Photo by: Mississippi State Athletics
Lighting It Up: Davidson Details the Bulldogs’ Lightsaber
April 20, 2020 | Softball, HailStateBEAT
by Brian Ogden, Assistant Director/Communications
STARKVILLE – When Mississippi State's softball team scores five runs in one inning, they consider it "lighting up the scoreboard," and the team's social media account posts a clip of head coach Samantha Ricketts in the dugout with a toy lightsaber.
Fans may appreciate it, but Ricketts isn't the biggest fan. That's part of why she made the five-run inning a requirement for it to be used. When asked about the clip, she doesn't hesitate to point the blame at one student-athlete: Mia Davidson.
Davidson disagrees.
"It's all her fault," Davidson said. "Never my fault. I just encouraged it a little bit. I was like a little push. I just gave her a little push."
Davidson's love for Star Wars was a bit of a secret through her first two years in Starkville, but over winter break, Ricketts mentioned that she was watching the movies for the first time with her dad. That conversation opened things up for Davidson to begin campaigning that the rest of her teammates see the films.
It's paid off with Chloe Malau'ulu who gave in and began watching Episode I: The Phantom Menace on a road trip. Malau'ulu was surprised to find she enjoyed them and has been texting Davidson as she finishes each episode.
When the team traveled to southern California in February for the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic, Davidson saw the lightsaber for sale at an outlet mall during a lunch stop. She was hesitant to buy it at first because she wasn't sure she'd find a way to get it home on the plane.
"[Alyssa] Loza was like, 'Just do it. If anything, we'll put it in a bat bag or something,'" Davidson said. "Loza said, "You've got to get it, or you're going regret it.' I said, 'Dang, she said regret,' so now I had to get it."
As they walked out of the store, they saw Ricketts sitting at a coffee shop.
"She was like, 'You did not just buy a lightsaber,'" Davidson said. "I said, 'Yeah, I did.' And then she said, 'You've got to bring it to every game for good luck.'"
Their back-and-forth over the toy is a bit of an insight into Davidson's relationship with her head coach. The two are incredibly close and spend hours together looking over video of her swing for small tweaks.
"People always thought I was her daughter because we look alike and how we did stuff was very similar," Davidson said. "Just being able to be under her wing and pick stuff from her brain — I'm really blessed to have it. Knowing that I can talk to her and ask questions and she's open-minded to everything, it's really been great."
!["People always thought I was her [Ricketts'] daughter because we look alike and how we did stuff was very similar. Just being able to be under her wing and pick stuff from her brain — I'm really blessed to have it. Knowing that I can talk to her and ask questions and she's open-minded to everything, it's really been great."](/common/controls/image_handler.aspx?thumb_id=0&image_path=/images/2020/4/20/20SB_DavidsonMi_Web_Insert_1.jpg)
There was another person in the shop for the lightsaber incident. Davidson's sister, Montana. The pair have played nearly their entire softball careers together, and Montana is never too far away.
For the record, Montana didn't think the lightsaber should be coming home with them.
While they may not see eye-to-eye on film franchises or dugout props, the pair has a special bond from spending so much time together on the field.
"It's been great, because you have literally another person on the field that knows you better than anyone," Davidson said. "You trust everybody on the field, but having your sister there, that's just like the ultimate goal. You know, there are plays in practice and games where I don't even have to look at her throwing, and I know she'll be there for the tag. Just having that ultimate trust is one of the greatest things with her."
One thing the sisters could agree on was getting a dog in Starkville. Davidson has a one-year-old English bulldog named Lulu. Ironically, that's Malau'ulu's nickname, but Davidson insists her teammate is not her pup's namesake. Her father liked the name Lulu and kept calling the puppy by it until it stuck.
"Me and my dad always wanted a bulldog, but we never found one for a good price," Davidson added. "Being a Mississippi State fan and an athlete, I thought it would be pretty cool to have a bulldog, but also it has advantages. We can probably use her for some stuff because she's a bulldog, and she kind of looks like Jak a little bit, too."
