seen with her."
Morgan Bernardini – Extended her hitting streak to a career-long seven games and her reached-base streak to nine … batting 10-for-18 (.556) during the streak.
Peja Goold – Tossed her fourth complete game of the year against Georgia Southern, striking out eight in 5.0 shutout innings … allowed just one hit … has struck out five or more hitters in 31 appearances since the start of last year, going 27-2 in those games.
Abby Grace Richardson – Hit a two-run homer and collected an RBI double against Georgia Southern … stands as her fourth multi-RBI game of the year.
Des Rivera – Has hit safely in six straight games.
Kiarra Sells – Extended her season-long hitting streak to seven games with a home run against Georgia Southern and a double against Clemson … has a double in five of the last seven games … batting .611 (11-for-18) during the streak … drove in three runs against Georgia Southern for her team-leading sixth multi-RBI game of the year … tied for the team lead with seven multi-hit games.
Morgan Stiles - Has reached safely in all but one game this year … ran her hitting streak to six games … collected two hits against Clemson and now tied for the team lead with seven multi-hit games.
Morgan Stiles walked with one out, and Nadia Barbary singled on the next pitch. Kiarra Sells hit a three-run homer to center.
Georgia Southern 0, No. 12 Mississippi State 3
Bottom 4
Morgan Bernardini beat out an infield single to first base to lead off before Abby Grace Richardson hit a two-run homer. Gabby Schaeffer walked, and Tatum Silva bunted her to second. Stiles singled into center, advancing Schaeffer to third. Both runners scored on Barbary's double to the right-center gap.
Georgia Southern 0, No. 12 Mississippi State 7
Bottom 5
Xiane Romero pinch hit and walked to open the inning. She stole second before scoring on Richardson's double.
Georgia Southern 0, No. 12 Mississippi State 8
Jamsion Brockenbrough walked to open the inning and scored on Mac Pavese's double to left center. Pavese took third on a wild pitch and later scored on Julia Knowler's sacrifice fly to left field.
No. 12 Mississippi State 0, No. 25 Clemson 2
Bottom 4
Macey Cintron singled off the third base bag, and Kylee Johnson pinch ran at first. Johnson scored on Sarah Breaux's one-out double just inside the third base line.
No. 12 Mississippi State 0, No. 25 Clemson 3
For more information on the Bulldog softball program, follow on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook and Instagram by searching "HailStateSB."
The Bulldogs (17-2) and Tigers (13-6) will face each other again on Sunday afternoon at 11:30 a.m. CT. That game will air on ACC Network Extra.
"We knew it was going to be a tight game," head coach Samantha Ricketts said. "[Clemson] did a great job coming out and setting the tone early, and I think we needed to make some adjustments earlier and do a better job of finding different ways to get out and not continue to do the same thing over and over each at-bat. I'd like to see a little bit more maturity and better approaches at the plate. Really, the message was, we just need to continue to play Mississippi State softball and do what we do well, no matter who the opponent is."
With their win against the Eagles (7-9), the Bulldogs set a program record for wins in the month of February. State scored three in the third on a Kiarra Sells' home run. Abby Grace Richardson hit a two-run homer in the fourth and picked up another RBI with a double in the fifth. Nadia Barbary provided the remaining runs with a two-run double in the fourth.
Peja Goold went the distance against Georgia Southern, striking out eight while allowing just one hit.
In the second game of the day, Clemson struck first with two runs in the first. A leadoff walk scored on a double to left center. Following a wild pitch, the runner came home on a sacrifice fly. In the fourth, a single off the third base bag got things started, before a hard-hit ball just inside the third base chalk went for an RBI double. The Bulldogs meanwhile went 0-for-9 with runners on base.
Quotables
Samantha Ricketts on Morgan Stiles reaching base in all but one game this year…"Morgan's steady. She's just consistent. She's competitive. She's hard-working, and she's going to do whatever it takes for the team. And, you know, just, I love her competitiveness, her spirit. You know, she's mad when we lose and when she gets out, and she just wants to do whatever she can for not just herself, but for the Bulldogs."
