State Splits Saturday Finale At Bulldog Invitational

Saturday, March 11

Starkville

3:00 PM

Mississippi State

17-7

#1 Oklahoma

20-1

Oklahoma

Mississippi State

State Splits Saturday Finale At Bulldog Invitational

March 11, 2023 | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2 Oklahoma Box Score (PDF)Omaha Box Score (PDF)Photo Gallery Photo Gallery 2

By: Brian Ogden, Associate Director/Communications

STARKVILLE – After enduring a three-plus-hour marathon matchup with No. 1 Oklahoma, Mississippi State rallied for a walk-off win against Omaha to close the Bulldog Invitational on Saturday.

"It was good to get the win, and I like the way we responded," head coach Samantha Ricketts said. "We knew, coming off an intense first game of the day, that we were going to have to find a way to refocus and refocus quickly, and I think that definitely showed in the first inning. Credit to them for being gritty and finding a way to dig deep and pull out a win. I thought Reis [Beuerlein] came in and did a great job holding it down until we were able to find a way to scratch across a run at the end."

The Bulldogs blanked the Sooners (20-1) in six of seven innings, but a nine-run second frame proved to be enough for the Oklahoma offense. State's pitching staff rebounded after allowing the first six runs and did not allow another earned run to cross the plate.

Grace Fagan threw 2.0-plus scoreless innings before giving way to Matalasi Faapito. Faapito managed to induce a fielder's choice with runners on the corners and a line out to third to end the threat in the fifth. Faapito then struck out the side to work around two walks in the sixth and picked up a fourth punchout in the seventh.

Offensively, MSU tallied two runs in the third on RBI singles from Chloe Malau'ulu and Kiersten Landers. Paige Cook added a solo homer in the seventh, resulting in the 9-3 final score. That game finished just nine minutes shy of the longest seven-inning game in Nusz Park history.

State (18-7) fell behind early against Omaha (13-6), with three first-inning errors contributing to a 2-0 deficit. MSU got on the board with a first-and-third play that saw Brylie St. Clair thrown out at second while Macy Graf scored. The Bulldogs then tied the game on Cook's second home run in as many at-bats to make it a 2-2 game after one inning.

MSU added a run in the fourth, but Omaha answered in the fifth. The Bulldogs switched to Reis Beuerlein in the circle who would throw the final two innings with four strikeouts.

In the bottom of the seventh, St. Clair doubled off the center field wall with one out before Malau'ulu laced one down the right-field line for a game-winning double. It was MSU's fourth walk-off win of the season.

Quotables

Samantha Ricketts on Chloe Malau'ulu's walk-off single…
"Every year, she's just been such a great leader for us. It starts with her work ethic and what she does away from the field. I'm so happy to see it continue to show up for her on the field. She's really just the most selfless one. In between at-bats, she's leading cheers in the dugout, and I can hear her yelling from left field. She's all about the team, which is what we want from the captain and one of our best players."

Matalasi Faapito on her scoreless innings against Oklahoma…
"I was feeling really good. I just knew that I needed to go in there smiling, having a good time. When I play loose, I pitch the best. Knowing that they're the number one team gave me a confidence boost for going into SEC."

Chloe Malau'ulu on facing Oklahoma's pitchers…
"They were just another pair of arms. They are obviously really good, but you have to take the jersey off of them. Put a blank shirt on them, and it's just another pitcher."

Chloe Malau'ulu on holding Oklahoma scoreless for six innings…
"I am really proud of the pitchers and the defense for those six innings. I know that one inning really hurt us, but our pitchers really did their job today. I am super proud of them."

Quick Hitters

Packing the Park – The Bulldogs welcomed 1,284 fans to Nusz Park against Oklahoma, which is the 13th-largest crowd in the stadium's history … it was the fourth 1,000-plus crowd under head coach Samantha Ricketts … the Bulldogs totaled 2,876 fans (719 avg.) over the four games of the Bulldog Invitational.

