Sunday, February 16
Starkville
1:30 PM
Mississippi State
9-1
4
vs
0
Tennessee State
2-7
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
Tennessee State
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
1
Mississippi State
2
0
0
0
0
2
X
4
7
0
Photo by: Trevor Birchett/MSU Athletics
Softball Wins Second Consecutive Tournament Title
February 16, 2020 | Softball
by Brian Ogden, Assistant Director/Communications
STARKVILLE – On the back of a dozen strikeouts from Emily Williams, Mississippi State softball defeated Tennessee State, 4-0, on Sunday to claim the Bulldog Kickoff Classic title. State has now won two tournaments over the first two weeks of the season.
With a 9-1 record, head coach Samantha Ricketts now boasts the best 10-game start by any head coach in program history.
""It was good to get her [Williams] out there for her first start of the year, try and lengthen her out a little bit, because we know we'll be using her a lot down the stretch," Ricketts said. We mixed up the roles and had Annie [Willis] come in in the save situation just to give them different looks and prepare them for some different things we might do throughout the year. [Williams] threw a great game. Any time they got on, she came right back and got the next one out, and that's really what we're asking for out of the pitching staff."
Williams faced 18 batters, allowing two hits. Annie Willis threw 2.0 shutout innings for the save. The Bulldogs have shutout the opponent in five of their 10 games this year and are averaging 10.0 strikeouts per game as a staff.
Fa Leilua provided a spark with a two-run home run to centerfield in the bottom of the first inning, and the Bulldogs continued to run at will on the base paths. Candace Denis led the way, reaching base in all three plate appearances and stealing three bases. Chloe Malau'ulu also stole a base then raced home from second on an infield single for MSU's third run.
For the tournament, MSU hit. 302, a mark that jumped up to .350 with runners in scoring position. State's leadoff hitters reached base on 45.2 percent of their plate appearances.
The Bulldogs will head out on a long road trip next week, playing six games in Louisiana and California before returning to Starkville. The trip begins Tuesday, Feb. 18 at Southeast Louisiana with first pitch set for 6 p.m. CT.
Mia Davidson – Hit three home runs over the weekend for a .824 slugging percentage.
Candace Denis – Reached base in all three plate appearances and proceeding to steal second all three times … Stole seven bases over the weekend.
Fa Leilua – Posted a .929 slugging percentage with a pair of homers and six RBIs over the tournament.
Chloe Malau'ulu – Stole the first base of her career.
Anna Kate Segars – Recorded her second career multi-hit game, going 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored … Hit .500 over the tournament.
Emily Williams – Struck out 12 of 18 batters faced in her first start of the year … Sat down 20 batters in 8.2 innings of work on the weekend, averaging 16.2 strikeouts per seven innings.
Annie Willis – Recorded her first save of the year on Sunday … Posted a 13.0 strikeout-walk ratio over the tournament.
Candace Denis was hit by a pitch to lead off for MSU. She then stole second before Fa Leilua homered to center field.
Tennessee State 0, Mississippi State 2
Bottom 6
Chloe Malau'ulu walked and stole second base. Anna Kate Segars reached on an infield single, and Malau'ulu raced around the pillows to score on the play. Segars then advanced to a second when the throw home got past the catcher. Paige Cook singled through the right side to drive home Segars.
Tennesse State 0, Mississippi State 4
North Alabama 9, Tennessee State 1 (5 inn.)
Tulsa 2, Tennessee State 0
Tulsa 2, Mississippi State 1
Mississippi State 6, North Alabama 0
Saturday, Feb. 15
Tulsa 1, North Alabama 0
Mississippi State 3, Tennessee State 0
No. 4 Tennessee State 2, No. 1 Tulsa 1 (10 inn.)
No. 2 Mississippi State 9, No. 3 North Alabama 1 (6 inn.)
Sunday, Feb. 16
Consolation – No. 1 Tulsa 3, No. 3 North Alabama 2
Championship – No. 2 Mississippi State 4, No. 4 Tennessee State 0
STARKVILLE – On the back of a dozen strikeouts from Emily Williams, Mississippi State softball defeated Tennessee State, 4-0, on Sunday to claim the Bulldog Kickoff Classic title. State has now won two tournaments over the first two weeks of the season.
With a 9-1 record, head coach Samantha Ricketts now boasts the best 10-game start by any head coach in program history.
