Purvis, Davidson Lead Record-Breaking Night

Wednesday, March 23

Memphis, Tenn.

6:00 PM

Mississippi State

20-10

Memphis

12-18

Mississippi State

Memphis

Photo by: Mississippi State Athletics

Purvis, Davidson Lead Record-Breaking Night

March 23, 2022 | Softball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

By: Brian Ogden, Associate Director/Communications

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – A school-record six homers for Mississippi State lifted the Bulldogs to a 13-3 victory in five innings at Memphis on Wednesday. Addison Purvis turned in her first career multi-homer game and collected a career-high five RBIs.

All 16 combined runs in the game came on long balls. State's (20-10, 4-2 SEC) six homers broke the school record (5) that was also set against Memphis on April 10, 2019.

Along with Purvis, Matalasi Faapito, Mia Davidson and Paige Cook contributed home runs. Davidson's first homer of the night was No. 81 of her career, which surpassed LSU baseball legend Eddie Furniss for the most in SEC history in either baseball or softball.

"I thought, up and down the lineup, they did a great job of sticking to the game plan and attacking balls in the zone," head coach Samantha Ricketts said. "Really they were just staying confident. The biggest takeaway was after the big weekend, they came out focused with good energy and continued to ride the momentum. Anytime you have a big sweep over a rival like that, you can almost see the energy shifting. I thought they did a great job of keeping the same approach that worked for us this weekend. It was good to see the maturity in the dugout and in the lineup."

The Bulldogs scored six runs in both the first and fourth innings. Faapito and Purvis hit a pair of three-run shots in the first. Purvis, Davidson and Cook all hit two-run homers in the fourth. Davidson picked up a solo shot in the fifth.

After allowing a leadoff homer in the circle, Faapito settled in to retire the next seven straight hitters. She finished her night with two strikeouts and two hits allowed in 3.0 innings to earn the win.

Quotables

Samantha Ricketts on Matalasi Faapito's trend of homering when she also pitches…
"That's what Mata does. She's a true two-way player. She's going to give us quality starts in the circle. She's going to use her defense and does a great job locating the ball as well as mixing. She's a threat anytime she steps in the box. She's great protection behind Mia and has so much natural power. A lot of times when you have a hitting pitcher, there's just an extra level of focus. It's giving yourself run support instead of waiting for your team. It's fun to see her be able to do that for herself and contribute on both sides like she did today."

Samantha Ricketts on Mia Davidson's career home run numbers…
"Consistently, besides just being a great, pure hitter, she's an extremely smart, intuitive hitter. She knows how pitchers are going to attack her. She knows how to make adjustments. Even right now, the trick is it's Year 5, and she gets a little tired sometimes. She's done a great job, especially the last year or two, of taking care of her body and making sure that she's ready to go after catching all weekend. It's fun to see her be able to do that and contribute on defense for us in a different position besides catching."

Quick Hitters

Lovin' the Long Ball – MSU's six home runs are a school single-game record … the previous record of five was also set against Memphis on April 10, 2019.

Have Mercy – With their 11th run-rule win of the season, the Bulldogs have tied the 2018 season for the third-most run-rule wins in a season … MSU had 12 in 2004, and the school record is 13 in 2008.

Paige Cook – Hit her fourth home run of the season, which marks a new single-season career high.

Mia Davidson – Hit the 81st home run of her career, which broke the SEC record for homers by a baseball or softball student-athlete … was previously tied with LSU's Eddie Furniss who held the SEC baseball record … added a second for her 82nd career blast … now tied for No. 12 in NCAA career history … has nine walks or hit-by-pitches in her last 16 plate appearances … reached safely in all four trips to the plate tonight.

Matalasi Faapito – Hit a three-run homer … pitched 3.0 innings, allowing one run on two hits to earn the win … has hit a home run to help her own cause in three of her four wins as a pitcher this year.

Riley Hull – Went 2-for-3 with a double and two runs scored.

Chloe Malau'ulu – Went 2-for-3 with a double and a walk … now has a team-high 11 multi-hit games this season.

Addison Purvis – Turned in her first career multi-homer game … drove in a career-high five runs … went 2-for-2 with two homers and drew a walk.

Scoring Recap

Top 1
Riley Hull opened the game with a double before Mia Davidson was hit by a pitch. Matalasi Faapito hit a three-run homer. Chloe Malau'ulu beat out a single to the second baseman. Paige Cook hit a grounder to first base, but reached on a fielder's choice. Malau'ulu was safe at second on the play when the throw to second went into the outfield. Following a fly out, Addison Purvis hit a three-run homer.
Mississippi State 6, Memphis 0

Bottom 1
Gracie Morton hit a leadoff home run.
Mississippi State 6, Memphis 1

Top 4
Jackie McKenna led off with a single to shortstop. She was pinch ran for by Saleyna Daniel who was promptly retired when Riley Hull hit into a fielder's choice. Hull scored on a two-run homer from Davidson. With two outs, Malau'ulu walked, and Cook hit a two-run home run. Madisyn Kennedy reached on an error by the third baseman and scored when Purvis hit a two-run homer.
Mississippi State 12, Memphis 1

Bottom 4
Kendall Lee led off with a single to left field. Camryn Wineinger homered.
Mississippi State 12, Memphis 3

Top 5
Davidson hit a solo homer with two outs.
Mississippi State 13, Memphis 3

On Deck

Mississippi State will take a week off from conference play and return to Starkville for a non-conference doubleheader on Saturday. The Bulldogs will welcome Samford for games at 1 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. CT with both airing on SEC Network+.

Follow the Bulldogs

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