Tuesday, February 28
Starkville
6:00 PM
Mississippi State
12-4
9
vs
2
Mississippi Valley State
0-11
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
Miss. Valley St.
0
1
0
0
1
0
0
2
3
3
Mississippi State
6
0
0
0
0
3
X
9
6
1
Six-Run First Propels State To Home-Opening Victory
February 28, 2023 | Softball
STARKVILLE – Mississippi State scored six runs in the first on its way to a 9-2 victory against Mississippi Valley State on Tuesday night.
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The Bulldogs are now 22-4 against in-state opponents under head coach Samantha Ricketts, while outscoring those opponents 187-63. State has won its home opener for the 10th consecutive season and is 25-7 all-time in its first game of the season in Starkville.
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"It was good to be back at home finally after three weeks on the road, so I love that we came out strong and ready to play," Ricketts said. "We definitely still showed some things that we can work on, and that's obviously what the preseason is for. We want to continue to take lessons from every game we play no matter who the opponent is. It was good to see us finish strong at the end and just continuing to make some plays. We've got a few banged up and we're just getting a lot of opportunities for new players. We'll keep doing that throughout the weekend as well."
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Bri Bower got the start in the circle and tossed 3.0 innings with a career-high six strikeouts. Saleyna Daniel hit a two-run triple in the first while Paige Cook and Aquana Brownlee also drove in runs in the big inning. State (12-4) stole three bases in that frame alone on its way to a season-high four swipes.
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Brownlee later added an RBI double in the sixth as well. Cook also stole a base and walked twice. Brylie St. Clair continued MSU's bunting success, with two bunt singles. The Bulldogs are now 8-for-9 when bunting for a hit.
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"That was the main focus of getting ahead early to play our kind of softball. That was just the main focus to hit balls hard into the gaps and stay within our plans to score runs [and] have team at-bats."
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Aquana Brownlee on her start to the season…
"I think it just shows how much work I put in in the offseason. The work I've been doing is finally showing, so everybody can see where hard work got me. I'm actually a consistent player now."
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Bri Bower on her performance on the mound…
"I felt good. I heard my teammates in the dugout cheering me on, and I had great fielders behind me when the other team put the ball in play. It just made me feel good. Jackie [McKenna] did a good job behind the plate as well, framing the pitches. It felt good."
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Runnin' Wild – MSU stole a season-high four bases … State took three bases in the first inning alone … the last time State stole four or more bases came vs. Howard on May 21, 2022 (6).
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Bri Bower – Started and went 3.0 innings, striking out a career-high six … her previous career high was two.
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Brylie St. Clair – Went 2-for-4 with two bunt singles … stole two bags in her first trip around the bases … now has four multi-hit games this year.
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Aquana Brownlee - Went 2-for-4 with two RBIs … hit a double to left center … now had four multi-RBI games on the season.
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Paige Cook - Went 1-for-2 with two RBIs … now has five multi-hit games and three multi-RBI games in 2023.
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Saleyna Daniel - Went 1-for-3 with two RBIs … now has two multi-RBI games this year.
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Brylie St. Clair singled to lead off the inning then stole second base on the next pitch. Chloe Malau'ulu walked before both St. Clair and Malau'ulu stole second and third. Paige Cook singled to right, scoring both runners, and advanced to third on an error. She scored on Aquanna Brownlee's single to left field. Jackie McKenna walked before Saleyna Daniel tripled to center field to bring home McKenna and Brownlee. Matalasi Faapito hit a sacrifice fly to center to score Daniel.
MVSU 0, Mississippi State 6
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Top 2nd
Keisha White walked to lead off the inning. Naomi Drake then singled through the right side, advancing White to second. Aulora Edwards walked to load the bases. Kaitlyn Harper fouled out to right field, and White tagged up and scored on the play.
MVSU 1, Mississippi State 6
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Top 5th
Kaitlyn Harper hit a solo home run to center field.
MVSU 2, Mississippi State 6
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Bottom 6th
Leilani Pulemau walked to start the inning. Kiarra Sells also drew a walk to advance Pulemau to second. Both runners then advanced on a wild pitch. Brylie St. Clair grounded out to second, Sells advanced to third and Pulemau scored on the play. Sells scored from third on a passed ball. Cook stole second and Aquana Brownlee doubled to left center to bring Cook home.Â
MVSU 2, Mississippi 9
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The Bulldogs are now 22-4 against in-state opponents under head coach Samantha Ricketts, while outscoring those opponents 187-63. State has won its home opener for the 10th consecutive season and is 25-7 all-time in its first game of the season in Starkville.
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"It was good to be back at home finally after three weeks on the road, so I love that we came out strong and ready to play," Ricketts said. "We definitely still showed some things that we can work on, and that's obviously what the preseason is for. We want to continue to take lessons from every game we play no matter who the opponent is. It was good to see us finish strong at the end and just continuing to make some plays. We've got a few banged up and we're just getting a lot of opportunities for new players. We'll keep doing that throughout the weekend as well."
