Marron’s No-Hitter Highlights Opening Day Sweep For State

Friday, February 9

Starkville

4:30 PM

Mississippi State

UAB

Marron’s No-Hitter Highlights Opening Day Sweep For State

February 09, 2024 | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2 UAB Box Score (PDF)IUPUI Box Score (PDF)Photo Gallery Photo Gallery 2

STARKVILLE – Mississippi State swept its first two games at The Snowman: Alex Wilcox Memorial Tournament, winning by a combined score of 19-0.

State opened the season with an 11-0 victory in five innings against UAB, marking the 11th consecutive year that the Bulldogs won their opening game. MSU then went on to claim an 8-0 victory against IUPUI, also in five innings.

The Bulldogs collected nine extra-base hits, including four home runs across the two games.

Josey Marron struck out nine batters across 5.0 innings while throwing the 24th no-hitter in school history and the first of her career against the Jaguars. It was her fourth complete game in her career where she has allowed less than two runs.

"Really excited for Josey because she really has worked hard," head coach Samantha Ricketts said. "She stayed here this summer to get back healthy. She had a little bit of an injury last season during SEC play, so she wanted to come back stronger and healthier than ever. So just seeing the hard work that she has put in and the determination, she has so much movement on her ball. To see her just trust that and being able to work with Jessie Blaine behind the plate, who was her catcher growing up, and with Coach T [Taryne Mowatt-McKinney] calling it, it was really cool to see that moment for all three of them."

Aspen Wesley earned the win in the season opener against UAB. She has now allowed just one run across her Opening Day starts in each of the last three years with 17 strikeouts in those games.

The Bulldogs saw homers from four different players, including freshmen Ella Wesolowski and Kylee Edwards. Edwards' blast came on the first pitch she saw in her collegiate career. Madisyn Kennedy and Jessie Blaine also left the yard.

Wesolowski finished the day with a team-high five RBIs, while Aquana Brownlee added four.

Quotables

Samantha Ricketts on what the freshmen bring to the lineup…
"Yeah, these freshman are special. We've been excited to get them here the last few years. They're just super athletic and they played at a very high level and have experience. They can do a lot of things well. They can hit homeruns, they're fast, they can run bases, and they can play really good defense. So exited about mixing them in with some players with experience and it was fun to see them have to get the nerves out of the way. Salem Hawkins as well, I think another freshman Delaney Edwards can get some time in the circle that are going to contribute a lot for us this season."

Josey Marron on how aware she was that a no-hitter was developing…
"You really try not to think about it, but it's hard not to, getting later on into the game. Especially in that last inning, I was locked in, focused on pitch at a time and go from there. It's hard to not think about, but you kind of just have to force it out of your mind."

Josey Marron on what pitches were working for her…
"The drop was the go-to today, which that's my most comfortable pitch. I've had some struggles recently just calming myself down for starts like that and not getting too amped up, so in warmups Coach T [Taryne Mowatt-McKinney] was like, 'Why don't you go ahead and throw it in the first batter of your warmup so then you're ready to go for the game?' I think that helped a lot too."

Quick Hitters

Season-Opening Success - State has now won its season opener in 11 straight years … the Bulldogs have also won 11 consecutive home openers, pitching six shutouts in those games … MSU has outscored opponents 100-19 during the 11-game streak and scored five runs or more in 10 of those games.

Phenomenal Freshmen - Freshmen Kylee Edwards, Ella Wesolowski and Salen Hawkins combined to go 5-for-15 (.333) at the plate with seven RBIs, two doubles and two homers.

Jessie Blaine - Went 2-for-2 against UAB … hit her first Bulldog home run against IUPUI … had nine putouts against IUPUI.

Aquana Brownlee - Went 2-for-2 against UAB with a pair of RBIs … added a pair of hits, including a two-run single against IUPUI … now has 10 multi-hit games in her career.

Paige Cook - Extended her hitting streak to four games, dating back to last year … is 5-for-7 with five extra-base hits and six RBIs during the streak.

Kylee Edwards - Homered off the first pitch of her career … added a double against IUPUI.

Madisyn Kennedy - Hit a home run in her first at-bat of the season after getting engaged on Thursday night.

Josey Marron - Threw her first career no-hitter game against IUPUI, with nine strikeouts in 5.0 innings … now has four career complete games when allowing two or fewer runs.

Sierra Sacco - Reached in all four trips to the plate against UAB with two singles, a walk and a hit-by-pitch … stole a base and scored three times … made a diving catch in center field to end the third inning against the Blazers … added a triple and a walk against IUPUI.

Brylie St. Clair - Beat out two bunt singles against IUPUI … also stole a base … now has 24 career multi-hit games.

Aspen Wesley - Has been State's Opening Day starter for three straight years, allowing a combined total of nine hits and one earned run, while striking out 17 over 13.1 innings … has earned the win in two of those games, while State has won all three.

Ella Wesolowski - Delivered a two-run double against UAB … hit a three-run homer against IUPUI.

Scoring Recap vs. UAB

Bottom 1
Sierra Sacco drew a leadoff walk. With one out, Jessie Blaine singled off the pitcher, advancing Sacco to second. Aquana Brownlee brought her home with a single up the middle.
UAB 0, Mississippi State 1

Bottom 2
Madisyn Kennedy and Kylee Edwards opened the inning with back-to-back homers. Sacco singled to second with one out before stealing second. Nadia Barbary singled to left center field, bringing Sacco home. Blaine singled, advancing Barbary to second. Brownlee then singled to the pitcher to load the bases. Ella Wesolowski doubled off the center field wall, bringing both Blaine and Barbary home and advancing Brownlee to third. Brownlee scored on a wild pitch, and Wesolowski advanced to third. Salen Hawkins brought her home with a single to right field.
UAB 0, Mississippi State 8

Bottom 3
Brylie St. Clair singled down the third base line. Sacco was hit by a pitch, advancing St. Clair to second. Barbary drew a walk to load the bases. Saleyna Daniel grounded out to third, bringing St. Clair home. Brownlee then brought Sacco home with a sacrifice fly to right field.
UAB 0, Mississippi State 10

Bottom 4
With two outs, Edwards drew a walk. Paige Cook doubled to right field, bringing Edwards home.
UAB 0, Mississippi State 11

Scoring Recap vs. IUPUI

Bottom 1
Sierra Sacco tripled down the left field line. Nadia Barbary drove her in with a double to right-center field. Jessie Blaine then hit a two-run homer.
IUPUI 0, Mississippi State 3

Bottom 3
Barbary singled down the right field line. Aquana Brownlee singled through the left side,
pushing Barbary to second base where Jadyn Burney came in to pinch run. Ella Wesolowski then hit a three-run homer.
IUPUI 0, Mississippi State 6

Bottom 4
Kylee Edwards doubled down the left field line. Brylie St. Clair singled to first base, advancing Edwards to third. St. Clair then stole second. Sacco walked to load the bases. Blaine advanced to first base on a fielder's choice, advancing St. Clair and Sacco. Brownlee then sent St. Clair and Sacco home with a single through the right side.
IUPUI 0, Mississippi State 8

Next Up

Weather in the weekend forecast has altered MSU's schedule for the rest of the tournament. The Bulldogs are now scheduled to face IUPUI again at noon CT on Saturday, and will follow that game with a 2:30 p.m. first pitch against UAB.

For more information on the Bulldog softball program, follow on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram by searching "HailStateSB."