Saturday, May 21
Tallahassee, Fla.
8:20 PM
Mississippi State
35-25
6
vs
0
South Florida
45-16
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
Mississippi State
0
2
0
1
0
1
2
6
11
1
South Florida
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
4
2
Photo by: Mississippi State Athletics
Willis Pitches State To Fourth Consecutive Regional Final
May 22, 2022 | Softball
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Behind a complete-game, four-hit effort from Annie Willis, Mississippi State advanced to the Tallahassee Regional finals with a 6-0 victory over South Florida on Saturday night.
State avenged its regional opening loss to the Bulls (45-16) and has now advanced to Sunday's regional finals in each of the last four NCAA Tournaments. It marks the second time that MSU has come back through the loser's bracket after starting 0-1 (2018).
"I'm really proud of this team and the fight and the grit that they showed to come back in two elimination games today," head coach Samantha Ricketts said. "I really thought they took a good approach, and obviously, our energy got better as the night got later. That's something that we know we thrive off of. It's going to be a quick turnaround tomorrow, but we're looking to bring that same kind of looseness, focus and energy that we play well off of. It's going to be another tough matchup for us."
Willis threw a complete game and her 11th career shutout. She had early run support with the help of two unearned runs in the second. State (35-25) also added runs in the fourth, sixth and seventh frames.
Brylie St. Clair and Chloe Malau'ulu carried over their impressive play from the day's first game. St. Clair turned in her second straight multi-hit game and 10th of the year while driving in two runs. Malau'ulu picked up a base hit and stole her third base of the day. Meanwhile, Matalasi Faapito delivered the biggest swing of the game with a solo homer in the fourth that made the score 3-0.
Mia Davidson brought home an insurance run in the sixth with a sacrifice fly. Addison Purvis also turned in a two-hit day, including a double, and Riley Hull reached in three of four trips with two hits and a run-scoring error. She was only retired on a sacrifice fly that extended the lead in the seventh.
"This team is just so determined, and so hard-working. It's really fun to play with them and play for them. I feel like as the night went on, you had to lock in more because, obviously, it was getting later and later. It just never stopped. It's just so fun to play with that energy."
Chloe Malau'ulu on consistent traffic on the bases…
"It's crucial to make sure we're getting those runners on base and then having timely hits to bring them in. I think that tonight gave a really good glimpse of what we need to be doing tomorrow against Florida State and just feed off of the energy from the dugout. It's not just the person up to bat. It's the people behind those at-bats. It's going to take everybody tomorrow."
Reaching the Regional Final – Mississippi State has now reached Sunday, playing in the regional final, in each of the last four NCAA Tournaments, dating back to 2019 … this marks the second time in that span that MSU has done so despite losing its first game of the tournament.
Dawg Defense – MSU saw its season-long errorless streak end at 46.0 innings … State has committed just two errors over the last six games with a .990 fielding percentage (196 of 198 chances) in that span.
Riley Hull – Went 2-for-3 … beat out an infield single … also reached on an error with two outs to bring home State's first run of the game … brought home a run on a sacrifice fly.
Matalasi Faapito – Hit a solo home run for her first career postseason RBI … went 2-for-2 with two runs scored and was intentionally walked.
Chloe Malau'ulu – Singled and stole a base … combined with the day's earlier game, stole three total bases on the day … also walked.
Brylie St. Clair – Went 3-for-4, tying her career high in hits … turned in her second straight multi-hit game and 10th of the year … drove in two runs … also walked.
Annie Willis – Threw her fourth complete game of the year and 11th career shutout … struck out four … allowed just four hits and five total baserunners.
With two outs, Addison Purvis singled through the right side, and Phoebe Florian pinch ran at first. Matalasi Faapito then singled off the pitcher. Florian and Faapito both advanced on a wild pitch before Madisyn Kennedy drew a walk to load the bases. Riley Hull hit a ground ball to second and reached on a fielding error that allowed Florian to score. Brylie St. Clair then singled into center to score Faapito.
Mississippi State 2, South Florida 0
Top 4
Matalasi Faapito opened the inning with a home run to left field.
Mississippi State 3, South Florida 0
Top 6
Hull and St. Clair singled to open the inning. They both advanced on a wild pitch. Mia Davidson hit a sacrifice fly to score Hull.
Mississippi State 4, South Florida 0
Top 7
Jackie McKenna pinch hit and delivered a leadoff double. Kennedy reached when a pop up was dropped in the infield. Both runners advanced on a wild pitch. Hull brought McKenna home on a sacrifice fly to center before St. Clair drove in Kennedy with a base hit.
Mississippi State 6, South Florida 0
State avenged its regional opening loss to the Bulls (45-16) and has now advanced to Sunday's regional finals in each of the last four NCAA Tournaments. It marks the second time that MSU has come back through the loser's bracket after starting 0-1 (2018).
"I'm really proud of this team and the fight and the grit that they showed to come back in two elimination games today," head coach Samantha Ricketts said. "I really thought they took a good approach, and obviously, our energy got better as the night got later. That's something that we know we thrive off of. It's going to be a quick turnaround tomorrow, but we're looking to bring that same kind of looseness, focus and energy that we play well off of. It's going to be another tough matchup for us."
