State Softball Opens Stillwater Regional Friday

STILLWATER, Okla. – Mississippi State softball begins its road to the Women's College World Series as the No. 2 seed in the Stillwater Regional on Friday. MSU will open the double-elimination regional on May 21 at 3:30 p.m. CT against Boston University at Cowgirl Stadium.

Along with the Bulldogs (33-23, 8-15 SEC) and the Terriers, the Stillwater Regional features host No. 5 Oklahoma State and Campbell. MSU's opening game will be broadcast on ESPN 3. Television assignments for the remaining games of the regional will be announced later this week.

State has won eight of its last 10 games, including its final seven SEC matchups. The Bulldogs have won five of their last six against NFCA-ranked teams, and MSU's five-game winning streak against ranked squads was the second-longest in school history.

Carter Spexarth, Mia Davidson and Fa Leilua all earned NFCA All-Region honors on Thursday. Spexarth was the first team selection at designated player, while Davidson and Leilua earned third-team honors at catcher and first base, respectively.

"We're excited to be here. We're excited for another opportunity to compete in the postseason," head coach Samantha Ricketts said. "I think we've been playing our best softball at the end of the season. I think the testament to our turnaround this month has been the belief and the team not giving in and packing it up, saying there's always next year. They wanted to do it for each other, for these seniors, and knew that we controlled our own destiny. We were looking to play .500 ball in the month of May to get us here, and they exceeded that. I'm really proud of that effort and belief."

MSU finished the season ranked No. 29 in the NCAA RPI. The Bulldogs played eight-toughest schedule in the nation, and 16 of its 22 losses came to teams ranked in the latest NFCA Coaches' poll.

State is making its 16^th NCAA Tournament appearance. The Bulldogs have made every tournament bracket since 2017 and eight of the last nine fields. All 16 appearances have come since 2000. MSU has won at least one regional game in five of its last six tournament appearances and is aiming to make its first NCAA Super Regional appearance in program history.

Stillwater Regional Schedule (All Times Central)

About the Opponents

No. 5 Oklahoma State (42-9, 15-3 Big 12) – Game Notes
Rankings: NFCA Coaches - 7 | USA Softball - 5 | Softball America – 5 | D1Softball - 5
Head coach: Kenny Gajewski | at OKST: 215-104 (6th Year) | Career: 215-104 (6th Year)
Batting Average: .2316; Runs Per Game: 6.1; Hits Per Game: 8.3; Slugging Percentage: .559
ERA: 2.33; K/7: 6.7; K/BB Ratio: 2.4; Opp. Batting Avg: .200

Boston University (36-2, 21-1 Patriot) – Game Notes
Rankings: NFCA Coaches - NR | USA Softball - NR | Softball America – NR | D1Softball - NR
Head coach: Ashley Waters | at BU: 179-101 (6th Year) | Career: 179-101 (6th Year)
Batting Average: .323; Runs Per Game: 6.3; Hits Per Game: 8.3; Slugging Percentage: .460
ERA: 1.19; K/7: 6.8; K/BB Ratio: 3.1; Opp. Batting Avg: .173

Campbell (27-17, 15-3 Big South) – Game Notes
Rankings: NFCA Coaches - NR | USA Softball - NR | Softball America – NR | D1Softball - NR
Head coach: Sharonda McDonald | at CAMP: 63-60 (3rd Year) | Career: 63-60 (3rd Year)
Batting Average: .280; Runs Per Game: 4.5; Hits Per Game: 6.8; Slugging Percentage: .449
ERA: 2.50; K/7: 5.4; K/BB Ratio: 2.0; Opp. Batting Avg: .235

Leading Off

Mayhem: MSU is 8-1 in the month of May with five wins over NFCA-ranked opponents. The Bulldogs have pitched to a 2.03 ERA and are averaging 4.2 runs per game in that span.

Let's Go Streaking: The Bulldogs finished the regular season on the second-longest SEC winning streak in program history. MSU's five-game winning streak against NFCA-ranked opponents was the second-longest in program history behind the 2004 season (7).

Lockdown Loza: Alyssa Loza ranks sixth in the nation with five saves, four of which have been multi-inning outings. She has allowed one run in 12.2 innings (0.55 ERA) in her five save appearances.

Win The Late Innings: The Bulldogs are 26-2 when leading after four innings and 20-0 when leading after five. In the sixth inning alone, MSU has outscored opponents, 38-16.

Thunder Rolling In: Mia Davidson has broken MSU baseball legend Rafael Palmeiro's career home run record for the most in MSU baseball and softball history (68). She is tied for third in SEC softball history and three shy of Florida's Lauren Haeger for the SEC record.

Worth A Second Look: The Bulldogs are 10-4 this year in the second game of a series or doubleheader or when playing a team for the second straight day in a tournament. They have outscored opponents 81-51 in such games.

Lineup Log: Samantha Ricketts has used 31 different batting orders and 16 different fielding alignments.

Lulu Leading Off: When Chloe Malau'ulu reaches base to open the game, State is 20-6 this season. She has reached base in 41 of the 93 innings she's led off and scored in 21 of those innings.

On Deck

The winner of Friday's game will advance to play the winner of the regional's first game between No. 5 Oklahoma State and Campbell at 1 p.m. on Saturday. The losers of the two games will play an elimination game at 3:30 p.m. CT. The loser of the winner's game and the winner of the elimination game will play at 6 p.m.

Follow the Bulldogs

For more information on the Bulldog softball program, follow on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram by searching "HailStateSB."

Mississippi State University Athletics

State Softball Opens Stillwater Regional Friday

Players Mentioned

Mia Davidson

Fa Leilua

Alyssa Loza

Chloe Malau'ulu

Carter Spexarth

Related Videos