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Bri Bower got the start in the circle and tossed 3.0 innings with a career-high six strikeouts. Saleyna Daniel hit a two-run triple in the first while Paige Cook and Aquana Brownlee also drove in runs in the big inning. State (12-4) stole three bases in that frame alone on its way to a season-high four swipes.
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Brownlee later added an RBI double in the sixth as well. Cook also stole a base and walked twice. Brylie St. Clair continued MSU's bunting success, with two bunt singles. The Bulldogs are now 8-for-9 when bunting for a hit.
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Quotables
Aquana Brownlee on getting off to a good start…"That was the main focus of getting ahead early to play our kind of softball. That was just the main focus to hit balls hard into the gaps and stay within our plans to score runs [and] have team at-bats."
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Aquana Brownlee on her start to the season…
"I think it just shows how much work I put in in the offseason. The work I've been doing is finally showing, so everybody can see where hard work got me. I'm actually a consistent player now."
Â
Bri Bower on her performance on the mound…
"I felt good. I heard my teammates in the dugout cheering me on, and I had great fielders behind me when the other team put the ball in play. It just made me feel good. Jackie [McKenna] did a good job behind the plate as well, framing the pitches. It felt good."
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Quick Hitters
Batting Around – The Bulldogs have now batted around in six innings this season … they sent 10 batters to the plate in the first … their largest inning remains a 13-batter parade against Indiana (2/17).Â
Runnin' Wild – MSU stole a season-high four bases … State took three bases in the first inning alone … the last time State stole four or more bases came vs. Howard on May 21, 2022 (6).
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Bri Bower – Started and went 3.0 innings, striking out a career-high six … her previous career high was two.
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Brylie St. Clair – Went 2-for-4 with two bunt singles … stole two bags in her first trip around the bases … now has four multi-hit games this year.
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Aquana Brownlee - Went 2-for-4 with two RBIs … hit a double to left center … now had four multi-RBI games on the season.
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Paige Cook - Went 1-for-2 with two RBIs … now has five multi-hit games and three multi-RBI games in 2023.
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Saleyna Daniel - Went 1-for-3 with two RBIs … now has two multi-RBI games this year.
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Scoring Recap
Bottom 1Brylie St. Clair singled to lead off the inning then stole second base on the next pitch. Chloe Malau'ulu walked before both St. Clair and Malau'ulu stole second and third. Paige Cook singled to right, scoring both runners, and advanced to third on an error. She scored on Aquanna Brownlee's single to left field. Jackie McKenna walked before Saleyna Daniel tripled to center field to bring home McKenna and Brownlee. Matalasi Faapito hit a sacrifice fly to center to score Daniel.
MVSU 0, Mississippi State 6
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Top 2nd
Keisha White walked to lead off the inning. Naomi Drake then singled through the right side, advancing White to second. Aulora Edwards walked to load the bases. Kaitlyn Harper fouled out to right field, and White tagged up and scored on the play.
MVSU 1, Mississippi State 6
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Top 5th
Kaitlyn Harper hit a solo home run to center field.
MVSU 2, Mississippi State 6
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Bottom 6th
Leilani Pulemau walked to start the inning. Kiarra Sells also drew a walk to advance Pulemau to second. Both runners then advanced on a wild pitch. Brylie St. Clair grounded out to second, Sells advanced to third and Pulemau scored on the play. Sells scored from third on a passed ball. Cook stole second and Aquana Brownlee doubled to left center to bring Cook home.Â
MVSU 2, Mississippi 9
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On Deck
Mississippi State will host the Snowman Tournament on March 3-5 with games against Dartmouth, Abilene Christian and Murray State. All five of State's games will be broadcast 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: Bower, Bri (1-0)
L: Gleenabah Tsosie (0-5)
Batting:
HR: Kaitlyn Harper 1
RBI: Kaitlyn Harper 2
SF: Kaitlyn Harper 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Keisha White 1 ; Kaitlyn Harper 1
Batting:
2B: Brownlee, Aquana 1
3B: Daniel, Saleyna 1
RBI: St. Clair, Brylie 1 ; Cook, Paige 2 ; Brownlee, Aquana 2 ; Daniel, Saleyna 2 ; Faapito, Matalasi 1
SF: Faapito, Matalasi 1
Base Running:
RUNS: St. Clair, Brylie 1 ; Malau'ulu, Chloe 1 ; Cook, Paige 2 ; Brownlee, Aquana 1 ; McKenna, Jackie 1 ; Daniel, Saleyna 1 ; Pulemau, Leilani 1 ; Sells, Kiarra 1
SB: St. Clair, Brylie 2 ; Malau'ulu, Chloe 1 ; Cook, Paige 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
2
AB
2
R
2
H
1
RBI
2
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
2
Players Mentioned
INF
/ SoftballINF
/ SoftballOF
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
C/UTL
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
UTL
/ SoftballOF
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