Sunday, May 23
Stillwater, Okla.
1:00 PM
Mississippi State
35-25
2
at
10
#7 Oklahoma State
45-9
1
2
3
4
5
R
H
E
Oklahoma State
0
4
1
5
0
10
11
0
Mississippi State
1
1
0
0
0
2
6
3
Softball’s Season Ends With Loss To No. 5 Oklahoma State
May 23, 2021 | Softball
STILLWATER, Okla. – The big inning proved to be Mississippi State's downfall as the Bulldogs saw their season end in the Stillwater Regional championship on Sunday in a 10-2 loss to No. 5 Oklahoma State.
The Bulldogs (35-25) got out to an early lead, but a four-run second inning and a five-run fourth inning gave Oklahoma State (45-9) control of the game. The Cowgirls homered three times, including a grand slam, and State made three errors to extend the innings.
"We came out looking to try and push for two games today, but credit to Oklahoma State," head coach Samantha Ricketts said. "That's a great team over there. There's a reason they're a top-five seed. I think they do everything well, pitching, hitting and defense. They're a scary lineup one through nine. I don't think the score was indicative of the fight we had out there and all season long."
State scored in the first after Fa Leilua singled and later scored from second on a Mia Davidson single up the middle. In the second, Christian Quinn hit a two-out single then took second on a wild pitch. She came around to score on a single from Montana Davidson.
The Cowgirls scored four runs on four hits with the help of two errors in the second then added another in the third. A bases-loaded walk followed by a grand slam in the fourth resulted in the final score.
"I'm really proud of this team and the fight they've shown over the last month of the season to get us to this point," Ricketts added. "We know this isn't our final goal, but we keep pushing forward in regional finals. This is three in a row now, and it starts with players like Fa [Leilua], like [Christian] Quinn and [Alyssa] Loza picking this program and helping push everything forward."
"We're just blessed to reach this far. We had a great start and then a rocky middle. We were just talking about how no one thought we would be here, but it's a blessing. We have a great team. They have a great team. You know, we're only going to be missing three seniors, so they're going to be just as good next year. I'm really excited to see where this program takes off."
Fa Leilua on her senior year:
"Just like Quinn said, we had a rough start, but we finished off strong. I'm proud of these young ladies and how far they've come and what we've achieved as a program. That sets the tone for the next year. I'm excited as well for where this program's going to take off."
Christian Quinn on how the team turned its season around:
"We just started playing loose. I think we were really tense coming in. It was really not working out for us, so we were all looking at each other like we have nothing to lose. We're the underdogs. No one believes in us, but we believe in ourselves. That's where it started turning around. We were like, 'Who cares? Who cares what anyone thinks?' It worked out for the best."
Samantha Ricketts on State's senior class:
"All three of them are leaving this program better than they found it. Not just from the record book standpoint, but really their leadership and personalities and the stamp that they're leaving on the people. I think all three personalities are different and big presences within our program. They're going to be missed. They're going to miss the leadership, the toughness, the good times that come with those three. That's the biggest thing moving forward, that we remember what those three brought into this program and continue to use that to make us better every day moving forward."
Fa Leilua – Went 2-for-3 with two singles … Scored a run.
Alyssa Loza – Allowed one hit in 2.0 scoreless relief innings.
Christian Quinn – Went 1-for-2 with a run scored … Made a diving catch in the outfield.
Fa Leilua singled with one out. She advanced to second on a groundout by Carter Spexarth. Mia Davidson hit a two-out, two-strike single up the middle to score Leilua from second.
Oklahoma State 0, Mississippi State 1
Top 2
Karli Petty led off with a single and advanced to second when the outfielder made an error trying to field the wet ball. Reagan Wright then homered to straightaway center field. With one out, Chelsea Alexander bunted and reached third on a throwing error. She scored on an infield single from Chyenne Factor. Factor scored on an Alysen Febrey double.
Oklahoma State 4, Mississippi State 1
Bottom 2
With two outs, Christian Quinn singled into center field then took second on a wild pitch. She came around to score when Montana Davidson singled up the middle.
Oklahoma State 4, Mississippi State 2
Top 3
Sydney Pennington led off with a home run to left field.
Oklahoma State 5, Mississippi State 2
Top 4
Alexander led off with a walk, and Kiley Naomi followed with a single. Factor laid down a sacrifice bunt, but she was safe at first when the second baseman dropped the throw, which loaded the bases. Febrey walked to drive in a run. Hayley Busby hit a grand slam.
Oklahoma State 10, Mississippi State 2
The Bulldogs (35-25) got out to an early lead, but a four-run second inning and a five-run fourth inning gave Oklahoma State (45-9) control of the game. The Cowgirls homered three times, including a grand slam, and State made three errors to extend the innings.
