Sunday, March 7
Starkville
1:30 PM
Mississippi State
13-5
5
vs
4
Western Kentucky
9-3
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
Western Kentucky
1
0
1
2
0
0
0
4
6
0
Mississippi State
0
0
0
0
1
2
2
5
7
1
Photo by: Mississippi State Athletics
Leilua’s Walk-Off Home Run Delivers Victory Over WKU
March 07, 2021 | Softball
STARKVILLE – For the second time in as many games, Fa Leilua delivered a walk-off home run for No. 18 Mississippi State. The Bulldogs (13-5) came back from a four-run deficit to defeat Western Kentucky, 5-4, on Sunday.
"With Fa it's not a matter of if she's going to do it, it's about when," head coach Samantha Ricketts said. "She hadn't had a hit yet going into that at bat, but she definitely has all the confidence in the world in her own ability and she knows the team has it in her as well. I really liked the confidence and the ability to stay poised. I think the biggest part when you're down early is being able to not press, not try to do too much and just play our game. That's something that Fa has been doing really well this year."
State trailed early after Jordan Thomas hit solo home runs in the first and third innings for WKU (9-3). The Hilltoppers added two more runs in the fourth, before Emily Williams came in and shut the door. Williams faced nine batters without allowing one to reach. She struck out six.
The Bulldogs got one run back in the fifth after Chloe Malau'ulu doubled with two outs and scored on a Mia Davidson single. Carter Spexarth led off the sixth with a single and scored on a two-run homer from Anna Kate Segars.
Down a run in the seventh inning, Davidson drew a one-out walk to set the table for Leilua. The Hawthorne, California, native took a 3-2 pitch over the scoreboard in left field for her second walk-off of the year.
"I could tell that they were going to come after me. All I had to do was stay relaxed, keep my composure, trust the process, and mainly trust my teammates as well. That walk-off was dedicated to every single one of my teammates playing a huge role. If it wasn't for them, the win would have never happened. They were setting me up, especially in that position, for success. Especially, AK [Segars] putting up two runs really got the team going."
Anna Kate Segars on the program's comeback culture:
"This is Mississippi State softball. This is what we do, and we do it well. We don't go away, and we continue to fight till the very end until there are no outs left. That is what we do and what we take pride in. No game is over too soon. We know that from last night and today. It's who we are and what we fight to do. Wins like that mean that much more because it shows the determination and grit in this team. It doesn't matter how much we are down. We have the players, team and program to win any and every game we need to. It is just having the faith in each other. There is no moment that is too big for any of us. We are all capable of doing what needs to be done to come through in the end and be successful."
Fa Leilua – Hit a walk-off home run for the second straight day … Now boasts eight home runs on the year and 58 for her career … Home run delivered the 99th and 100th RBIs of her Bulldog career … Homered on every day of the Bulldog Invitational.
Chloe Malau'ulu – Fifth-inning double extended her career-long reached-base streak to 23 games … Batted .535 over the Bulldog Invitational with a 1.000 slugging percentage.
Carter Spexarth – Went 2-for-3 … Batted .538 over the tournament with 10 RBIs and a 1.077 slugging percentage.
Emily Williams – Sat down all nine batters she faced, striking out six … Has not allowed a run in 15.1 consecutive innings.
Jordan Thomas homered to right field.
Western Kentucky 1, Mississippi State 0
Top 3
Thomas hit a second solo home run to center field.
Western Kentucky 2, Mississippi State 0
Top 4
Kendall Smith singled to center field. She advanced to second on when a pickoff throw attempt deflected off her helmet into the dugout. Smith scored on a Jordan Ridge double to center field. Ridge then scored on a single to center by Brylee Hage.
Western Kentucky 4, Mississippi State 0
Bottom 5
With two outs, Chloe Malau'ulu doubled down the right field line. Mia Davidson singled to score Malau'ulu and advanced to second on the throw.
Western Kentucky 4, Mississippi State 1
Bottom 6
Carter Spexarth led off with a single through the right side. Brylie St. Clair pinch ran for Spexarth and scored when Anna Kate Segars homered to right field.
Western Kentucky 4, Mississippi State 3
Bottom 7
With one out, Mia Davidson walked. Fa Leilua hit a two-run homer over the scoreboard in left field.
Western Kentucky 4, Mississippi State 5
"With Fa it's not a matter of if she's going to do it, it's about when," head coach Samantha Ricketts said. "She hadn't had a hit yet going into that at bat, but she definitely has all the confidence in the world in her own ability and she knows the team has it in her as well. I really liked the confidence and the ability to stay poised. I think the biggest part when you're down early is being able to not press, not try to do too much and just play our game. That's something that Fa has been doing really well this year."
