Friday, March 21
Evanston, Ill.
2:30 p.m.
Mississippi State
26-5
14
at
0
Northwestern
13-10
1
2
3
4
5
R
H
E
Mississippi State
3
1
0
10
0
14
14
0
Northwestern
0
0
0
0
0
0
7
5
No. 18 Bulldogs Open Series At Northwestern With Run-Rule Victory
March 21, 2025 | Softball
EVANSTON, Ill. – No. 18 Mississippi State sent 15 batters to the plate in a 10-run fourth inning as the Bulldogs cruised to a 14-0 run-rule victory at Northwestern on Friday afternoon.
Â
The top of the Bulldog order set the tone with Sierra Sacco, Nadia Barbary and Jessie Blaine going a combined 9-for-11 with two doubles, a triple and six RBIs. Behind them, Kylee Edwards hit her second career grand slam, and Morgan Stiles also left the yard. Barbary finished a home run shy of the cycle.
Â
"I thought we did a great job again of attacking and scoring first then finding ways to continue the momentum in the middle innings," head coach Samantha Ricketts said. "That was something that was a focus for us that we wanted to do and get our best swings off, stay on the attack, do what we do well. I loved the way that they responded and then up-and-down the lineup everybody contributing. It was good to see."
Â
Raelin Chaffin went the distance, tossing her second shutout of the year. The nation's wins leader improved to 15-1 with 11 complete games and struck out five.
Â
Behind her, MSU played clean defense. Edwards turned a double play, and Blaine picked off her SEC-leading fifth runner of the season.
Â
Â
"Nadia, really the last few weeks, has just been so locked in. I think she's such a tough out. She's got a great approach early in the count and late. She knows herself as a hitter and trusts in the plan. You can see the confidence every time she steps in the box."
Â
Samantha Ricketts on what makes Raelin Chaffin successful…
"I think she does a really good job of learning and responding as the game goes on. She doesn't really get stuck in one sequence or one routine. You can see her continuing to work different pitches and different quadrants of the zone, and it's almost like she gets better as the game goes on. I thought she did a great job of responding after a couple of illegal pitch calls and didn't let it shake her. She's very composed and confident on the mound every time she's out there."
Â
Â
Â
Jessie Blaine – Became the sixth player in program history with a 200-chance errorless streak … finished with two hits and two RBIs for her fifth multi-hit and fifth multi-RBI game.
Â
Raelin Chaffin – Improved to 15-1 as the national leader in wins … threw her 11th complete game in State's 31st contest … under Samantha Ricketts, only Aspen Wesley (13; 2024) has thrown more complete games in a season.
Â
Kylee Edwards – Hit her second career grand slam and MSU's fourth of the year … added a base hit … posted her eighth multi-hit and eighth multi-RBI game this season.
Â
Sierra Sacco – Extended her reached-base streak to 29 games, which is the seventh-longest streak in school history … also extended her career-long hitting streak to 16 games … finished 3-for-4 with a double, four runs scored and two RBIs … leads the team with 15 multi-hit games and 10 multi-RBI games.
Â
Morgan Stiles – Led off the fifth with a solo homer … stands as her third career home run … recorded multiple hits for the third time in her career.
Â
Â
Sierra Sacco beat out an infield single to lead off the inning. Nadia Barbary singled through the left side to put runners on first and second. Jessie Blaine singled to left to score Sacco and advance Barbary to second. Kylee Edwards walked to load the bases. With two outs, Morgan Bernardini hit a ground ball to short that was bobbled, allowing her to reach and Barbary to score. The shortstop then flipped the ball to nobody covering second and it rolled through the infield, allowing Blaine to round third and come home.
No. 18 Mississippi State 3, Northwestern 0
Â
Top 2
Morgan Stiles led off with a single. She was retired as Sacco reached on a fielder's choice to second base. Sacco scored on Barbary's triple to right field.
No. 18 Mississippi State 4, Northwestern 0
Â
Top 4
Stiles hit a leadoff homer to center. Sacco and Barbary singled back-to-back, but a throwing error on Barbary's infield ground ball allowed Sacco to reach third. Jessie Blaine walked to load the bases before Kylee Edwards hit a grand slam to right field. Kiarra Sells then reach on a fielding error by the shortstop and advanced to second on a passed ball. She moved to third on Lexi Sosa's groundout. Bernardini then singled to third, scoring Kiarra Sells. Kalani Sells pinch ran for Bernardini at first, and Paige Ernstes came in to pinch hit. Ernstes walked, and Riley Hull re-entered to run at first. Stiles reached on a fielder's choice that saw Hull retired at second and left runners on the corners. Sacco doubled to center to drive in both runners before scoring on Barbary's double. Abby Grace Richardson ran for Barbary at second, and Blaine singled off the diving shortstop to score her.
