Cleared For Takeoff
February 26, 2025 | Softball
STARKVILLE — It was appropriate that Mississippi State softball competed in the city famous for rockets last week, as the Bulldogs averaged a home run per contest and outscored the opposition 27-13 in the Rocket City Softball Showcase.
For a tournament held in the heart of the city made famous by the U.S. Space and Rocket Center, MSU held firm control of the launch codes.
"The mindset really was not to get too big and just chip away and have team at-bats and have each other's back," head coach Samantha Ricketts said. "It's something the players just kept repeating in the dugout, 'Hey, so what? We know we can score. We've got a lot of game left. Let's just do it together and continue to play our game whether we're up or down.'"
The first game of the tournament in Huntsville, Alabama, featured senior center fielder Sierra Sacco blasting two home runs in the 10-1 run-rule victory over Louisiana Tech. It was the first time she had homered twice in the same game in her collegiate career. One of her homers was also her first-career grand slam, and she finished the game with a career-high five RBIs.
Sacco's team-leading .579 on-base percentage has been a tremendous contribution in the lead-off spot for State's starting lineup.
"Sierra is one of the best hitters in the country [and] just one of the best overall players," Ricketts said. "I don't think she gets enough credit for what she can do and what she's able to do."
After dropping their first game on Sunday, the Bulldogs rapidly loaded the bus and headed across town from the University of Alabama-Huntsville to the home of the Rocket City Trash Pandas at Toyota Field.
After going down 6-1, the Bulldogs again put the key in the ignition and sent softballs to the moon against Miami (Ohio).
In the bottom of the second, Kiarra Sells entered those launch codes and the Bulldogs offense was cleared for takeoff. Sells' three-run blast gave State a 7-6 lead, and the Bulldogs would never trail again. That one swing resulted in State's second-largest swing in win probability this season, taking MSU from just a 39 percent chance of victory to more than 77 percent.
Sells was not the only player in the lineup who put a little extra fuel into their at-bats, however.
After Morgan Bernardini secured her second single of the contest for her team-leading fifth multi-hit game, graduate pitcher Lexi Sosa sent pitch from the Redhawks into orbit for a two-run homer of her own.
For Sosa, it was just another day at the office and making the best of her opportunities at the plate.
"[The plan] was definitely making an adjustment. I was getting jammed all weekend and was getting tired of it," Sosa said. "I just cleared my hips and stuck to my plan. That was the biggest thing."
After leaving a scorching trail of offensive smoke in Huntsville, State is preparing for the next team up.
It's always been business as usual for the Bulldogs, with one goal in mind. That mission is to be better than you were yesterday and to have the back of the person standing beside you.
The sentiment has some extra emphasis heading into another busy week for the program with six games scheduled this week at Nusz Park.
"I think we still got a lot of room to improve and continue to learn and get better," Ricketts said. "I really liked our bounce back, getting down five runs early and just staying composed and finding a way to just chip away. It was a very mature response. I liked the response, and I like the fight we showed. I think it shows something that we can continue deeper into the season."
For a tournament held in the heart of the city made famous by the U.S. Space and Rocket Center, MSU held firm control of the launch codes.
"The mindset really was not to get too big and just chip away and have team at-bats and have each other's back," head coach Samantha Ricketts said. "It's something the players just kept repeating in the dugout, 'Hey, so what? We know we can score. We've got a lot of game left. Let's just do it together and continue to play our game whether we're up or down.'"
The first game of the tournament in Huntsville, Alabama, featured senior center fielder Sierra Sacco blasting two home runs in the 10-1 run-rule victory over Louisiana Tech. It was the first time she had homered twice in the same game in her collegiate career. One of her homers was also her first-career grand slam, and she finished the game with a career-high five RBIs.
Sacco's team-leading .579 on-base percentage has been a tremendous contribution in the lead-off spot for State's starting lineup.
"Sierra is one of the best hitters in the country [and] just one of the best overall players," Ricketts said. "I don't think she gets enough credit for what she can do and what she's able to do."
After dropping their first game on Sunday, the Bulldogs rapidly loaded the bus and headed across town from the University of Alabama-Huntsville to the home of the Rocket City Trash Pandas at Toyota Field.
After going down 6-1, the Bulldogs again put the key in the ignition and sent softballs to the moon against Miami (Ohio).
In the bottom of the second, Kiarra Sells entered those launch codes and the Bulldogs offense was cleared for takeoff. Sells' three-run blast gave State a 7-6 lead, and the Bulldogs would never trail again. That one swing resulted in State's second-largest swing in win probability this season, taking MSU from just a 39 percent chance of victory to more than 77 percent.
Sells was not the only player in the lineup who put a little extra fuel into their at-bats, however.
After Morgan Bernardini secured her second single of the contest for her team-leading fifth multi-hit game, graduate pitcher Lexi Sosa sent pitch from the Redhawks into orbit for a two-run homer of her own.
For Sosa, it was just another day at the office and making the best of her opportunities at the plate.
"[The plan] was definitely making an adjustment. I was getting jammed all weekend and was getting tired of it," Sosa said. "I just cleared my hips and stuck to my plan. That was the biggest thing."
After leaving a scorching trail of offensive smoke in Huntsville, State is preparing for the next team up.
It's always been business as usual for the Bulldogs, with one goal in mind. That mission is to be better than you were yesterday and to have the back of the person standing beside you.
The sentiment has some extra emphasis heading into another busy week for the program with six games scheduled this week at Nusz Park.
"I think we still got a lot of room to improve and continue to learn and get better," Ricketts said. "I really liked our bounce back, getting down five runs early and just staying composed and finding a way to just chip away. It was a very mature response. I liked the response, and I like the fight we showed. I think it shows something that we can continue deeper into the season."
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