Photo by: Mississippi State Athletics
Reviewing State's Softball Season
June 24, 2021 | Softball
STARKVILLE – The 2021 season saw Mississippi State's softball team return to the NCAA Tournament for its fourth consecutive appearance, and the Bulldogs reached the regional championship game for the third time in a row.
State received votes in the final NFCA Coaches' and USAToday/ESPN.com polls and ranked No. 29 in the final RPI. The Bulldogs owned the No. 8 strength of schedule in the nation, with 19 of their 25 losses coming to teams ranked or receiving votes in the final NFCA poll.
SEC Award Winners: Chloe Malau'ulu and Paige Cook were recognized by the SEC's coaches when the league's awards were announced. Malau'ulu was named to the SEC All-Defensive Team as a right fielder, while Cook landed on the All-SEC Newcomer Team.
Honored: A program-record 16 student-athletes earned SEC Honor Roll recognition.
Mayhem: MSU went 10-3 in the month of May with five wins over NFCA-ranked opponents. The Bulldogs finished the regular season on the second-longest SEC winning streak in program history.
Hail The Queen: Davidson broke MSU baseball legend Rafael Palmeiro's career home run record for the most in MSU baseball and softball history (69). She is tied for second in SEC softball history and two shy of Florida's Lauren Haeger for the SEC record.
Relay Rockets: The Bulldog outfielders had arguably one of the best seasons in program history, leading the SEC with 15 outfield assists in 2021. MSU's assists ranked third in school history behind the 2002 (18) and 2010 (17) seasons.
Team Season Records: MSU hit 70 home runs, which ranks second in school history. The top four single-season homer totals have all come since head coach Samantha Ricketts joined the staff as an assistant in 2015. State's pitchers posted the third-highest strikeout total (417) and No. 4 strikeouts per seven innings mark in program history (7.51). The pitchers also struck out a school-record 109 batters looking.
Team NCAA Tournament Records: MSU's five home runs in the Stillwater Regional were second only to the 2018 Tucson Regional when the Bulldogs hit six, and its 20 total runs are second to the 2018 team's 30. State's .532 slugging percentage in the regional ranked third in program history. The Bulldogs drew 14 walks during the regional, which is third-most in a single NCAA Tournament berth. State broke the program's NCAA Tournament single-game record with four long balls against Campbell. The previous record of three was set on May 20, 2018, at Arizona. The Bulldogs tied the school record for scoring in the same game, matching the 12 runs State scored against North Dakota State on May 19, 2018.
Individual Season Records: Leilua posted top-10 marks in slugging percentage (.728, 10th), home runs (20, 3rd), RBIs (48, T-10th) and walks (47, 6th). Davidson's 17 home runs were tied for sixth in single-season history. Malau'ulu was hit by 14 pitches, which was tied for sixth in MSU history, and her seven outfield assists are tied for second. Cook reached base on error nine times, which ranked sixth. Emily Williams (8.59, 6th) and Annie Willis (7.48, 10th) posted top-10 marks in strikeouts per seven innings. Alyssa Loza's six saves are sixth-most in single-season history.
Individual NCAA Tournament Career Records: Davidson became MSU's all-time career games played leader in the NCAA Tournament with 12 games started in her career. She also now holds State's career record for home runs (3) and walks (7) in the tournament. Loza earned the first save in MSU's Tournament history (vs. Boston University, 5/21). Aspen Wesley is one of three pitchers in MSU history with a 0.00 career ERA in the Tournament (minimum 3.0 IP).
For more information on the Bulldog softball program, follow on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram by searching "HailStateSB."
State received votes in the final NFCA Coaches' and USAToday/ESPN.com polls and ranked No. 29 in the final RPI. The Bulldogs owned the No. 8 strength of schedule in the nation, with 19 of their 25 losses coming to teams ranked or receiving votes in the final NFCA poll.
Leading Off
All-Region Honors: Carter Spexarth, Mia Davidson and Fa Leilua were named to the NFCA's All-South Region teams. Spexarth was selected as the First Team DP while Davidson and Leilua were named to the third team. MSU has now seen three players earn All-Region honors for the third straight season (2018, 2019).SEC Award Winners: Chloe Malau'ulu and Paige Cook were recognized by the SEC's coaches when the league's awards were announced. Malau'ulu was named to the SEC All-Defensive Team as a right fielder, while Cook landed on the All-SEC Newcomer Team.
Honored: A program-record 16 student-athletes earned SEC Honor Roll recognition.
Mayhem: MSU went 10-3 in the month of May with five wins over NFCA-ranked opponents. The Bulldogs finished the regular season on the second-longest SEC winning streak in program history.
Hail The Queen: Davidson broke MSU baseball legend Rafael Palmeiro's career home run record for the most in MSU baseball and softball history (69). She is tied for second in SEC softball history and two shy of Florida's Lauren Haeger for the SEC record.
Relay Rockets: The Bulldog outfielders had arguably one of the best seasons in program history, leading the SEC with 15 outfield assists in 2021. MSU's assists ranked third in school history behind the 2002 (18) and 2010 (17) seasons.
Records and Milestones
Team Game Records: State hit four homers in a game three times this year, which is tied for second in school history. MSU stole seven or more bases for the 11th time in school history on Feb. 24 against Mississippi Valley State. Bulldog pitchers combined for MSU's seventh 15-strikeout game in school history on Apr. 3 at North Alabama.Team Season Records: MSU hit 70 home runs, which ranks second in school history. The top four single-season homer totals have all come since head coach Samantha Ricketts joined the staff as an assistant in 2015. State's pitchers posted the third-highest strikeout total (417) and No. 4 strikeouts per seven innings mark in program history (7.51). The pitchers also struck out a school-record 109 batters looking.
Team NCAA Tournament Records: MSU's five home runs in the Stillwater Regional were second only to the 2018 Tucson Regional when the Bulldogs hit six, and its 20 total runs are second to the 2018 team's 30. State's .532 slugging percentage in the regional ranked third in program history. The Bulldogs drew 14 walks during the regional, which is third-most in a single NCAA Tournament berth. State broke the program's NCAA Tournament single-game record with four long balls against Campbell. The previous record of three was set on May 20, 2018, at Arizona. The Bulldogs tied the school record for scoring in the same game, matching the 12 runs State scored against North Dakota State on May 19, 2018.
Individual Season Records: Leilua posted top-10 marks in slugging percentage (.728, 10th), home runs (20, 3rd), RBIs (48, T-10th) and walks (47, 6th). Davidson's 17 home runs were tied for sixth in single-season history. Malau'ulu was hit by 14 pitches, which was tied for sixth in MSU history, and her seven outfield assists are tied for second. Cook reached base on error nine times, which ranked sixth. Emily Williams (8.59, 6th) and Annie Willis (7.48, 10th) posted top-10 marks in strikeouts per seven innings. Alyssa Loza's six saves are sixth-most in single-season history.
Individual NCAA Tournament Career Records: Davidson became MSU's all-time career games played leader in the NCAA Tournament with 12 games started in her career. She also now holds State's career record for home runs (3) and walks (7) in the tournament. Loza earned the first save in MSU's Tournament history (vs. Boston University, 5/21). Aspen Wesley is one of three pitchers in MSU history with a 0.00 career ERA in the Tournament (minimum 3.0 IP).
For more information on the Bulldog softball program, follow on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram by searching "HailStateSB."
Players Mentioned
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