State Sees Series Finale Slip Away Against No. 20 LSU

Sunday, April 26

Starkville

11 a.m.

Mississippi State

36-15, 8-13

#20 LSU

33-16, 10-11

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

State Sees Series Finale Slip Away Against No. 20 LSU

April 26, 2026 | Softball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Press Conference Postgame Notes

By: Brian Ogden, Director/Communications

STARKVILLE – Looking for its first sweep of the year, No. 17 Mississippi State saw the series finale against No. 20 LSU slip away by a score of 5-3 on Sunday.

LSU (33-16, 10-11 SEC) opened the scoring on a two-run homer in the first, but Nadia Barbary responded with a two-run shot of her own. The Tigers added a run in the third, but a fourth was thrown out at the plate to end the inning. State (36-15, 8-13 SEC) pulled even again in the fifth on an RBI ground out from Kinley Keller.

The Tigers would take the lead for good on a two-run homer in the top of the sixth.

"I think we saw a lot of good things, a lot that we'd really been intentional about the last few weeks at practice and hasn't turned out our way in the games," head coach Samantha Ricketts said. "I think if we can continue to commit to staying hungry and attacking the way we do each and every day, we're going to continue to see a lot of good things happen for this program. I think we're definitely on the right track. We have a lot of faith in our pitching staff, what we've got in the circle, and our offense. We have to stay hungry. You can't get complacent. We can't just settle after two wins. We want three. Credit to them, they're a great team and they're going to take advantage when we have some mistakes out there, and it's always going to be a battle in this conference."

Paige Ernstes and Xiane Romero put together solid series for State. Romero was 4-for-8 with a home run, and Ernstes was 4-for-9 with a pair of long balls on the weekend. Gretta Grassel delivered two hits as a pinch hitter in the series that provided the winning runs on Friday and would ultimately lead to the tying run on Sunday.

Quotables

Head coach Samantha Ricketts on her pitching staff...
"I think the second time going through a lineup like that, you knew it was going to be a staff day and just trying to minimize as best we can. A couple mistakes here and there hurt us, but our pitchers have carried us all season long. I thought the offense did a really good job in the first inning, telling Alyssa [Faircloth] that we're going to have her back and answering right back. That's exactly what we want. We want to be able to compete as a team and stay together, knowing it's going to take all of us. It can't just be the pitchers or one part of the lineup. A lot of good things up and down the lineup and just a lot of people continuing to work hard for opportunities this weekend. I'm looking forward to seeing how we come back and bounce back next weekend at Ole Miss."

Nadia Barbary on her home run...
"After Friday night when I hit the top of the wall, I was not too confident that the ball was going over. So I played it safe. We're just keeping everything within ourselves, knowing we are good and we are going to hit the ball. It's great to win the series."

Quick Hitters

Nadia Barbary – Hit a two-run homer … set a new single-season career high in home runs at 12 … now seventh in MSU career history with 31 home runs … leads the team in RBIs (36).

Morgan Bernardini – Recorded her third career outfield assist, throwing out a runner at the plate … stands as the 12th time this year that MSU has thrown out a runner at the plate.

Paige Ernstes – Had a hit in every game of the series … went 4-for-9 (.444) with two home runs and six RBIs … now on a career-long three-game hitting streak.

Gretta Grassel – Doubled off the bench … it was her second successful pinch-hitting appearance of the series, both off Paytn Monticelli, who she played with in high school in Wisconsin.

Xiane Romero – Went 2-for-3 and scored … hit .500 (4-for-8) in the series with a homer and three runs scored … posted her third multi-hit game of the year and second in a row.

Morgan Stiles – Extended her hitting streak to four games with a double in her first at-bat.

Scoring Recap

Top 1
With one out, Sierra Daniel walked. Kylee Edwards hit a two-run homer to left center.
No. 20 LSU 2, No. 17 Mississippi State 0

Bottom 1
Morgan Stiles led off with a double down the right field line. Nadia Barbary hit a two-run home run to center field on the next pitch.
No. 20 LSU 2, No. 17 Mississippi State 2

Top 3
With one out, Jalia Lassiter singled up the middle. Daniel singled through the right side, advancing Lassiter to second. Both runners advanced on a wild pitch. With two outs, Alix Franklin singled to left, scoring Lassiter, but Daniel was thrown out at home.
No. 20 LSU 3, No. 17 Mississippi State 2

Bottom 5
Xiane Romero led off with a single up the middle. Gretta Grassel delivered a pinch-hit double to left center, advancing Romero to third. Taylor Troutman walked to load the bases, and Ally Supan came in to pinch run at first. Kinley Keller scored Romero with a ground out to second base.
No. 20 LSU 3, No. 17 Mississippi State 3

Top 6
Kylee Edwards beat out an infield single to shortstop to open the inning. Franklin bunted her to second before Tori Edwards hit a two-run home run to center field.
No. 20 LSU 5, No. 17 Mississippi State 3

Next Up

The Bulldogs will close the regular season at Ole Miss next weekend. The series begins on Thursday, April 30 at 6 p.m. CT. Friday night's game is also at 6 p.m. with the series finale televised nationally on SEC Network at 2 p.m. on Sunday.

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