State trailed early after Jordan Thomas hit solo home runs in the first and third innings for WKU (9-3). The Hilltoppers added two more runs in the fourth, before Emily Williams came in and shut the door. Williams faced nine batters without allowing one to reach. She struck out six.
The Bulldogs got one run back in the fifth after Chloe Malau'ulu doubled with two outs and scored on a Mia Davidson single. Carter Spexarth led off the sixth with a single and scored on a two-run homer from Anna Kate Segars.
Down a run in the seventh inning, Davidson drew a one-out walk to set the table for Leilua. The Hawthorne, California, native took a 3-2 pitch over the scoreboard in left field for her second walk-off of the year.
Quotables
Fa Leilua on her walk-off home run: "I could tell that they were going to come after me. All I had to do was stay relaxed, keep my composure, trust the process, and mainly trust my teammates as well. That walk-off was dedicated to every single one of my teammates playing a huge role. If it wasn't for them, the win would have never happened. They were setting me up, especially in that position, for success. Especially, AK [Segars] putting up two runs really got the team going."
Anna Kate Segars on the program's comeback culture:
"This is Mississippi State softball. This is what we do, and we do it well. We don't go away, and we continue to fight till the very end until there are no outs left. That is what we do and what we take pride in. No game is over too soon. We know that from last night and today. It's who we are and what we fight to do. Wins like that mean that much more because it shows the determination and grit in this team. It doesn't matter how much we are down. We have the players, team and program to win any and every game we need to. It is just having the faith in each other. There is no moment that is too big for any of us. We are all capable of doing what needs to be done to come through in the end and be successful."
Quick Hitters
Mia Davidson – Scored the 150th run of her career on Leilua's home run … Hit .533 over the Bulldog Invitational.Fa Leilua – Hit a walk-off home run for the second straight day … Now boasts eight home runs on the year and 58 for her career … Home run delivered the 99th and 100th RBIs of her Bulldog career … Homered on every day of the Bulldog Invitational.
Chloe Malau'ulu – Fifth-inning double extended her career-long reached-base streak to 23 games … Batted .535 over the Bulldog Invitational with a 1.000 slugging percentage.
Carter Spexarth – Went 2-for-3 … Batted .538 over the tournament with 10 RBIs and a 1.077 slugging percentage.
Emily Williams – Sat down all nine batters she faced, striking out six … Has not allowed a run in 15.1 consecutive innings.
Scoring Recap
Top 1Jordan Thomas homered to right field.
Western Kentucky 1, Mississippi State 0
Top 3
Thomas hit a second solo home run to center field.
Western Kentucky 2, Mississippi State 0
Top 4
Kendall Smith singled to center field. She advanced to second on when a pickoff throw attempt deflected off her helmet into the dugout. Smith scored on a Jordan Ridge double to center field. Ridge then scored on a single to center by Brylee Hage.
Western Kentucky 4, Mississippi State 0
Bottom 5
With two outs, Chloe Malau'ulu doubled down the right field line. Mia Davidson singled to score Malau'ulu and advanced to second on the throw.
Western Kentucky 4, Mississippi State 1
Bottom 6
Carter Spexarth led off with a single through the right side. Brylie St. Clair pinch ran for Spexarth and scored when Anna Kate Segars homered to right field.
Western Kentucky 4, Mississippi State 3
Bottom 7
With one out, Mia Davidson walked. Fa Leilua hit a two-run homer over the scoreboard in left field.
Western Kentucky 4, Mississippi State 5
On Deck
The Bulldogs will travel to Alabama State on Tuesday, March 9. First pitch in Montgomery, Alabama, is scheduled for 4 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: Kelsey Aikey (2-3)
Batting:
2B: Jordan Ridge 1
HR: Jordan Thomas 2
RBI: Jordan Thomas 2 ; Jordan Ridge 1 ; Brylee Hage 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Jordan Thomas 2 ; Kendall Smith 1 ; Jordan Ridge 1
Batting:
2B: Malau'ulu, Chloe 1
HR: Leilua, Fa 1 ; Segars, Anna Kate 1
RBI: Davidson, Mia 1 ; Leilua, Fa 2 ; Segars, Anna Kate 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Malau'ulu, Chloe 1 ; Davidson, Mia 1 ; Leilua, Fa 1 ; St. Clair, Brylie 1 ; Segars, Anna Kate 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
3
R
0
H
2
RBI
0
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
AB
1
R
1
H
1
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
C/INF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
OF/1B
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
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