Saturday, April 24
Starkville
2:00 PM
Mississippi State
25-20, 1-13
8
vs
1
Texas A&M
30-14, 7-10
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
Texas A&M
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
1
4
2
Mississippi State
0
0
1
0
4
3
X
8
8
0
Mia Davidson drove in four runs while hitting her 66th career home run to move within one of Rafael Palmeiro (67) for the all-time MSU baseball and softball record.
Photo by: Mississippi State Athletics
Bulldogs Down Texas A&M With Seven Unanswered Runs
April 24, 2021 | Softball
STARKVILLE – The fifth inning proved to be a turning point for Mississippi State softball on Saturday, as the Bulldogs exploded for seven unanswered runs to defeat Texas A&M, 8-1.
The Aggies (30-14, 7-10 SEC) tied the game in the top half of the inning with an RBI double, but MSU (25-20, 1-13 SEC) responded with two game-changing defensive plays to end the threat. Madisyn Kennedy made a diving catch in foul ground for the second out, and Mia Davidson caught the runner stealing third to end the frame.
In the bottom half of the inning, the Bulldogs loaded the bases before plating four runs without another hit in the frame. Sacrifice flies from Davidson and Jackie McKenna scored two runs. Meanwhile, Addison Purvis walked to drive in a run, and Madisyn Kennedy drove one in on a fielder's choice when Fa Leilua beat a throw to the plate.
"I think it was big for us, for this team, for the program and to get everyone to exhale and know that we can play our game and have success in this league," head coach Samantha Ricketts said. "It was fun to see them relaxed and play loose and get out there and do what they do best. I think for all of us, it was a good team win. It took everybody. It took pitchers, hitters, and defense. Overall, whether it's the first one or not, I'm just proud of the way that they came out and attacked and continued to do so after a rough start to the season for us."
Davidson threw the knockout punch with a three-run home run in the bottom of the sixth to seal the victory. State sent nine batters to the plate in both the fifth and the sixth frames.
McKenna opened the scoring in the third with a solo home run to lead off the inning. Outside of the one run allowed in the fifth, Emily Williams tossed a gem, throwing a complete game while allowing just four hits and striking out seven.
"It was a team at-bat, is what we call it, and not trying to put too much pressure on yourself and thinking that each hitter has to be the one to hit the big knockout punch. But we can score runs on little things like that. By taking a walk with the bases loaded, by hitting a deep ball sacrifice fly. I think it takes the pressure off of them, and they realize that they are doing it for the person next to them and the hitter in front of and behind them. It's not all about them and then we don't have all that pressure on us there."
Jackie McKenna on her solo home run in the third:
"I'm batting at the bottom of the lineup, so my teammates ahead of me were telling me what she was throwing. [I] stick to my plan. We work a lot on our plans and our approach. I knew she was going to come inside after she was working away, so I was looking for that inside pitch and drove it."
Mia Davidson on her three-run home run in the sixth:
"It felt really nice, because we're scrapping and scraping, just hitting it. It finally just busted open, and we punched them in the mouth and got the win. It was great."
Madisyn Kennedy – Reached base three times without a hit on two fielder's choices and an error … Drove in a run with her second fielder's choice … Made a diving catch in foul ground to preserve the tie in the fifth inning.
Chloe Malau'ulu – Doubled to lead off the first for MSU … Now has 11 doubles on the year … State is now 16-5 when she reaches base to open the game.
Jackie McKenna – Hit her fourth home run of the season and second in SEC play … Also drove in a run with a sacrifice fly.
Addison Purvis – Went 1-for-2 with two walks, including one with the bases loaded.
Christian Quinn – Scored as a pinch runner and remained in the game in center field … Singled in her one at-bat and scored.
Emily Williams –Allowed just one run in a complete game effort … Struck out seven batters, which is a season high in SEC play … Picked up her highest strikeout total in SEC play since retiring seven on consecutive days against Ole Miss in 2019 (Apr. 19-20).
Jackie McKenna homered to left field to lead off the inning.
Texas A&M 0, Mississippi State 1
Top 5
Rylen Wiggins walked and advanced to second on a Haley Lee foul out. Wiggins scored on a Makinzy Herzog double to center field.
Texas A&M 1, Mississippi State 1
Bottom 5
Chloe Malau'ulu walked and advanced to second on a single from Fa Leilua. Malau'ulu advanced to third and Leilua to second on a Carter Spexarth single up the middle. Mia Davidson hit a sacrifice fly to center field to score Malau'ulu. Christian Quinn pinch ran for Spexarth at first. She and Leilua advanced on a wild pitch before Paige Cook walked to reload the bases. Madisyn Kennedy hit a slow roller to the shortstop, who chose to throw home, but Leilua beat the throw and all the runners were safe. Addison Purvis walked to force to Quinn home. Cook then scored on McKenna's sacrifice fly to right field.
Texas A&M 1, Mississippi State 5
Bottom 6
With one out, Leilua walked. Allison Florian pinch ran at first and advanced to second on a single from Quinn. Mia Davidson hit a three-run homer to center field.
Texas A&M 1, Mississippi State 8
The Aggies (30-14, 7-10 SEC) tied the game in the top half of the inning with an RBI double, but MSU (25-20, 1-13 SEC) responded with two game-changing defensive plays to end the threat. Madisyn Kennedy made a diving catch in foul ground for the second out, and Mia Davidson caught the runner stealing third to end the frame.
In the bottom half of the inning, the Bulldogs loaded the bases before plating four runs without another hit in the frame. Sacrifice flies from Davidson and Jackie McKenna scored two runs. Meanwhile, Addison Purvis walked to drive in a run, and Madisyn Kennedy drove one in on a fielder's choice when Fa Leilua beat a throw to the plate.
