Thursday, March 9
Starkville
6:30 PM
Mississippi State
17-5
6
vs
5
Southeastern La.
19-3
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
Southeastern La.
0
0
0
1
3
1
0
5
10
3
Mississippi State
0
1
0
4
0
1
X
6
8
1
Bulldogs Win Late Against Southeastern Louisiana
March 09, 2023 | Softball
STARKVILLE – Mississippi State won a tightly contested ballgame against Southeastern Louisiana, 6-5, to open the Bulldog Invitational on Thursday night.
State (17-5) broke up a tie game in the bottom of the sixth with a sacrifice fly from Brylie St. Clair that proved to be the difference. Kenley Hawk picked up the win in relief, tossing 2.2 innings of one-run ball.
"We showed a lot of fight tonight," head coach Samantha Ricketts said. "We've had innings like that where things kind of get out of hand, but I think we did a great job limiting the damage and not giving up the lead in the fifth. I'm proud of the fight that Kenley [Hawk] showed coming in and closing the game. It was good to see everyone up and down the line up contributing. That's a really good team over there. They're well coached every year, and we knew they were going to be aggressive. I thought we were expecting it, and we came out ready to play and made sure we respect our opponent."
The Bulldogs opened the scoring in the second on an RBI single from Nadia Barbary. Barbary later helped kickstart a rally in the fourth with a bases-loaded single through the left side in a tie game. MSU went on to score four runs in the fourth with the help of three Lion errors. Macy Graf and Chloe Malau'ulu also collected RBIs in that inning as State batted around for the seventh time this season.
Southeastern (19-3) scored three in the top of the fifth on a home run, an error and a successful double steal in a first-and-third situation. The Lions later tied the game in the top of the sixth on a one-out double.
Jackie McKenna singled to open the seventh, and Kat Wallace pinch ran for her at first. Wallace advanced to third on a double from Graf before St. Clair delivered the decisive sacrifice fly.
"We're definitely using everyone we can, even getting into some defensive [changes] with Saleyna [Daniel] and Riley [Hull]. It doesn't show up on the scoreboard, but it's huge. It's everyone understanding their role and executing it, whether it be a pinch run off the bench, late inning defensive change or even relief pitching. That's something we talk about a lot, making sure every role is important whether you step on the field or not each day."
Brylie St. Clair on her mentality in the sixth inning…
"I think that our team, we're gritty, blue-collared, hard-working so coming back was really just something we were determined to do. I was keeping it simple, just trying to do my job. The people in front of me really came through, so give it up to them. For sure, it was definitely a good game. They are a good team, a well-coached team, so beating them I think really sets us up to be in a good position for tomorrow's game."
Kenley Hawk on her performance in tight situations…
"Honestly, just being in the game with my teammates inning to inning, battling the way we would normally battle in a SEC game, felt good. Everyone was in and cheering. We all wanted to be there for each other."
Nadia Barbary – Singled home a run in each of her first two at-bats.
Paige Cook – Singled and stole second on the throw back to the pitcher to open the second inning.
Macy Graf – Doubled in the sixth … drew a bases-loaded walk to drive in a run.
Madisyn Kennedy – Turned a double play for the third straight game.
Chloe Malau'ulu – Went 2-for-2 with an RBI … also walked twice to reach in every plate appearance … threw out a runner at the plate for her 16th career outfield assist … now one shy of second in MSU history (Brittany Gates, 2009-12) … 11 of her outfield assists have cut down runs at the plate.
Brylie St. Clair – Delivered a game-winning sacrifice fly in the sixth.
Paige Cook singled to right then stole second base on the throw back to the pitcher. She advanced to third on a ground out from Kiersten Landers. Nadia Barbary singled into left field, to score Cook.
Southeastern Louisiana 0, Mississippi State 1
Top 4th
Maria Detillier doubled to right field then advanced to third base on a bunt single from Madison Rayner. Britt Bourgoyne pinch ran for Rayner and reached second base on a ground out from Lexi Johnson. Maddie Watson singled into right field, to score Detillier.