Paige Cook – Hit a solo homer in the seventh against Oklahoma … also homered in her next at-bat in the first inning against Omaha … stole a base against the Mavericks.

Matalasi Faapito – Threw 3.0 scoreless innings against Oklahoma … struck out the side in the sixth and allowed one hit.

Grace Fagan – Threw 2.0-plus scoreless innings against Oklahoma … allowed one hit.

Macy Graf – Walked twice and scored against Oklahoma … drove in a run on a fielder's choice against Omaha … also walked and scored.

Riley Hull – Went 2-for-2 against Oklahoma with a double.

Madisyn Kennedy – Has turned a double play in four of the last six games.

Kiersten Landers – Drove in a run against Oklahoma.

Chloe Malau'ulu – Went 2-for-4 against Oklahoma with an RBI … delivered a walk-off, RBI double against Omaha.

Scoring Recap vs. Oklahoma

Top 2
Alynah Torres led off with a single past the third baseman into left field. Alyssa Brito singled over the leaping second baseman while Torres advanced to second base. Jordy Bahl singled through the left side to load the bases. Jayda Coleman drove in Brito and Torres with a base hit up the middle. Bahl then scored from third on a wild pitch while Coleman was stealing. Tiare Jennings singled to right field. She then stole second. Haley Lee doubled to left field to score Coleman and Jennings. A ground out moved Lee to third. She scored when Kinzie Hansen reached on an error by the first baseman. With two outs, Torres doubled down the third base line, bringing in Hansen. Brito homered to left field, scoring two.
No. 1 Oklahoma 9, Mississippi State 0

Bottom 3
Macy Graf and Brylie St.Clair drew back-to-back walks to open the inning. Chloe Malau'ulu singled to center field, and Graf scored from second. A single to left field by Paige Cook loaded the bases. Kiersten Landers drove in St.Clair with a single to left field.
No.1 Oklahoma 9, Mississippi State 2

Bottom 7
With two outs, Paige Cook homered to center field.
No.1 Oklahoma 9, Mississippi State 3

Scoring Recap vs. Omaha

Top 1
Maggie O'Brien reached on a fielding error by the first baseman. Sophie Cerveny beat out an infield single to the shortstop, advancing O'Brien to second. Lyndsey Tucker hit a ground ball to second, and Cerveny was forced out at second while O'Brien reached third. Maddox Thomas reached on a fielding error by the second baseman, scoring O'Brien and advancing Tucker to second. The ball then also rolled past the center fielder, allowing Tucker to score.
Omaha 2, Mississippi State 0

Bottom 1
Macy Graf drew a leadoff walk. Brylie St. Clair singled to second base, and Graf advanced to third on a fielding error by the shortstop. St. Clair was caught stealing at second base, but Graf scored on the throw. Paige Cook then hit a solo home run to left-center field.
Omaha 2, Mississippi State 2

Bottom 4
Riley Hull led off with a double into the left-center gap. Madisyn Kennedy singled through the left side of the infield, advancing Hull to third. Kiarra Sells pinch ran for Kennedy. Macy Graf lined a ball to left field that fell in front of the diving outfielder. Sells was forced out at second, but Hull scored from third.
Omaha 2, Mississippi State 3

Top 5
Olivia Aden hit a leadoff single to left field. O'Brien then singled up the middle, and Aden advanced to second. Both runners advanced on a wild pitch. Pinch hitter Ava Rongisch hit a sacrifice fly to right field, scoring Aden and moving O'Brien to third.
Omaha 3, Mississippi State 3

Bottom 7
With one out, Brylie St. Clair doubled off the center field wall. Chloe Malau'ulu doubled down the right field line to bring St. Clair in for the winning run.
Omaha 3, Mississippi State 4

On Deck

The final games of the Bulldog Invitational scheduled for Sunday have been cancelled due to predicted weather in the area. MSU is set to meet Purdue on Wednesday, March 17 at 4 p.m. CT on SEC Network+.

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