"I think it was big for us, for this team, for the program and to get everyone to exhale and know that we can play our game and have success in this league," head coach Samantha Ricketts said. "It was fun to see them relaxed and play loose and get out there and do what they do best. I think for all of us, it was a good team win. It took everybody. It took pitchers, hitters, and defense. Overall, whether it's the first one or not, I'm just proud of the way that they came out and attacked and continued to do so after a rough start to the season for us."
Davidson threw the knockout punch with a three-run home run in the bottom of the sixth to seal the victory. State sent nine batters to the plate in both the fifth and the sixth frames.
McKenna opened the scoring in the third with a solo home run to lead off the inning. Outside of the one run allowed in the fifth, Emily Williams tossed a gem, throwing a complete game while allowing just four hits and striking out seven.
Quotables
Samantha Ricketts on scoring without a hit in the fifth inning:"It was a team at-bat, is what we call it, and not trying to put too much pressure on yourself and thinking that each hitter has to be the one to hit the big knockout punch. But we can score runs on little things like that. By taking a walk with the bases loaded, by hitting a deep ball sacrifice fly. I think it takes the pressure off of them, and they realize that they are doing it for the person next to them and the hitter in front of and behind them. It's not all about them and then we don't have all that pressure on us there."
Jackie McKenna on her solo home run in the third:
"I'm batting at the bottom of the lineup, so my teammates ahead of me were telling me what she was throwing. [I] stick to my plan. We work a lot on our plans and our approach. I knew she was going to come inside after she was working away, so I was looking for that inside pitch and drove it."
Mia Davidson on her three-run home run in the sixth:
"It felt really nice, because we're scrapping and scraping, just hitting it. It finally just busted open, and we punched them in the mouth and got the win. It was great."
Quick Hitters
Mia Davidson – Hit her 14th home run of the season … The three-run shot gave her eight multi-RBI games in 2021 … Is now one home run shy of the all-time MSU baseball and softball career record set by Rafael Palmeiro (67) with 66 career home runs ... Picked up a season-high fourth RBI on a sacrifice fly for her most runs driven in since plating four on Feb. 15, 2020 against North Alabama … Also caught a runner stealing third to end the fifth inning.Madisyn Kennedy – Reached base three times without a hit on two fielder's choices and an error … Drove in a run with her second fielder's choice … Made a diving catch in foul ground to preserve the tie in the fifth inning.
Chloe Malau'ulu – Doubled to lead off the first for MSU … Now has 11 doubles on the year … State is now 16-5 when she reaches base to open the game.
Jackie McKenna – Hit her fourth home run of the season and second in SEC play … Also drove in a run with a sacrifice fly.
Addison Purvis – Went 1-for-2 with two walks, including one with the bases loaded.
Christian Quinn – Scored as a pinch runner and remained in the game in center field … Singled in her one at-bat and scored.
Emily Williams –Allowed just one run in a complete game effort … Struck out seven batters, which is a season high in SEC play … Picked up her highest strikeout total in SEC play since retiring seven on consecutive days against Ole Miss in 2019 (Apr. 19-20).
Scoring Recap
Bottom 3Jackie McKenna homered to left field to lead off the inning.
Texas A&M 0, Mississippi State 1
Top 5
Rylen Wiggins walked and advanced to second on a Haley Lee foul out. Wiggins scored on a Makinzy Herzog double to center field.
Texas A&M 1, Mississippi State 1
Bottom 5
Chloe Malau'ulu walked and advanced to second on a single from Fa Leilua. Malau'ulu advanced to third and Leilua to second on a Carter Spexarth single up the middle. Mia Davidson hit a sacrifice fly to center field to score Malau'ulu. Christian Quinn pinch ran for Spexarth at first. She and Leilua advanced on a wild pitch before Paige Cook walked to reload the bases. Madisyn Kennedy hit a slow roller to the shortstop, who chose to throw home, but Leilua beat the throw and all the runners were safe. Addison Purvis walked to force to Quinn home. Cook then scored on McKenna's sacrifice fly to right field.
Texas A&M 1, Mississippi State 5
Bottom 6
With one out, Leilua walked. Allison Florian pinch ran at first and advanced to second on a single from Quinn. Mia Davidson hit a three-run homer to center field.
Texas A&M 1, Mississippi State 8
On Deck
The rubber match of the series will be played at 1 p.m. CT on Sunday and air on SEC Network+.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 (5-5)
L: Poynter, Kayla (9-5)
Batting:
2B: Herzog, Makinzy 1
RBI: Herzog, Makinzy 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Wiggins, Rylen 1
CS: Herzog, Makinzy 1
Batting:
2B: Malau'ulu, Chloe 1
HR: Davidson, Mia 1 ; McKenna, Jackie 1
RBI: Davidson, Mia 4 ; Kennedy, Madisyn 1 ; Purvis, Addison 1 ; McKenna, Jackie 2
SF: Davidson, Mia 1 ; McKenna, Jackie 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Malau'ulu, Chloe 1 ; Leilua, Fa 1 ; Florian, Allison 1 ; Quinn, Christian 2 ; Davidson, Mia 1 ; Cook, Paige 1 ; McKenna, Jackie 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
cf/lf
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
rf/dp
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
pr/cf
AB
1
R
2
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
3B/UTL
/ Softball
C/INF
/ Softball
UTL
/ Softball
SS/3B
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
C/3B
/ Softball
P/UTL
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
P
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