Southeastern Louisiana 1, Mississippi State 1
Bottom 4th
Aquana Brownlee singled to center field. Kiersten Landers reached on catcher's interference, pushing Brownlee to second. Madisyn Kennedy popped up a sacrifice attempt, but the catcher dropped the ball, allowing her to reach on the error. With the bases loaded, Barbary singled home Brownlee. Graf walked to score Landers. Brylie St. Clair hit a ground ball to the first baseman who threw home to attempt to retire Kennedy. The catcher's foot was not on the plate, however, allowing Kennedy to score. Chloe Malau'ulu blooped a single over the first baseman, to score Barbary.
Southeastern Louisiana 1, Mississippi State 5
Top 5th
Audrey Greely hit a leadoff home run to left-center field. Ka'Lyn Watson singled to the pitcher. Cam Goodman singled off the diving third baseman's glove, advancing Watson to second base. Both runners advanced on a wild pitch. Maria Detillier hit a ground ball to shortstop and the throw home was wild, allowing Watson to score on the error. The Lions executed a double steal with Detillier and Goodman that allowed Goodman to score.
Southeastern Louisiana 4, Mississippi State 5
Top 6th
Bailey Krolczyk singled to shortstop. She advanced to second base on a sacrifice bunt by Maddie Watson. Greely's double to right field scored Krolczyk.
Southeastern Louisiana 5, Mississippi State 5
Bottom 6th
Jackie Mckenna singled to left field to lead off. Kat Wallace pinch ran for her at first. Macy Graf doubled to center field, and Wallace advanced to third. Brylie St.Clair hit a sacrifice fly to left field, scoring Wallace.
Southeastern Louisiana 5, Mississippi State 6
State (17-5) broke up a tie game in the bottom of the sixth with a sacrifice fly from Brylie St. Clair that proved to be the difference. Kenley Hawk picked up the win in relief, tossing 2.2 innings of one-run ball.
"We showed a lot of fight tonight," head coach Samantha Ricketts said. "We've had innings like that where things kind of get out of hand, but I think we did a great job limiting the damage and not giving up the lead in the fifth. I'm proud of the fight that Kenley [Hawk] showed coming in and closing the game. It was good to see everyone up and down the line up contributing. That's a really good team over there. They're well coached every year, and we knew they were going to be aggressive. I thought we were expecting it, and we came out ready to play and made sure we respect our opponent."
The Bulldogs opened the scoring in the second on an RBI single from Nadia Barbary. Barbary later helped kickstart a rally in the fourth with a bases-loaded single through the left side in a tie game. MSU went on to score four runs in the fourth with the help of three Lion errors. Macy Graf and Chloe Malau'ulu also collected RBIs in that inning as State batted around for the seventh time this season.
Southeastern (19-3) scored three in the top of the fifth on a home run, an error and a successful double steal in a first-and-third situation. The Lions later tied the game in the top of the sixth on a one-out double.
Jackie McKenna singled to open the seventh, and Kat Wallace pinch ran for her at first. Wallace advanced to third on a double from Graf before St. Clair delivered the decisive sacrifice fly.
Quotables
Samantha Ricketts on the importance of substitutions…"We're definitely using everyone we can, even getting into some defensive [changes] with Saleyna [Daniel] and Riley [Hull]. It doesn't show up on the scoreboard, but it's huge. It's everyone understanding their role and executing it, whether it be a pinch run off the bench, late inning defensive change or even relief pitching. That's something we talk about a lot, making sure every role is important whether you step on the field or not each day."
Brylie St. Clair on her mentality in the sixth inning…
"I think that our team, we're gritty, blue-collared, hard-working so coming back was really just something we were determined to do. I was keeping it simple, just trying to do my job. The people in front of me really came through, so give it up to them. For sure, it was definitely a good game. They are a good team, a well-coached team, so beating them I think really sets us up to be in a good position for tomorrow's game."
Kenley Hawk on her performance in tight situations…
"Honestly, just being in the game with my teammates inning to inning, battling the way we would normally battle in a SEC game, felt good. Everyone was in and cheering. We all wanted to be there for each other."
Quick Hitters
Bat Around Bulldogs – State batted around for the seventh time this year in the fourth inning … MSU scored four runs and had the help of three errors, all made by the Lions' catcher.Nadia Barbary – Singled home a run in each of her first two at-bats.
Paige Cook – Singled and stole second on the throw back to the pitcher to open the second inning.
