Tuesday, April 19
Starkville
5:00 PM
Mississippi State
27-17
2
vs
1
ULM
23-17
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
ULM
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
1
4
1
Mississippi State
0
1
0
0
0
0
1
2
6
1
Photo by: Mississippi State Athletics
Davidson’s Drive Sends State Home Winners
April 19, 2022 | Softball
STARKVILLE – Mississippi State secured a 2-1 victory Tuesday night against ULM in a defensive battle that ended with a Mia Davidson walk-off home run.
Davidson, who was making her 250th career start despite battling a cold, took a 1-2 pitch to straightaway center to end the ballgame.
"She said she felt well enough to play and that she wanted to be out there," head coach Samantha Ricketts said. "We were joking before the game, saying it was going to be her MJ flu game, and of course she goes and does that. I'm not surprised at all really. I think, ultimately, there was no question that she wanted to be out there and do whatever she could to contribute. Even before that, she was finding ways to get on base when we really needed base runners. I'm not surprised by her team-first attitude or her ability to come up big when she is not feeling her best."
The Bulldogs (27-17, 7-8 SEC) jumped to an early 1-0 lead in the second inning after Matalasi Faapito tripled and later scored on a single by Madisyn Kennedy. ULM (23-17, 9-9 Sun Belt) tied the game in the fourth inning with two singles around a stolen base.
Annie Willis started in the circle and went 4.0 innings before exiting for Grace Fagan. Fagan closed out the ballgame, retiring every hitter she faced and striking out nine to earn the win.
Defensively, the Bulldogs turned their fourth double play in as many games when Kennedy showed her range on a slow grounder up the middle, stepped on second and threw to first. Later in the fourth, Paige Cook nabbed a highlight of her own on a diving catch to snag a line drive down the third base line.
"Honestly, seeing Mia step up to the plate, there was a lot of confidence there. When Mia is up to bat, something is going to happen, whether it's a home run or she gets on base somehow. Mia is that type of player where she gets things done no matter what."
Samantha Ricketts on the pitching performance…
"I really liked what we got from Grace Fagan. Annie [Willis] gave us a quality start. We were trying not to go the whole game with her. I thought Grace did a good job with the amount of lefties they have in their lineup. I felt confident with going to Grace, knowing that she was going to be able to mix speeds and spin the ball past them. It's really good to see it from her. It's something she's been doing a lot in practice for the past few weeks, and I wanted to get her some opportunities."
Mia Davidson – Made her 250th career start becoming the sixth Bulldog ever to reach the milestone … has reached base in a career-best 24 straight games … hit a walk-off home run and is now tied for sixth in NCAA career history with 87 long balls.
Matalasi Faapito – Hit her first career triple.
Grace Fagan – Pitched 3.0 shutout innings, retiring every batter she faced … recorded three strikeouts and earned the win.
Chloe Malau'ulu – Reached three times, all on fielder's choices … stole a base.
Annie Willis – Started and went 4.0 innings … allowed one run and struck out seven batters.
Matalasi Faapito hit a triple to right field, and Madisyn Kennedy drove her home with an RBI single to center.
ULM 0, Mississippi State 1
Top 4
Lourdes Bacon singled to center field and stole second base. Gabby Davila drove in Bacon with a single to left field.
ULM 1, Mississippi State 1
Bottom 7
Mia Davidson hit a walk-off solo home run to center field.
ULM 1, Mississippi State 2
Davidson, who was making her 250th career start despite battling a cold, took a 1-2 pitch to straightaway center to end the ballgame.
"She said she felt well enough to play and that she wanted to be out there," head coach Samantha Ricketts said. "We were joking before the game, saying it was going to be her MJ flu game, and of course she goes and does that. I'm not surprised at all really. I think, ultimately, there was no question that she wanted to be out there and do whatever she could to contribute. Even before that, she was finding ways to get on base when we really needed base runners. I'm not surprised by her team-first attitude or her ability to come up big when she is not feeling her best."
