Sunday, March 22
Athens, Ga.
1 p.m.
Mississippi State
29-6, 2-4
4
at
7
#15 Georgia
23-8, 3-3
1st innning1
2nd innning2
3rd innning3
4th innning4
5th innning5
6th innning6
7th innning7
RunsR
HitsH
ErrorsE
Mississippi State
0
0
0
0
3
0
1
4
5
1
Georgia
3
0
4
0
0
0
X
7
9
1
Bulldogs’ Comeback Bid Falls Short In Athens
March 22, 2026 | Softball
ATHENS, Ga. – A seven-run deficit proved to be too much for No. 11 Mississippi State to overcome on Sunday in Athens as the Bulldogs fell, 7-4, at No. 15 Georgia.
Georgia (23-8, 3-3 SEC) opened the scoring with a three-spot in the first before adding four more runs in the third. State (29-6, 2-4 SEC) rallied for three runs in the fifth and shut the home Bulldogs out the rest of the way, but MSU could not catch up.
"If we learn one lesson from this weekend, it's showing some fight and battling back and knowing that you have to be ready to do that every inning in this conference," head coach Samantha Ricketts said. "It was good to show some fight late, but you know we shouldn't have been in that situation to begin with."
Taylor Troutman did most of the damage for State. She collected two hits and three RBIs along with a double. Nadia Barbary also had a multi-hit day while adding a double. Morgan Stiles drew a walk to extend her reached-base streak to six games, and Kiarra Sells walked three times.
Sunday marked the first time this season that MSU had trailed by more than three runs at any point. The seven runs allowed were the most by the Bulldog bullpen in 2026.
"Alyssa's confident. She's doing well. She wants the ball, and that's what you want from your pitchers. We've got a really strong pitching staff, and it's good to see her anchor us this weekend but it can be any of them at any given time. You know, I think hopefully we can learn some lessons from this weekend. That's a really good offense over there. I think Alyssa should feel good about her performance and we've just got to learn to do some of these little things a little bit better and clean them up before out next midweek and next SEC series we've got coming up."
Samantha Ricketts on Taylor Troutman at the plate…
"We knew Taylor was a good matchup. She has been seeing it well, and it provides a different look to protect the top of the order. She's got a bright future, and she's just getting better and learning every single weekend."
Anna Carder – Singled in a pinch hitting appearance … now .500 as a pinch hitter this season.
Alyssa Faircloth – Struck out four in 2.0 innings of work.
Des Rivera – Tied the MSU single-season record with her fifth sacrifice fly of the year … five sacrifice flies would rank fourth nationally entering play on Sunday.
Kiarra Sells – Drew a career-high-tying three walks.
Morgan Stiles – Has reached base in six straight games … drove in three of State's nine runs in the series.
Taylor Troutman – Drove in three runs and collected two hits … doubled in the second … now has three multi-hit and three multi-RBI games … leads MSU in RBIs in SEC play.
Keirstin Roose led off with a bunt single. She advanced to third on Jaydyn Goodwin's single down the right field line. Goodwin stole second, and Roose scored when the throw to second carried into center field. Sarah Gordon struck out looking, but she reached safely as the ball got away from the catcher. That also allowed Goodwin to take third. Tyler Ellison singled into left field, scoring Goodwin. Gordon scored on Marisa Miller's double down the left field line, but Ellison was thrown out at the plate and Miller was caught in a rundown between second and third.
No. 11 Mississippi State 0, No. 15 Georgia 3
Bottom 3
Roose singled to left field, and Goodwin walked. Gordon singled past the diving second baseman, scoring Roose and pushing Goodwin to third. Ellison walked to load the bases. Miller singled home Goodwin, and Gabi Novickas singled home Gordon. Pinch hitter Natalie Ray reached on a fielder's choice that saw Ellison thrown out at home, but Mitchell later scored from third on Emily Digby's sacrifice fly to center.
No. 11 Mississippi State 0, No. 15 Georgia 7
Top 5
With one out, Morgan Stiles walked, Nadia Barbary singled and Kiarra Sells walked to load the bases. Des Rivera brought home Stiles with a sacrifice fly to right field in foul ground. Barbary and Sells advanced on the play. Taylor Troutman hit a sharp one-hopper that the shortstop lost behind Sells for a base hit that scored both runners.
No. 11 Mississippi State 3, No. 15 Georgia 7
Top 7
Barbary led off with a double to left-center field. Sells walked, and both runners advanced on Rivera's ground out to second. Barbary scored on Troutman's ground out to second.
No. 11 Mississippi State 4, No. 15 Georgia 7
MSU then prepares for its annual Monday night series, hosting No. 21/24 South Carolina on March 28-30 with Sunday and Monday night's games airing nationally on SEC Network.
For more information on the Bulldog softball program, follow on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook and Instagram by searching "HailStateSB."
Georgia (23-8, 3-3 SEC) opened the scoring with a three-spot in the first before adding four more runs in the third. State (29-6, 2-4 SEC) rallied for three runs in the fifth and shut the home Bulldogs out the rest of the way, but MSU could not catch up.
"If we learn one lesson from this weekend, it's showing some fight and battling back and knowing that you have to be ready to do that every inning in this conference," head coach Samantha Ricketts said. "It was good to show some fight late, but you know we shouldn't have been in that situation to begin with."
