Faircloth Shuts Down Streaking Tigers As State Downs No. 20 LSU

Friday, April 24

Starkville

5 p.m.

Mississippi State

35-14, 7-12

#20 LSU

32-15, 9-10

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
LSU	0	0	1	0	0	0	2	3	5	2
Mississippi State	0	0	3	0	0	2	X	5	6	0

Faircloth Shuts Down Streaking Tigers As State Downs No. 20 LSU

April 24, 2026 | Softball

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By: Brian Ogden, Director/Communications

STARKVILLE – Alyssa Faircloth snapped No. 20 LSU's four-game winning streak on Friday night with an 11-strikeout performance as No. 17 Mississippi State won, 5-3.

Paige Ernstes provided the offense for State (35-14, 7-12 SEC) with a three-run homer in the third inning. The rally began with a two-out double from Nadia Barbary, and Kiarra Sells drew a walk before Ernstes left the yard. In the sixth, Gretta Grassel delivered a pinch-hit single to plate a run, and Xiane Romero raced home when the Tigers made a pair of errors on the play.

The Bulldogs' last 14 runs of the season have all been scored with two outs.

"Alyssa, she was competing. She was doing everything she could to give us a chance," head coach Samantha Ricketts said. "I love her fire, the way that she continues to go out there and just, you know, make big pitches in big moments for us."

LSU (32-15, 9-10 SEC) opened the scoring in the top of the third with a runner scoring from first on a double. The play at the plate was close enough to be reviewed, but the call was confirmed. After that point, Faircloth struck out six batters over her final 4.1 innings. The Tigers added a run with two outs in the top of the seventh on a wild pitch.

Leila Ammon entered at that point with the bases loaded and two outs. She walked in one runner but held on to earn her first save of the year and the second of her career. After entering the year with just one career double-digit strikeout performance, Faircloth has now reached at least 10 strikeouts seven times in 2026.

Quotables

Gretta Grassel on her sixth-inning RBI…
"Before the game, [head coach Samantha] Ricketts said, 'Be ready for Paytn [Monticelli]. You guys are a really good matchup.' Paytn and I are both from Wisconsin, so I know her. We played summer ball together. I knew what I was getting and that I wanted to attack right away, so that's what I did. I've been ready all week, so when my name was called I was just ready to go out there."

Samantha Ricketts on Paige Ernstes' home run…
"We have a lot of trust in Paige and feel like she's had some hard luck on some well-hit balls, especially the last few weeks. She's a mature hitter. She comes through, and we trusted her in that moment. She just put a great swing on it to get us going there early."

Samantha Ricketts on Gretta Grassel…
"I'm just so happy for Gretta. She works so hard. She gives us everything she's got every single day, and she's really just been showing out at practice. She earned the opportunity, and she was ready for it. I love that she had her moment, and that's exactly what we need in those situations to just extend the lead and give us a little bit of a cushion. She's just one of the hardest working and best teammates you're ever going to see, and I'm just really proud of her there."

Quick Hitters

The Magic Number – The Bulldogs have scored five or more runs in 103 of State's 135 wins (76.3 percent) since 2023, and they are 173-21 under Samantha Ricketts when scoring at least five.

Nadia Barbary – Doubled for the 10th time this season … has reached double-digit doubles in three straight years … her 22 career doubles in SEC play rank fifth in MSU's conference-only record book.

Paige Ernstes – Hit a three-run homer … later added a single for her second multi-hit and third multi-RBI game this year

Alyssa Faircloth – Finished with 11 strikeouts tonight … recorded the sixth 200-strikeout season in school history … now fifth on MSU's single-season strikeout leaderboard (206) … has struck out double-digit batters in six games this season … moved into sixth place in MSU's single-season conference-only record book with 80 strikeouts in SEC play.

Gretta Grassel – Delivered a pinch-hit RBI single in the sixth … stands as her second career hit and second career RBI.

Kiarra Sells – Extended her reached-base streak to a career-long 18 games … has been hit by a pitch or drawn a walk 20 times during the streak … now in solo possession of ninth in MSU career history for hit-by-pitches … also drew a walk for the seventh straight game.

Morgan Stiles – Hit her eighth double of the year and is now tied for third on the team.

Scoring Recap

Top 3
Avery Hodge drew a leadoff walk. With one out, Jalia Lassiter doubled to left, scoring Hodge from first.
No. 20 LSU 1, No. 17 Mississippi State 0

Bottom 3
With two outs, Nadia Barbary doubled to center field. Kiarra Sells drew a four-pitch walk before Paige Ernstes homered to left-center field.
No. 20 LSU 1, No. 17 Mississippi State 3

Bottom 6
Paige Ernstes led off by beating out a single to shortstop, and Abby Grace Richardson entered to pinch run. Xiane Romero drew a walk. With two outs, Gretta Grassel singled past the third baseman to score Richardson. The left fielder bobbled the ball, allowing Romero to take third. The shortstop then attempted to throw out Grassel advancing to second, and the throw sailed into right field allowing Romero to score.
No. 20 LSU 1, No. 17 Mississippi State 5

Top 7
Avery Hodge singled to right field, Ally Hutchins followed with double to left center. With two outs, Kylee Edwards walked on a wild pitch, allowing Hodge to score. Alix Franklin walked to load the bases, and Tori Edwards walked, scoring Hutchins.
No. 20 LSU 3, No. 17 Mississippi State 5

Next Up

The Bulldogs and Tigers continue the series at 2 p.m. CT on Saturday. Senior Day ceremonies will begin approximately 20 minutes prior to first pitch. The game will air on SEC Network+.

For more information on the Bulldog softball program, follow on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook and Instagram by searching "HailStateSB."