Macy Graf – Doubled in the sixth … drew a bases-loaded walk to drive in a run.
Madisyn Kennedy – Turned a double play for the third straight game.
Chloe Malau'ulu – Went 2-for-2 with an RBI … also walked twice to reach in every plate appearance … threw out a runner at the plate for her 16th career outfield assist … now one shy of second in MSU history (Brittany Gates, 2009-12) … 11 of her outfield assists have cut down runs at the plate.
Brylie St. Clair – Delivered a game-winning sacrifice fly in the sixth.
Scoring Recap
Bottom 2ndPaige Cook singled to right then stole second base on the throw back to the pitcher. She advanced to third on a ground out from Kiersten Landers. Nadia Barbary singled into left field, to score Cook.
Southeastern Louisiana 0, Mississippi State 1
Top 4th
Maria Detillier doubled to right field then advanced to third base on a bunt single from Madison Rayner. Britt Bourgoyne pinch ran for Rayner and reached second base on a ground out from Lexi Johnson. Maddie Watson singled into right field, to score Detillier.
Southeastern Louisiana 1, Mississippi State 1
Bottom 4th
Aquana Brownlee singled to center field. Kiersten Landers reached on catcher's interference, pushing Brownlee to second. Madisyn Kennedy popped up a sacrifice attempt, but the catcher dropped the ball, allowing her to reach on the error. With the bases loaded, Barbary singled home Brownlee. Graf walked to score Landers. Brylie St. Clair hit a ground ball to the first baseman who threw home to attempt to retire Kennedy. The catcher's foot was not on the plate, however, allowing Kennedy to score. Chloe Malau'ulu blooped a single over the first baseman, to score Barbary.
Southeastern Louisiana 1, Mississippi State 5
Top 5th
Audrey Greely hit a leadoff home run to left-center field. Ka'Lyn Watson singled to the pitcher. Cam Goodman singled off the diving third baseman's glove, advancing Watson to second base. Both runners advanced on a wild pitch. Maria Detillier hit a ground ball to shortstop and the throw home was wild, allowing Watson to score on the error. The Lions executed a double steal with Detillier and Goodman that allowed Goodman to score.
Southeastern Louisiana 4, Mississippi State 5
Top 6th
Bailey Krolczyk singled to shortstop. She advanced to second base on a sacrifice bunt by Maddie Watson. Greely's double to right field scored Krolczyk.
Southeastern Louisiana 5, Mississippi State 5
Bottom 6th
Jackie Mckenna singled to left field to lead off. Kat Wallace pinch ran for her at first. Macy Graf doubled to center field, and Wallace advanced to third. Brylie St.Clair hit a sacrifice fly to left field, scoring Wallace.
Southeastern Louisiana 5, Mississippi State 6
On Deck
Mississippi State hosts No. 1/1 Oklahoma on Friday night at 6 p.m. CT. The game will be broadcast on SEC Network+.Follow the Bulldogs
For more information on the Bulldog softball program, follow on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram by searching "HailStateSB."
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Hawk, Kenley (2-3)
L: Blanchard, Cera (9-1)
Batting:
2B: Detillier, Maria 1 ; Greely, Audrey 1
HR: Greely, Audrey 1
RBI: Watson, Maddie 1 ; Greely, Audrey 2
SH: Watson, Maddie 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Goodman, Cam 1 ; Detillier, Maria 1 ; Krolczyk, Bailey 1 ; Greely, Audrey 1 ; Watson, Ka'Lyn 1
SB: Goodman, Cam 1 ; Detillier, Maria 1
Batting:
2B: Graf, Macy 1
RBI: Graf, Macy 1 ; St. Clair, Brylie 1 ; Malau'ulu, Chloe 1 ; Barbary, Nadia 2
SH: Kennedy, Madisyn 1
SF: St. Clair, Brylie 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Cook, Paige 1 ; Brownlee, Aquana 1 ; Landers, Kiersten 1 ; Kennedy, Madisyn 1 ; Barbary, Nadia 1 ; Wallace, Kat 1
SB: Cook, Paige 1
CS: Malau'ulu, Chloe 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
2
R
0
H
2
RBI
1
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
2
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
INF
/ Softball
INF
/ SoftballINF
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
OF
/ SoftballOF
/ Softball
C/UTL
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
INF
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