Samantha Ricketts on Peja Goold's complete game…
"I think Peja was working on a couple things. She kind of got her changeup working again and did a good job mixing, keeping them off balance. It was good to see her out there against a different type of lineup that we haven't really seen with her."
Quick Hitters
Having Fun In February – The Bulldogs have broken the school record for wins in the month of February with 17 … the previous mark of 16 wins came in 2020 and 2004.Morgan Bernardini – Extended her hitting streak to a career-long seven games and her reached-base streak to nine … batting 10-for-18 (.556) during the streak.
Peja Goold – Tossed her fourth complete game of the year against Georgia Southern, striking out eight in 5.0 shutout innings … allowed just one hit … has struck out five or more hitters in 31 appearances since the start of last year, going 27-2 in those games.
Abby Grace Richardson – Hit a two-run homer and collected an RBI double against Georgia Southern … stands as her fourth multi-RBI game of the year.
Des Rivera – Has hit safely in six straight games.
Kiarra Sells – Extended her season-long hitting streak to seven games with a home run against Georgia Southern and a double against Clemson … has a double in five of the last seven games … batting .611 (11-for-18) during the streak … drove in three runs against Georgia Southern for her team-leading sixth multi-RBI game of the year … tied for the team lead with seven multi-hit games.
Morgan Stiles - Has reached safely in all but one game this year … ran her hitting streak to six games … collected two hits against Clemson and now tied for the team lead with seven multi-hit games.
Scoring Recap vs. Georgia Southern
Bottom 3Morgan Stiles walked with one out, and Nadia Barbary singled on the next pitch. Kiarra Sells hit a three-run homer to center.
Georgia Southern 0, No. 12 Mississippi State 3
Bottom 4
Morgan Bernardini beat out an infield single to first base to lead off before Abby Grace Richardson hit a two-run homer. Gabby Schaeffer walked, and Tatum Silva bunted her to second. Stiles singled into center, advancing Schaeffer to third. Both runners scored on Barbary's double to the right-center gap.
Georgia Southern 0, No. 12 Mississippi State 7
Bottom 5
Xiane Romero pinch hit and walked to open the inning. She stole second before scoring on Richardson's double.
Georgia Southern 0, No. 12 Mississippi State 8
Scoring Recap at No. 25 Clemson
Bottom 1Jamsion Brockenbrough walked to open the inning and scored on Mac Pavese's double to left center. Pavese took third on a wild pitch and later scored on Julia Knowler's sacrifice fly to left field.
No. 12 Mississippi State 0, No. 25 Clemson 2
Bottom 4
Macey Cintron singled off the third base bag, and Kylee Johnson pinch ran at first. Johnson scored on Sarah Breaux's one-out double just inside the third base line.
No. 12 Mississippi State 0, No. 25 Clemson 3
Next Up
State and Clemson will face each other again in the Tiger Invitational championship game at 11:30 a.m. CT on Sunday. The game will air 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: Maness (6-3)
L: Faircloth, Alyssa (6-1)
Batting:
2B: Sells, Kiarra 1
Batting:
2B: Pavese 1 ; Hicks 1 ; Breaux 1
RBI: Pavese 1 ; Knowler 1 ; Breaux 1
SF: Knowler 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Brockenbrou 1 ; Pavese 1 ; Johnson 1
SB: Channell 1
Game Leaders
AB
3
R
0
H
2
RBI
0
rf/dp
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
lf/dp
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
INF
/ SoftballOF
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
UTL
/ SoftballC
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
INF
/ SoftballOF
/ Softball
OF
/ SoftballINF
/ SoftballSOFTBALL | Rounding Third: Abigail Stevens
Tuesday, February 24
SOFTBALL | Postgame Press Conference - Bulldog Invitational (Day 2)
Saturday, February 21
SOFTBALL | Highlights vs. Delaware State (Game 1)
Saturday, February 21
SOFTBALL | Highlights vs. Belmont
Saturday, February 21