Taylor Troutman did most of the damage for State. She collected two hits and three RBIs along with a double. Nadia Barbary also had a multi-hit day while adding a double. Morgan Stiles drew a walk to extend her reached-base streak to six games, and Kiarra Sells walked three times.
Sunday marked the first time this season that MSU had trailed by more than three runs at any point. The seven runs allowed were the most by the Bulldog bullpen in 2026.
Quotables
Samantha Ricketts on Alyssa Faircloth's weekend..."Alyssa's confident. She's doing well. She wants the ball, and that's what you want from your pitchers. We've got a really strong pitching staff, and it's good to see her anchor us this weekend but it can be any of them at any given time. You know, I think hopefully we can learn some lessons from this weekend. That's a really good offense over there. I think Alyssa should feel good about her performance and we've just got to learn to do some of these little things a little bit better and clean them up before out next midweek and next SEC series we've got coming up."
Samantha Ricketts on Taylor Troutman at the plate…
"We knew Taylor was a good matchup. She has been seeing it well, and it provides a different look to protect the top of the order. She's got a bright future, and she's just getting better and learning every single weekend."
Quick Hitters
Nadia Barbary – Reached base three times with two hits and a walk … added her 42nd career double … sixth in MSU career history with 20 doubles in conference play … also scored.Anna Carder – Singled in a pinch hitting appearance … now .500 as a pinch hitter this season.
Alyssa Faircloth – Struck out four in 2.0 innings of work.
Des Rivera – Tied the MSU single-season record with her fifth sacrifice fly of the year … five sacrifice flies would rank fourth nationally entering play on Sunday.
Kiarra Sells – Drew a career-high-tying three walks.
Morgan Stiles – Has reached base in six straight games … drove in three of State's nine runs in the series.
Taylor Troutman – Drove in three runs and collected two hits … doubled in the second … now has three multi-hit and three multi-RBI games … leads MSU in RBIs in SEC play.
Scoring Recap
Bottom 1Keirstin Roose led off with a bunt single. She advanced to third on Jaydyn Goodwin's single down the right field line. Goodwin stole second, and Roose scored when the throw to second carried into center field. Sarah Gordon struck out looking, but she reached safely as the ball got away from the catcher. That also allowed Goodwin to take third. Tyler Ellison singled into left field, scoring Goodwin. Gordon scored on Marisa Miller's double down the left field line, but Ellison was thrown out at the plate and Miller was caught in a rundown between second and third.
No. 11 Mississippi State 0, No. 15 Georgia 3
Bottom 3
Roose singled to left field, and Goodwin walked. Gordon singled past the diving second baseman, scoring Roose and pushing Goodwin to third. Ellison walked to load the bases. Miller singled home Goodwin, and Gabi Novickas singled home Gordon. Pinch hitter Natalie Ray reached on a fielder's choice that saw Ellison thrown out at home, but Mitchell later scored from third on Emily Digby's sacrifice fly to center.
No. 11 Mississippi State 0, No. 15 Georgia 7
Top 5
With one out, Morgan Stiles walked, Nadia Barbary singled and Kiarra Sells walked to load the bases. Des Rivera brought home Stiles with a sacrifice fly to right field in foul ground. Barbary and Sells advanced on the play. Taylor Troutman hit a sharp one-hopper that the shortstop lost behind Sells for a base hit that scored both runners.
No. 11 Mississippi State 3, No. 15 Georgia 7
Top 7
Barbary led off with a double to left-center field. Sells walked, and both runners advanced on Rivera's ground out to second. Barbary scored on Troutman's ground out to second.
No. 11 Mississippi State 4, No. 15 Georgia 7
Next Up
The Bulldogs return home for their final midweek game of the season on Wednesday, March 25. State will host UT Martin at 6 p.m. CT with the game airing on SEC Network+.MSU then prepares for its annual Monday night series, hosting No. 21/24 South Carolina on March 28-30 with Sunday and Monday night's games airing nationally on SEC Network.
For more information on the Bulldog softball program, follow on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook and Instagram by searching "HailStateSB."
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Roelling, Randi (9-4)
L: Goold, Peja (11-4)
Batting:
2B: Barbary, Nadia 1 ; Troutman, Taylor 1
RBI: Rivera, Des 1 ; Troutman, Taylor 3
SF: Rivera, Des 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Stiles, Morgan 1 ; Barbary, Nadia 2 ; Sells, Kiarra 1
Batting:
2B: Miller, Marisa 1
RBI: Gordon, Sarah 1 ; Ellison, Tyler 1 ; Miller, Marisa 2 ; Novickas, Gabi 1 ; Digby, Emily 1
SF: Digby, Emily 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Roose, Keirstin 2 ; Goodwin, Jaydyn 2 ; Gordon, Sarah 2 ; Mitchell, Mollie 1
SB: Goodwin, Jaydyn 1
Game Leaders
AB
3
R
2
H
2
RBI
0
AB
4
R
0
H
2
RBI
3
AB
1
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
1
H
0
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
INF
/ SoftballC
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
C
/ Softball
OF
/ SoftballINF
/ SoftballINF
/ SoftballSOFTBALL | Postgame Press Conference vs. UAB
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SOFTBALL | Alyssa Faircloth SEC Network Interview
Wednesday, March 18
SOFTBALL | Highlights vs. UAB
Wednesday, March 18
SOFTBALL | Rounding Third: Taylor Troutman
Wednesday, March 18