Sunday, March 6
Starkville
12:30 PM
Mississippi State
14-8
14
vs
1
Alcorn State
7-13
1
2
3
4
5
R
H
E
Alcorn State
0
0
0
1
0
1
1
3
Mississippi State
4
0
5
5
X
14
11
0
Purvis Grand Slam, Kennedy Homer Power Bulldogs Against Alcorn State
March 06, 2022 | Softball
STARKVILLE – For the third time this weekend, Mississippi State softball claimed a run-rule victory, defeating Alcorn State, 14-1, in five innings on Sunday. The Bulldogs outscored their opponents, 38-9, over the five-game Bulldog Invitational.
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Once again, home runs provided a large portion of State's (14-8) offense. Addison Purvis launched a grand slam for her first career homer, and Madisyn Kennedy provided a two-run shot. MSU also collected four doubles from Mia Davidson, Chloe Malau'ulu, Paige Cook and Jackie McKenna. Seven different Bulldogs drove in at least one run and eight had a hit.
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"It was really nice to see it go over," Purvis said of her home run. "I didn't want to celebrate too much at first, but when I saw it go over, it opened my eyes to everything. I feel like we are finally seeing the ball really well. We are finally getting in the grove and realizing what kind of team we really are."
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Matalasi Faapito earned her second win of the year, throwing 3.0 one-hit innings with four strikeouts. Grace Fagan and Bri Bower each threw 1.0 inning in relief.
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"I think just having a good plan, being disciplined, and not trying to do too much. When we can pass the bat up and down the lineup, and not just depend on a Mia home run or whatever it might be, that is when we are most relaxed and doing what we do well, which is base hits and sharing the hits up and down the lineup."
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Mia Davidson on the team's offensive success…
"I think that everyone who came to the plate this weekend had success this weekend. Pinch hitters came in and did their jobs as did everyone else."
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Mia Davidson – Went 1-for-2 with a double and two walks.
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Matalasi Faapito – Earned her second win of the year in the circle … went 2-for-3 at the plate with two RBIs and a walk.
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Madisyn Kennedy – Hit a two-run homer … also walked and scored twice.
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Chloe Malau'ulu – Went 2-for-3 with a double, a walk and a pair of RBIs.
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Addison Purvis – Hit her first career home run and grand slam … marked the 46th grand slam in school history … collected a career-high four RBIs.
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With one out, Mia Davidson doubled to left field. She took third on a passed ball and scored on a wild pitch when Chloe Malau'ulu walked. Malau'ulu scored from first when Paige Cook doubled to right-center field. Madisyn Kennedy then hit a two-run home run over the scoreboard in left field.
Alcorn State 0, Mississippi State 4
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Bottom 3
Matalasi Faapito singled to open the inning, and Malau'ulu doubled behind her. With one out, Kennedy walked to load the bases for Addison Purvis who hit a grand slam. Jackie McKenna also walked. With two outs, Riley Hull singled to shortstop and advanced to second when the ball deflected into foul ground. That allowed McKenna to score from first.
Alcorn State 0, Mississippi State 9
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Top 4
Marsha Hunt and Genise Wells drew back-to-back walks to open the frame. Wells was retired at second on a fielder's choice, but Hunt advanced to third. Kelsey Lockridge hit a sacrifice fly into foul territory in left field, and Hunt scored on the play.
Alcorn State 1, Mississippi State 9
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Bottom 4
Montana Davidson and Kiki Edwards drew back-to-back walks to start the inning. Following an infield fly, McKenna doubled down the left field line to score Montana Davidson. Edwards scored when Saleyna Daniel reached on an error by the shortstop. McKenna stopped at third, and Daniel advanced to second on the play. With two outs, Mia Davidson walked to load the bases. Faapito then singled to center field and took second on a throwing error. Mia Davidson reached third while McKenna and Daniel scored. Malau'ulu singled to advance Faapito to third and score Mia Davidson.
Alcorn State 1, Mississippi State 14
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Once again, home runs provided a large portion of State's (14-8) offense. Addison Purvis launched a grand slam for her first career homer, and Madisyn Kennedy provided a two-run shot. MSU also collected four doubles from Mia Davidson, Chloe Malau'ulu, Paige Cook and Jackie McKenna. Seven different Bulldogs drove in at least one run and eight had a hit.
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"It was really nice to see it go over," Purvis said of her home run. "I didn't want to celebrate too much at first, but when I saw it go over, it opened my eyes to everything. I feel like we are finally seeing the ball really well. We are finally getting in the grove and realizing what kind of team we really are."
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Matalasi Faapito earned her second win of the year, throwing 3.0 one-hit innings with four strikeouts. Grace Fagan and Bri Bower each threw 1.0 inning in relief.