Lulu made her debut this season at the softball team's photoshoot. The friendly pup snacked on treats and hugged on Davidson while the camera's snapped shots for the team's Bark in the Park promotion and National Pet Day.
"She's pretty much the mascot," Davidson said. "If Jak goes down, she's right there."
STARKVILLE – When Mississippi State's softball team scores five runs in one inning, they consider it "lighting up the scoreboard," and the team's social media account posts a clip of head coach Samantha Ricketts in the dugout with a toy lightsaber.
Fans may appreciate it, but Ricketts isn't the biggest fan. That's part of why she made the five-run inning a requirement for it to be used. When asked about the clip, she doesn't hesitate to point the blame at one student-athlete: Mia Davidson.
Davidson disagrees.
"It's all her fault," Davidson said. "Never my fault. I just encouraged it a little bit. I was like a little push. I just gave her a little push."
Davidson's love for Star Wars was a bit of a secret through her first two years in Starkville, but over winter break, Ricketts mentioned that she was watching the movies for the first time with her dad. That conversation opened things up for Davidson to begin campaigning that the rest of her teammates see the films.
It's paid off with Chloe Malau'ulu who gave in and began watching Episode I: The Phantom Menace on a road trip. Malau'ulu was surprised to find she enjoyed them and has been texting Davidson as she finishes each episode.
When the team traveled to southern California in February for the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic, Davidson saw the lightsaber for sale at an outlet mall during a lunch stop. She was hesitant to buy it at first because she wasn't sure she'd find a way to get it home on the plane.
"[Alyssa] Loza was like, 'Just do it. If anything, we'll put it in a bat bag or something,'" Davidson said. "Loza said, "You've got to get it, or you're going regret it.' I said, 'Dang, she said regret,' so now I had to get it."
As they walked out of the store, they saw Ricketts sitting at a coffee shop.
"She was like, 'You did not just buy a lightsaber,'" Davidson said. "I said, 'Yeah, I did.' And then she said, 'You've got to bring it to every game for good luck.'"
Their back-and-forth over the toy is a bit of an insight into Davidson's relationship with her head coach. The two are incredibly close and spend hours together looking over video of her swing for small tweaks.
"People always thought I was her daughter because we look alike and how we did stuff was very similar," Davidson said. "Just being able to be under her wing and pick stuff from her brain — I'm really blessed to have it. Knowing that I can talk to her and ask questions and she's open-minded to everything, it's really been great."
There was another person in the shop for the lightsaber incident. Davidson's sister, Montana. The pair have played nearly their entire softball careers together, and Montana is never too far away.
For the record, Montana didn't think the lightsaber should be coming home with them.
While they may not see eye-to-eye on film franchises or dugout props, the pair has a special bond from spending so much time together on the field.
"It's been great, because you have literally another person on the field that knows you better than anyone," Davidson said. "You trust everybody on the field, but having your sister there, that's just like the ultimate goal. You know, there are plays in practice and games where I don't even have to look at her throwing, and I know she'll be there for the tag. Just having that ultimate trust is one of the greatest things with her."
One thing the sisters could agree on was getting a dog in Starkville. Davidson has a one-year-old English bulldog named Lulu. Ironically, that's Malau'ulu's nickname, but Davidson insists her teammate is not her pup's namesake. Her father liked the name Lulu and kept calling the puppy by it until it stuck.
"Me and my dad always wanted a bulldog, but we never found one for a good price," Davidson added. "Being a Mississippi State fan and an athlete, I thought it would be pretty cool to have a bulldog, but also it has advantages. We can probably use her for some stuff because she's a bulldog, and she kind of looks like Jak a little bit, too."
Lulu made her debut this season at the softball team's photoshoot. The friendly pup snacked on treats and hugged on Davidson while the camera's snapped shots for the team's Bark in the Park promotion and National Pet Day.
"She's pretty much the mascot," Davidson said. "If Jak goes down, she's right there."
Players Mentioned
C/INF
/ Softball
OF
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