""It was good to get her [Williams] out there for her first start of the year, try and lengthen her out a little bit, because we know we'll be using her a lot down the stretch," Ricketts said. We mixed up the roles and had Annie [Willis] come in in the save situation just to give them different looks and prepare them for some different things we might do throughout the year. [Williams] threw a great game. Any time they got on, she came right back and got the next one out, and that's really what we're asking for out of the pitching staff."
Williams faced 18 batters, allowing two hits. Annie Willis threw 2.0 shutout innings for the save. The Bulldogs have shutout the opponent in five of their 10 games this year and are averaging 10.0 strikeouts per game as a staff.
Fa Leilua provided a spark with a two-run home run to centerfield in the bottom of the first inning, and the Bulldogs continued to run at will on the base paths. Candace Denis led the way, reaching base in all three plate appearances and stealing three bases. Chloe Malau'ulu also stole a base then raced home from second on an infield single for MSU's third run.
For the tournament, MSU hit. 302, a mark that jumped up to .350 with runners in scoring position. State's leadoff hitters reached base on 45.2 percent of their plate appearances.
The Bulldogs will head out on a long road trip next week, playing six games in Louisiana and California before returning to Starkville. The trip begins Tuesday, Feb. 18 at Southeast Louisiana with first pitch set for 6 p.m. CT.
Quick Hitters
Paige Cook – Made her collegiate debut as a defensive replacement in the top of the fifth … Hit an RBI single in her first career plate appearance in the bottom of the sixth.Mia Davidson – Hit three home runs over the weekend for a .824 slugging percentage.
Candace Denis – Reached base in all three plate appearances and proceeding to steal second all three times … Stole seven bases over the weekend.
Fa Leilua – Posted a .929 slugging percentage with a pair of homers and six RBIs over the tournament.
Chloe Malau'ulu – Stole the first base of her career.
Anna Kate Segars – Recorded her second career multi-hit game, going 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored … Hit .500 over the tournament.
Emily Williams – Struck out 12 of 18 batters faced in her first start of the year … Sat down 20 batters in 8.2 innings of work on the weekend, averaging 16.2 strikeouts per seven innings.
Annie Willis – Recorded her first save of the year on Sunday … Posted a 13.0 strikeout-walk ratio over the tournament.
Scoring Recap
Bottom 1Candace Denis was hit by a pitch to lead off for MSU. She then stole second before Fa Leilua homered to center field.
Tennessee State 0, Mississippi State 2
Bottom 6
Chloe Malau'ulu walked and stole second base. Anna Kate Segars reached on an infield single, and Malau'ulu raced around the pillows to score on the play. Segars then advanced to a second when the throw home got past the catcher. Paige Cook singled through the right side to drive home Segars.
Tennesse State 0, Mississippi State 4
Bulldog Kickoff Classic Results
Friday, Feb. 14 North Alabama 9, Tennessee State 1 (5 inn.)
Tulsa 2, Tennessee State 0
Tulsa 2, Mississippi State 1
Mississippi State 6, North Alabama 0
Saturday, Feb. 15
Tulsa 1, North Alabama 0
Mississippi State 3, Tennessee State 0
No. 4 Tennessee State 2, No. 1 Tulsa 1 (10 inn.)
No. 2 Mississippi State 9, No. 3 North Alabama 1 (6 inn.)
Sunday, Feb. 16
Consolation – No. 1 Tulsa 3, No. 3 North Alabama 2
Championship – No. 2 Mississippi State 4, No. 4 Tennessee State 0
On Deck
The Bulldogs will travel to Hammond, Louisiana, on Tuesday to meet the Southeast Louisiana Lady Lions. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. CT.Follow the Bulldogs
For more information on the Bulldog softball program, follow on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram by searching "HailStateSB."
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Williams, Emily (2-0)
L: WOODALL, Abbey (0-2)
S: Willis, Annie (1)
Batting:
2B: WEBER, Reese 1
Batting:
2B: Malau'ulu, Chloe 1
HR: Leilua, Fa 1
RBI: Leilua, Fa 2 ; Segars, Anna Kate 1 ; Cook, Paige 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Denis, Candace 1 ; Leilua, Fa 1 ; Malau'ulu, Chloe 1 ; Segars, Anna Kate 1
SB: Denis, Candace 3 ; Malau'ulu, Chloe 1
HBP: Denis, Candace 1
Game Leaders
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
AB
1
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
AB
2
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
3B/UTL
/ Softball
C/INF
/ SoftballP/UTL
/ SoftballOF
/ SoftballOF/1B
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
P
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