Friday, May 15
Eugene, Ore.
6:30 p.m.
Mississippi State
39-18
3
vs
2
Saint Mary's (CA)
40-15
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | Runs R | Hits H | Errors E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saint Mary's (CA) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 3 |
| Mississippi State | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 |
Photo by: Mississippi State Athletics
Barbary’s Bat Brings Bulldogs Extra-Inning Victory
May 15, 2026 | Softball
EUGENE, Ore. – It was a late night for fans back home, but No. 20 Mississippi State rallied back to win its opener in the Eugene Regional in walk-off fashion, 3-2, in extra innings against Saint Mary's.
After giving up two runs in the first inning, MSU (39-18) was able to rally back to tie the game in the fifth before walking it off in the eighth. Nadia Barbary provided the first and last runs for State with career hits No. 200 and 201.
"I'm just really proud of our fight and staying in it after getting down early there," head coach Samantha Ricketts said. "I thought the energy in our dugout and the focus were very much like, 'Hey, we've got your back, Peja [Goold].' She just really settled in, and I thought she went right at the hitters. I love that she kept us in the game and gave us a chance to scratch and claw to find a way to get back on the board. I think, overall, just a team effort. Nadia, obviously, with a couple of big hits for us there, but finding ways to make some big plays, get runners on base, so that we could continue to fight. I knew that we were going to find a way to come through there at the end, if we continued to just throw up some zeros."
In a pitching duel, the Bulldogs' pair of aces, Peja Goold and Alyssa Faircloth, combined for 11 strikeouts. Goold fanned nine over 6.1 innings, only the only runs on a home run in the first. Faircloth entered the game late, striking out two before getting the Bulldogs out of a two-out, two-on jam in the top of the eighth.
Barbary got the Bulldogs on the board with a solo homer in the fourth. The Gaels' (40-15) miscues helped out the rest of the way. MSU tied the game on a ground ball through the shortstop's legs that allowed Kinley Keller to score from first. Barbary then singled to right in the eighth, and the ball got past the right fielder, allowing Gabby Schaeffer to score from first.
"I think it was a full team win. Peja [Goold] held it down, and then Alyssa came in and did what she always does. She actually came into the game, and she said, 'I'm going right, right at them, so be ready for defense and to kill the ball.' Her mindset with that is amazing to me. And then offensively, we were just sticking to the plan, getting off our best swings, and eventually they'll fall."
Gabby Schaeffer on the extra-innings rally…
"I think the timely hitting was very much needed. I thought we brought the energy from the bench very well. Honestly, everybody as a team effort really put their heart out on the field today. I think it just raised the confidence for us going into tomorrow."
Nadia Barbary on how it feels to reach 200 career hits…
"I honestly didn't know until like 20 minutes ago. I just think it's cool. It's awesome, and I'm glad that I was able to hit my 200th here at State."
Milestone Win – With the win, State matched its highest single-season win total under Samantha Ricketts (39) … State can record its third 40-win season in program history tomorrow and first since 2008.
Nadia Barbary – Became the 13th Bulldog with 200 career hits at MSU … hit a solo homer for No. 200 … became ninth MSU player with multiple career homers in the NCAA Tournament … singled to bring home the game-winning run … now tied for the team lead with 14 multi-hit games.
Paige Ernstes – Brought in the tying run in the bottom of the fifth with the help of a fielding error.
Peja Goold – Moved into eighth in MSU single-season history in strikeouts (178) … struck out nine in 6.1 innings … did not allow a hit over her final 4.0 innings.
Kinley Keller – Drew a walk to reach base in every game of the 2026 postseason … now 3-for-6 in the postseason with two doubles and two walks.
Camille Lara walked to open the ballgame and scored on Sam Buckley's one-out homer.
Saint Mary's 2, No. 20 Mississippi State 0
Bottom 4
Nadia Barbary hit a two-out solo home run to left field.
Saint Mary's 2, No. 20 Mississippi State 1
Bottom 5
Kinley Keller led off the inning with a walk. With one out, Paige Ernstes hit a ball through the shortstop's legs, allowing her to reach third and Keller to score on the error.
Saint Mary's 2, No. 20 Mississippi State 2
Bottom 8
With one out, Morgan Stiles singled, and Gabby Schaeffer entered the game as a pinch runner. With one out, Barbary singled to right, but the ball got past the outfielder and Schaeffer scored from first.
Saint Mary's 2, No. 20 Mississippi State 3
With a win on Saturday, State will advance to Sunday's regional final. If the Bulldogs lose, they will remain in action in Game 5 at approximately 9 p.m.
For more information on the Bulldog softball program, follow on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook and Instagram by searching "HailStateSB."
After giving up two runs in the first inning, MSU (39-18) was able to rally back to tie the game in the fifth before walking it off in the eighth. Nadia Barbary provided the first and last runs for State with career hits No. 200 and 201.
