Wednesday, March 12
Starkville
3 p.m.
Mississippi State
22-4
2
vs
3
Middle Tennessee
10-14
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
Middle Tennessee
0
0
0
0
0
2
1
3
6
0
Mississippi State
0
1
0
1
0
0
0
2
8
0
Bulldogs Stumble In Midweek Break From Conference Play
March 12, 2025 | Softball
STARKVILLE – Mississippi State saw an early lead slip away on Wednesday afternoon, dropping a midweek game to Middle Tennessee, 3-2.
The Bulldogs (22-4, 3-0 SEC) took the lead on an RBI double in the second and RBI single in the fourth, both from Morgan Bernardini. Delainey Everett carried a no-hitter into the fifth inning before allowing a single. She exited after 5.0 innings, but the bullpen was unable to hold the lead.
"We talk about all the time. It's a long season, but we have to be able to compete every single day, not just bring enough for an SEC weekend, an opening weekend, whatever it is," head coach Samantha Ricketts said. "That's a good pitcher. I thought she did a really good job, and we didn't do a good job of addressing her. Anytime we had a little bit of a rally – with two double plays – they were really able to just shut us down. We have to do a better job competing for our pitchers and also, I think, just making better pitches in the situations where we need to. I thought that we had a couple times where we let them off the hook when we were ahead in the count."
The Blue Raiders (10-14, 1-2 C-USA) got a two-run homer in the sixth inning before driving in the game-winning run in the top of the seventh. The play at the plate was reviewed, but ultimately, it was upheld, resulting in the final score.
Along with Bernardini, Morgan Stiles had a two-hit day at the plate, while Kiarra Sells and Sierra Sacco extended their hitting streaks.
"Delainey did exactly what she needed to do – give us a quality start. I thought she was really efficient, which allowed us to get through five innings with her. Knowing right now you're probably not going to go seven innings, we need to be able to back her up. I like what we saw from her. I thought she did a good job making some pitches and probably some of the best movement we've seen from her this season."
Delainey Everett on her strong start...
"After coming out this previous weekend with just a couple of innings, I wanted to come back and get in another groove for this coming up weekend, especially with the SEC series, so I was just using this midweek to prepare for the next couple games. Commanding the zone, hitting spots, staying ahead of batters is super important, that way I don't waste a lot of pitches."
Delainey Everett – Carried a no-hitter into the fifth inning … allowed just two baserunners on one hit and a hit-by-pitch … tied her season high with four strikeouts and walked none … 5.0 innings matched her longest start of the season.
Sierra Sacco – Extended her hitting streak to a season-long 11 games and her reached base streak to 24 games … hitting streak is one game shy of her career long … stole her team-leading 11th base of the year.
Kiarra Sells – Extended her hitting streak to five games and her reached-base streak to a career-long 12.
Morgan Stiles – Recorded her second career multi-hit game.
Jessie Blaine singled to left field with two outs. Morgan Bernardini doubled off the third base bag to knock Blaine in.
Middle Tennessee 0, No. 19 Mississippi State 1
Bottom 4
Lexi Sosa singled to left field, and Gretta Grassel came in to pinch run. Kylee Edwards bunted Grassel to second, and Bernardini scored her with a single to left-center.
Middle Tennessee 0, No. 19 Mississippi State 2
Top 5
Ava Tepe led off the inning with a hit by pitch before Addy Edgmon homered to right field.
Middle Tennessee 2, No. 19 Mississippi State 2
Top 7
Sabria Ritto singled to center and advanced to second on an Ava Brooks base-hit to left field. Tepe singled to left field scoring Ritto and advancing Brooks to second.
Middle Tennessee 3, No. 19 Mississippi State 2
For more information on the Bulldog softball program, follow on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram by searching "HailStateSB."
The Bulldogs (22-4, 3-0 SEC) took the lead on an RBI double in the second and RBI single in the fourth, both from Morgan Bernardini. Delainey Everett carried a no-hitter into the fifth inning before allowing a single. She exited after 5.0 innings, but the bullpen was unable to hold the lead.