"We came out looking to try and push for two games today, but credit to Oklahoma State," head coach Samantha Ricketts said. "That's a great team over there. There's a reason they're a top-five seed. I think they do everything well, pitching, hitting and defense. They're a scary lineup one through nine. I don't think the score was indicative of the fight we had out there and all season long."
State scored in the first after Fa Leilua singled and later scored from second on a Mia Davidson single up the middle. In the second, Christian Quinn hit a two-out single then took second on a wild pitch. She came around to score on a single from Montana Davidson.
The Cowgirls scored four runs on four hits with the help of two errors in the second then added another in the third. A bases-loaded walk followed by a grand slam in the fourth resulted in the final score.
"I'm really proud of this team and the fight they've shown over the last month of the season to get us to this point," Ricketts added. "We know this isn't our final goal, but we keep pushing forward in regional finals. This is three in a row now, and it starts with players like Fa [Leilua], like [Christian] Quinn and [Alyssa] Loza picking this program and helping push everything forward."
Quotables
Christian Quinn on her senior season:"We're just blessed to reach this far. We had a great start and then a rocky middle. We were just talking about how no one thought we would be here, but it's a blessing. We have a great team. They have a great team. You know, we're only going to be missing three seniors, so they're going to be just as good next year. I'm really excited to see where this program takes off."
Fa Leilua on her senior year:
"Just like Quinn said, we had a rough start, but we finished off strong. I'm proud of these young ladies and how far they've come and what we've achieved as a program. That sets the tone for the next year. I'm excited as well for where this program's going to take off."
Christian Quinn on how the team turned its season around:
"We just started playing loose. I think we were really tense coming in. It was really not working out for us, so we were all looking at each other like we have nothing to lose. We're the underdogs. No one believes in us, but we believe in ourselves. That's where it started turning around. We were like, 'Who cares? Who cares what anyone thinks?' It worked out for the best."
Samantha Ricketts on State's senior class:
"All three of them are leaving this program better than they found it. Not just from the record book standpoint, but really their leadership and personalities and the stamp that they're leaving on the people. I think all three personalities are different and big presences within our program. They're going to be missed. They're going to miss the leadership, the toughness, the good times that come with those three. That's the biggest thing moving forward, that we remember what those three brought into this program and continue to use that to make us better every day moving forward."
Quick Hitters
Mia Davidson – Went 1-for-2 with an RBI single … Now has seven career RBIs in the NCAA Tournament, which ranks third in program history.Fa Leilua – Went 2-for-3 with two singles … Scored a run.
Alyssa Loza – Allowed one hit in 2.0 scoreless relief innings.
Christian Quinn – Went 1-for-2 with a run scored … Made a diving catch in the outfield.
Scoring Recap
Bottom 1Fa Leilua singled with one out. She advanced to second on a groundout by Carter Spexarth. Mia Davidson hit a two-out, two-strike single up the middle to score Leilua from second.
Oklahoma State 0, Mississippi State 1
Top 2
Karli Petty led off with a single and advanced to second when the outfielder made an error trying to field the wet ball. Reagan Wright then homered to straightaway center field. With one out, Chelsea Alexander bunted and reached third on a throwing error. She scored on an infield single from Chyenne Factor. Factor scored on an Alysen Febrey double.
Oklahoma State 4, Mississippi State 1
Bottom 2
With two outs, Christian Quinn singled into center field then took second on a wild pitch. She came around to score when Montana Davidson singled up the middle.
Oklahoma State 4, Mississippi State 2
Top 3
Sydney Pennington led off with a home run to left field.
Oklahoma State 5, Mississippi State 2
Top 4
Alexander led off with a walk, and Kiley Naomi followed with a single. Factor laid down a sacrifice bunt, but she was safe at first when the second baseman dropped the throw, which loaded the bases. Febrey walked to drive in a run. Hayley Busby hit a grand slam.
Oklahoma State 10, Mississippi State 2
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Eberle, C. (22-3)
L: Willis, Annie (17-10)
Batting:
2B: Febrey, A. 1 ; Wright, R. 1
HR: Busby, H. 1 ; Pennington,S 1 ; Wright, R. 1
RBI: Naomi, K. 1 ; Febrey, A. 2 ; Busby, H. 4 ; Pennington,S 1 ; Wright, R. 2
SH: Factor, C. 1
SF: Naomi, K. 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Naomi, K. 1 ; Factor, C. 2 ; Febrey, A. 1 ; Busby, H. 1 ; Pennington,S 1 ; Petty, K. 1 ; Wright, R. 1 ; Alexander, C 2
CS: Hobson, A. 1
Batting:
RBI: Davidson, Mia 1 ; Davidson, Montana 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Leilua, Fa 1 ; Quinn, Christian 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
cf/lf
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
2
R
0
H
1
RBI
1
AB
2
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
C/INF
/ Softball
INF
/ SoftballOF
/ Softball
OF
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