The Bulldogs (27-17, 7-8 SEC) jumped to an early 1-0 lead in the second inning after Matalasi Faapito tripled and later scored on a single by Madisyn Kennedy. ULM (23-17, 9-9 Sun Belt) tied the game in the fourth inning with two singles around a stolen base.
Annie Willis started in the circle and went 4.0 innings before exiting for Grace Fagan. Fagan closed out the ballgame, retiring every hitter she faced and striking out nine to earn the win.
Defensively, the Bulldogs turned their fourth double play in as many games when Kennedy showed her range on a slow grounder up the middle, stepped on second and threw to first. Later in the fourth, Paige Cook nabbed a highlight of her own on a diving catch to snag a line drive down the third base line.
Quotables
Madisyn Kennedy on confidence in Mia Davidson at the plate…"Honestly, seeing Mia step up to the plate, there was a lot of confidence there. When Mia is up to bat, something is going to happen, whether it's a home run or she gets on base somehow. Mia is that type of player where she gets things done no matter what."
Samantha Ricketts on the pitching performance…
"I really liked what we got from Grace Fagan. Annie [Willis] gave us a quality start. We were trying not to go the whole game with her. I thought Grace did a good job with the amount of lefties they have in their lineup. I felt confident with going to Grace, knowing that she was going to be able to mix speeds and spin the ball past them. It's really good to see it from her. It's something she's been doing a lot in practice for the past few weeks, and I wanted to get her some opportunities."
Quick Hitters
Dawg Defense – State has turned a double play in three of the last four games, with four total double plays in that span.Mia Davidson – Made her 250th career start becoming the sixth Bulldog ever to reach the milestone … has reached base in a career-best 24 straight games … hit a walk-off home run and is now tied for sixth in NCAA career history with 87 long balls.
Matalasi Faapito – Hit her first career triple.
Grace Fagan – Pitched 3.0 shutout innings, retiring every batter she faced … recorded three strikeouts and earned the win.
Chloe Malau'ulu – Reached three times, all on fielder's choices … stole a base.
Annie Willis – Started and went 4.0 innings … allowed one run and struck out seven batters.
Scoring Recap
Bottom 2Matalasi Faapito hit a triple to right field, and Madisyn Kennedy drove her home with an RBI single to center.
ULM 0, Mississippi State 1
Top 4
Lourdes Bacon singled to center field and stole second base. Gabby Davila drove in Bacon with a single to left field.
ULM 1, Mississippi State 1
Bottom 7
Mia Davidson hit a walk-off solo home run to center field.
ULM 1, Mississippi State 2
On Deck
Mississippi State will play a neutral site game against UT Martin on Wednesday, April 20. The Bulldogs and Skyhawks will meet at 5:30 p.m. CT in Lexington, Tennessee, in a makeup of a Feb. 23 rainout.Follow the Bulldogs
For more information on the Bulldog softball program, follow on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram by searching "HailStateSB."
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Fagan, Grace (3-1)
L: Abrams, Victoria (7-4)
Batting:
RBI: Davila, Gabby 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Bacon, Lourdes 1
SB: Bacon, Lourdes 1
Batting:
3B: Faapito, Matalasi 1
HR: Davidson, Mia 1
RBI: Davidson, Mia 1 ; Kennedy, Madisyn 1
SH: McKenna, Jackie 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Davidson, Mia 1 ; Faapito, Matalasi 1
SB: Malau'ulu, Chloe 1
HBP: Cook, Paige 1 ; Faapito, Matalasi 1 ; Kennedy, Madisyn 1 ; St. Clair, Brylie 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
4
R
1
H
3
RBI
1
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
2
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
AB
2
R
0
H
1
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
INF
/ SoftballC/INF
/ SoftballP/INF
/ Softball
P
/ SoftballINF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
P
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