"We talk about all the time. It's a long season, but we have to be able to compete every single day, not just bring enough for an SEC weekend, an opening weekend, whatever it is," head coach Samantha Ricketts said. "That's a good pitcher. I thought she did a really good job, and we didn't do a good job of addressing her. Anytime we had a little bit of a rally – with two double plays – they were really able to just shut us down. We have to do a better job competing for our pitchers and also, I think, just making better pitches in the situations where we need to. I thought that we had a couple times where we let them off the hook when we were ahead in the count."
The Blue Raiders (10-14, 1-2 C-USA) got a two-run homer in the sixth inning before driving in the game-winning run in the top of the seventh. The play at the plate was reviewed, but ultimately, it was upheld, resulting in the final score.
Along with Bernardini, Morgan Stiles had a two-hit day at the plate, while Kiarra Sells and Sierra Sacco extended their hitting streaks.
Quotables
Coach Samantha Ricketts on Delainey Everett's performance..."Delainey did exactly what she needed to do – give us a quality start. I thought she was really efficient, which allowed us to get through five innings with her. Knowing right now you're probably not going to go seven innings, we need to be able to back her up. I like what we saw from her. I thought she did a good job making some pitches and probably some of the best movement we've seen from her this season."
Delainey Everett on her strong start...
"After coming out this previous weekend with just a couple of innings, I wanted to come back and get in another groove for this coming up weekend, especially with the SEC series, so I was just using this midweek to prepare for the next couple games. Commanding the zone, hitting spots, staying ahead of batters is super important, that way I don't waste a lot of pitches."
Quick Hitters
Morgan Bernardini – Delivered an RBI double in her first at-bat of the game … made a diving catch in foul territory … collected her fifth multi-RBI and seventh multi-hit game of the year.Delainey Everett – Carried a no-hitter into the fifth inning … allowed just two baserunners on one hit and a hit-by-pitch … tied her season high with four strikeouts and walked none … 5.0 innings matched her longest start of the season.
Sierra Sacco – Extended her hitting streak to a season-long 11 games and her reached base streak to 24 games … hitting streak is one game shy of her career long … stole her team-leading 11th base of the year.
Kiarra Sells – Extended her hitting streak to five games and her reached-base streak to a career-long 12.
Morgan Stiles – Recorded her second career multi-hit game.
Scoring Recap
Bottom 2Jessie Blaine singled to left field with two outs. Morgan Bernardini doubled off the third base bag to knock Blaine in.
Middle Tennessee 0, No. 19 Mississippi State 1
Bottom 4
Lexi Sosa singled to left field, and Gretta Grassel came in to pinch run. Kylee Edwards bunted Grassel to second, and Bernardini scored her with a single to left-center.
Middle Tennessee 0, No. 19 Mississippi State 2
Top 5
Ava Tepe led off the inning with a hit by pitch before Addy Edgmon homered to right field.
Middle Tennessee 2, No. 19 Mississippi State 2
Top 7
Sabria Ritto singled to center and advanced to second on an Ava Brooks base-hit to left field. Tepe singled to left field scoring Ritto and advancing Brooks to second.
Middle Tennessee 3, No. 19 Mississippi State 2
Next Up
The Bulldogs embark on the first of four consecutive road trips this weekend. MSU will head across the state line to meet No. 25 Alabama for a three-game series beginning Friday, March 14. State does not return to Nusz Park until March 28 and will play its next eight games in true road fashion.For more information on the Bulldog softball program, follow on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram by searching "HailStateSB."
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: AMMON, Leila (2-6)
L: Marron, Josey (2-3)
Batting:
HR: EDGMON, Addy 1
RBI: EDGMON, Addy 2 ; TEPE, Ava 1
Base Running:
RUNS: EDGMON, Addy 1 ; RITTO, Sabria 1 ; TEPE, Ava 1
HBP: TEPE, Ava 2
Batting:
2B: Bernardini, Morgan 1
RBI: Bernardini, Morgan 2
SH: Edwards, Kylee 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Grassel, Gretta 1 ; Blaine, Jessie 1
SB: Sacco, Sierra 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
3
R
0
H
2
RBI
2
AB
2
R
0
H
2
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
OF
/ Softball
C/OF
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
OF
/ SoftballOF
/ SoftballOF
/ Softball
INF
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