"I'm just really proud of our fight and staying in it after getting down early there," head coach Samantha Ricketts said. "I thought the energy in our dugout and the focus were very much like, 'Hey, we've got your back, Peja [Goold].' She just really settled in, and I thought she went right at the hitters. I love that she kept us in the game and gave us a chance to scratch and claw to find a way to get back on the board. I think, overall, just a team effort. Nadia, obviously, with a couple of big hits for us there, but finding ways to make some big plays, get runners on base, so that we could continue to fight. I knew that we were going to find a way to come through there at the end, if we continued to just throw up some zeros."
In a pitching duel, the Bulldogs' pair of aces, Peja Goold and Alyssa Faircloth, combined for 11 strikeouts. Goold fanned nine over 6.1 innings, only the only runs on a home run in the first. Faircloth entered the game late, striking out two before getting the Bulldogs out of a two-out, two-on jam in the top of the eighth.
Barbary got the Bulldogs on the board with a solo homer in the fourth. The Gaels' (40-15) miscues helped out the rest of the way. MSU tied the game on a ground ball through the shortstop's legs that allowed Kinley Keller to score from first. Barbary then singled to right in the eighth, and the ball got past the right fielder, allowing Gabby Schaeffer to score from first.
Quotables
Nadia Barbary on Alyssa Faircloth's performance out of the bullpen… "I think it was a full team win. Peja [Goold] held it down, and then Alyssa came in and did what she always does. She actually came into the game, and she said, 'I'm going right, right at them, so be ready for defense and to kill the ball.' Her mindset with that is amazing to me. And then offensively, we were just sticking to the plan, getting off our best swings, and eventually they'll fall."
Gabby Schaeffer on the extra-innings rally…
"I think the timely hitting was very much needed. I thought we brought the energy from the bench very well. Honestly, everybody as a team effort really put their heart out on the field today. I think it just raised the confidence for us going into tomorrow."
Nadia Barbary on how it feels to reach 200 career hits…
"I honestly didn't know until like 20 minutes ago. I just think it's cool. It's awesome, and I'm glad that I was able to hit my 200th here at State."
Quick Hitters
Late Night Dawgs – Tonight's win marked the second extra-inning win in the NCAA Tournament in program history and first since a 2-1 win against Iowa in eight innings in 2004 … the last time State was in Eugene for the postseason in 2012 the Bulldogs also went to nine innings against BYU … MSU is 2-2 all-time in extra innings.Milestone Win – With the win, State matched its highest single-season win total under Samantha Ricketts (39) … State can record its third 40-win season in program history tomorrow and first since 2008.
Nadia Barbary – Became the 13th Bulldog with 200 career hits at MSU … hit a solo homer for No. 200 … became ninth MSU player with multiple career homers in the NCAA Tournament … singled to bring home the game-winning run … now tied for the team lead with 14 multi-hit games.
Paige Ernstes – Brought in the tying run in the bottom of the fifth with the help of a fielding error.
Peja Goold – Moved into eighth in MSU single-season history in strikeouts (178) … struck out nine in 6.1 innings … did not allow a hit over her final 4.0 innings.
Kinley Keller – Drew a walk to reach base in every game of the 2026 postseason … now 3-for-6 in the postseason with two doubles and two walks.
Scoring Recap
Top 1Camille Lara walked to open the ballgame and scored on Sam Buckley's one-out homer.
Saint Mary's 2, No. 20 Mississippi State 0
Bottom 4
Nadia Barbary hit a two-out solo home run to left field.
Saint Mary's 2, No. 20 Mississippi State 1
Bottom 5
Kinley Keller led off the inning with a walk. With one out, Paige Ernstes hit a ball through the shortstop's legs, allowing her to reach third and Keller to score on the error.
Saint Mary's 2, No. 20 Mississippi State 2
Bottom 8
With one out, Morgan Stiles singled, and Gabby Schaeffer entered the game as a pinch runner. With one out, Barbary singled to right, but the ball got past the outfielder and Schaeffer scored from first.
Saint Mary's 2, No. 20 Mississippi State 3
Next Up
MSU will play the winner of tonight's game between No. 12 Oregon and Idaho State in the winner's bracket game on Saturday. First pitch of Game 3 of the regional is set for 4 p.m. CT.With a win on Saturday, State will advance to Sunday's regional final. If the Bulldogs lose, they will remain in action in Game 5 at approximately 9 p.m.
For more information on the Bulldog softball program, follow on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook and Instagram by searching "HailStateSB."
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Faircloth, Alyssa (14-7)
L: Vasquez, Odhi (19-5)
Batting:
HR: Buckley, Sam 1
RBI: Buckley, Sam 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Lara, Camille 1 ; Buckley, Sam 1
SB: Cutonilli, Alex 1
HBP: Ferguson, Hannah 1 ; De La Rosa, Andrea 1
Batting:
HR: Barbary, Nadia 1
RBI: Barbary, Nadia 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Schaeffer, Gabby 1 ; Barbary, Nadia 1 ; Keller, Kinley 1
HBP: Richardson, Abby Grace 1
Game Leaders
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
lf/dp
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
0
R
1
H
0
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
INF
/ Softball
C/INF
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
OF
/ SoftballINF
/ SoftballINF
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