Willis threw a complete game and her 11th career shutout. She had early run support with the help of two unearned runs in the second. State (35-25) also added runs in the fourth, sixth and seventh frames.
Brylie St. Clair and Chloe Malau'ulu carried over their impressive play from the day's first game. St. Clair turned in her second straight multi-hit game and 10th of the year while driving in two runs. Malau'ulu picked up a base hit and stole her third base of the day. Meanwhile, Matalasi Faapito delivered the biggest swing of the game with a solo homer in the fourth that made the score 3-0.
Mia Davidson brought home an insurance run in the sixth with a sacrifice fly. Addison Purvis also turned in a two-hit day, including a double, and Riley Hull reached in three of four trips with two hits and a run-scoring error. She was only retired on a sacrifice fly that extended the lead in the seventh.
Quotables
Brylie St. Clair on staying energetic and focused through a late night…"This team is just so determined, and so hard-working. It's really fun to play with them and play for them. I feel like as the night went on, you had to lock in more because, obviously, it was getting later and later. It just never stopped. It's just so fun to play with that energy."
Chloe Malau'ulu on consistent traffic on the bases…
"It's crucial to make sure we're getting those runners on base and then having timely hits to bring them in. I think that tonight gave a really good glimpse of what we need to be doing tomorrow against Florida State and just feed off of the energy from the dugout. It's not just the person up to bat. It's the people behind those at-bats. It's going to take everybody tomorrow."
Quick Hitters
Loving the Long Ball – Matalasi Faapito's home run gave MSU 70 home runs on the year, which is tied with the 2021 season for second in program history … State has three seasons of 70 or more home runs on record, and all three have come since Samantha Ricketts originally joined the program as its hitting coach.Reaching the Regional Final – Mississippi State has now reached Sunday, playing in the regional final, in each of the last four NCAA Tournaments, dating back to 2019 … this marks the second time in that span that MSU has done so despite losing its first game of the tournament.
Dawg Defense – MSU saw its season-long errorless streak end at 46.0 innings … State has committed just two errors over the last six games with a .990 fielding percentage (196 of 198 chances) in that span.
Riley Hull – Went 2-for-3 … beat out an infield single … also reached on an error with two outs to bring home State's first run of the game … brought home a run on a sacrifice fly.
Matalasi Faapito – Hit a solo home run for her first career postseason RBI … went 2-for-2 with two runs scored and was intentionally walked.
Chloe Malau'ulu – Singled and stole a base … combined with the day's earlier game, stole three total bases on the day … also walked.
Brylie St. Clair – Went 3-for-4, tying her career high in hits … turned in her second straight multi-hit game and 10th of the year … drove in two runs … also walked.
Annie Willis – Threw her fourth complete game of the year and 11th career shutout … struck out four … allowed just four hits and five total baserunners.
Scoring Recap
Top 2With two outs, Addison Purvis singled through the right side, and Phoebe Florian pinch ran at first. Matalasi Faapito then singled off the pitcher. Florian and Faapito both advanced on a wild pitch before Madisyn Kennedy drew a walk to load the bases. Riley Hull hit a ground ball to second and reached on a fielding error that allowed Florian to score. Brylie St. Clair then singled into center to score Faapito.
Mississippi State 2, South Florida 0
Top 4
Matalasi Faapito opened the inning with a home run to left field.
Mississippi State 3, South Florida 0
Top 6
Hull and St. Clair singled to open the inning. They both advanced on a wild pitch. Mia Davidson hit a sacrifice fly to score Hull.
Mississippi State 4, South Florida 0
Top 7
Jackie McKenna pinch hit and delivered a leadoff double. Kennedy reached when a pop up was dropped in the infield. Both runners advanced on a wild pitch. Hull brought McKenna home on a sacrifice fly to center before St. Clair drove in Kennedy with a base hit.
Mississippi State 6, South Florida 0
On Deck
Mississippi State will play No. 2 Florida State in the regional final on Sunday needing to win twice to reach the first Super Regional in program history. The first game is scheduled for 1 p.m. CT and will air on one of the ESPN Networks.Follow the Bulldogs
For more information on the Bulldog softball program, follow on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram by searching "HailStateSB."
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Willis, Annie (8-8)
L: A. Hill (2-2)
Batting:
2B: Purvis, Addison 1 ; McKenna, Jackie 1
HR: Faapito, Matalasi 1
RBI: St. Clair, Brylie 2 ; Davidson, Mia 1 ; Faapito, Matalasi 1 ; Hull, Riley 1
SF: Davidson, Mia 1 ; Hull, Riley 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Florian, Phoebe 1 ; McKenna, Jackie 1 ; Faapito, Matalasi 2 ; Kennedy, Madisyn 1 ; Hull, Riley 1
SB: Malau'ulu, Chloe 1
Batting:
2B: A. Rivera 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
4
R
0
H
3
RBI
2
AB
3
R
0
H
2
RBI
0
AB
3
R
2
H
2
RBI
1
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
C/INF
/ SoftballP/INF
/ Softball
UTL
/ SoftballC/INF
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
C/UTL
/ SoftballUTL
/ SoftballOF
/ Softball
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