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Quotables
Samantha Ricketts on what contributed to the team's offensive success…"I think just having a good plan, being disciplined, and not trying to do too much. When we can pass the bat up and down the lineup, and not just depend on a Mia home run or whatever it might be, that is when we are most relaxed and doing what we do well, which is base hits and sharing the hits up and down the lineup."
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Mia Davidson on the team's offensive success…
"I think that everyone who came to the plate this weekend had success this weekend. Pinch hitters came in and did their jobs as did everyone else."
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Quick Hitters
Bulldog Bats – MSU has hit at least one home run in every game it has won this season … State claimed its ninth run-rule victories of the year … MSU's nine run-rule victories are already tied for fifth-most in a single season in program history and the most since 2018 (11) … MSU has hit multiple home runs in 10 games this season.Â
Mia Davidson – Went 1-for-2 with a double and two walks.
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Matalasi Faapito – Earned her second win of the year in the circle … went 2-for-3 at the plate with two RBIs and a walk.
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Madisyn Kennedy – Hit a two-run homer … also walked and scored twice.
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Chloe Malau'ulu – Went 2-for-3 with a double, a walk and a pair of RBIs.
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Addison Purvis – Hit her first career home run and grand slam … marked the 46th grand slam in school history … collected a career-high four RBIs.
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Scoring Recap
Bottom 1With one out, Mia Davidson doubled to left field. She took third on a passed ball and scored on a wild pitch when Chloe Malau'ulu walked. Malau'ulu scored from first when Paige Cook doubled to right-center field. Madisyn Kennedy then hit a two-run home run over the scoreboard in left field.
Alcorn State 0, Mississippi State 4
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Bottom 3
Matalasi Faapito singled to open the inning, and Malau'ulu doubled behind her. With one out, Kennedy walked to load the bases for Addison Purvis who hit a grand slam. Jackie McKenna also walked. With two outs, Riley Hull singled to shortstop and advanced to second when the ball deflected into foul ground. That allowed McKenna to score from first.
Alcorn State 0, Mississippi State 9
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Top 4
Marsha Hunt and Genise Wells drew back-to-back walks to open the frame. Wells was retired at second on a fielder's choice, but Hunt advanced to third. Kelsey Lockridge hit a sacrifice fly into foul territory in left field, and Hunt scored on the play.
Alcorn State 1, Mississippi State 9
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Bottom 4
Montana Davidson and Kiki Edwards drew back-to-back walks to start the inning. Following an infield fly, McKenna doubled down the left field line to score Montana Davidson. Edwards scored when Saleyna Daniel reached on an error by the shortstop. McKenna stopped at third, and Daniel advanced to second on the play. With two outs, Mia Davidson walked to load the bases. Faapito then singled to center field and took second on a throwing error. Mia Davidson reached third while McKenna and Daniel scored. Malau'ulu singled to advance Faapito to third and score Mia Davidson.
Alcorn State 1, Mississippi State 14
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On Deck
The Bulldogs remain home next week to host North Alabama on March 9 in a final tune-up before opening conference play. State and the Lions will play at 6 p.m. CT on Wednesday with the game airing on SEC Network+.Â
Follow the Bulldogs
For more information on the Bulldog softball program, follow on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram by searching "HailStateSB."Â
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Faapito, Matalasi (2-0)
L: Brenn Ursin (2-5)
Batting:
RBI: Lockridge, Kelsey 1
SF: Lockridge, Kelsey 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Hunt, Marsha 1
SB: Cole, Tyesha 1
Batting:
2B: Davidson, Mia 1 ; Malau'ulu, Chloe 1 ; Cook, Paige 1 ; McKenna, Jackie 1
HR: Kennedy, Madisyn 1 ; Purvis, Addison 1
RBI: Faapito, Matalasi 2 ; Malau'ulu, Chloe 1 ; Cook, Paige 1 ; Kennedy, Madisyn 2 ; Purvis, Addison 4 ; McKenna, Jackie 1 ; Daniel, Saleyna 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Davidson, Mia 2 ; Florian, Allison 1 ; Malau'ulu, Chloe 2 ; Cook, Paige 1 ; Davidson, Montana 1 ; Kennedy, Madisyn 2 ; Edwards, Kiki 1 ; Purvis, Addison 1 ; McKenna, Jackie 2 ; Daniel, Saleyna 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
3
R
0
H
2
RBI
2
lf/cf
AB
3
R
2
H
2
RBI
1
AB
2
R
1
H
2
RBI
4
1b/c
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
INF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
C/INF
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
OF
/ SoftballP/INF
/ Softball
P
/ SoftballC/INF
/ Softball
INF
/ SoftballOF
/ Softball
C/UTL
/ SoftballUTL
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