No. 18 Mississippi State 14, Northwestern 0
Â
Â
Â
For more information on the Bulldog softball program, follow on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram by searching "HailStateSB."
Â
Â
Â
The top of the Bulldog order set the tone with Sierra Sacco, Nadia Barbary and Jessie Blaine going a combined 9-for-11 with two doubles, a triple and six RBIs. Behind them, Kylee Edwards hit her second career grand slam, and Morgan Stiles also left the yard. Barbary finished a home run shy of the cycle.
Â
"I thought we did a great job again of attacking and scoring first then finding ways to continue the momentum in the middle innings," head coach Samantha Ricketts said. "That was something that was a focus for us that we wanted to do and get our best swings off, stay on the attack, do what we do well. I loved the way that they responded and then up-and-down the lineup everybody contributing. It was good to see."
Â
Raelin Chaffin went the distance, tossing her second shutout of the year. The nation's wins leader improved to 15-1 with 11 complete games and struck out five.
Â
Behind her, MSU played clean defense. Edwards turned a double play, and Blaine picked off her SEC-leading fifth runner of the season.
Â
Â
Quotables
Samantha Ricketts on Nadia Barbary coming a home run shy of the cycle…"Nadia, really the last few weeks, has just been so locked in. I think she's such a tough out. She's got a great approach early in the count and late. She knows herself as a hitter and trusts in the plan. You can see the confidence every time she steps in the box."
Â
Samantha Ricketts on what makes Raelin Chaffin successful…
"I think she does a really good job of learning and responding as the game goes on. She doesn't really get stuck in one sequence or one routine. You can see her continuing to work different pitches and different quadrants of the zone, and it's almost like she gets better as the game goes on. I thought she did a great job of responding after a couple of illegal pitch calls and didn't let it shake her. She's very composed and confident on the mound every time she's out there."
Â
Â
Quick Hitters
Nadia Barbary – Finished 4-for-4 and a home run shy of the cycle … recorded her first career triple … drove in two runs … recorded her 10th multi-hit game of the season … extended her hitting streak to five games.Â
Jessie Blaine – Became the sixth player in program history with a 200-chance errorless streak … finished with two hits and two RBIs for her fifth multi-hit and fifth multi-RBI game.
Â
Raelin Chaffin – Improved to 15-1 as the national leader in wins … threw her 11th complete game in State's 31st contest … under Samantha Ricketts, only Aspen Wesley (13; 2024) has thrown more complete games in a season.
Â
Kylee Edwards – Hit her second career grand slam and MSU's fourth of the year … added a base hit … posted her eighth multi-hit and eighth multi-RBI game this season.
Â
Sierra Sacco – Extended her reached-base streak to 29 games, which is the seventh-longest streak in school history … also extended her career-long hitting streak to 16 games … finished 3-for-4 with a double, four runs scored and two RBIs … leads the team with 15 multi-hit games and 10 multi-RBI games.
Â
Morgan Stiles – Led off the fifth with a solo homer … stands as her third career home run … recorded multiple hits for the third time in her career.
Â
Â
Scoring Recap
Top 1Sierra Sacco beat out an infield single to lead off the inning. Nadia Barbary singled through the left side to put runners on first and second. Jessie Blaine singled to left to score Sacco and advance Barbary to second. Kylee Edwards walked to load the bases. With two outs, Morgan Bernardini hit a ground ball to short that was bobbled, allowing her to reach and Barbary to score. The shortstop then flipped the ball to nobody covering second and it rolled through the infield, allowing Blaine to round third and come home.
No. 18 Mississippi State 3, Northwestern 0
Â
Top 2
Morgan Stiles led off with a single. She was retired as Sacco reached on a fielder's choice to second base. Sacco scored on Barbary's triple to right field.
No. 18 Mississippi State 4, Northwestern 0
Â
Top 4
Stiles hit a leadoff homer to center. Sacco and Barbary singled back-to-back, but a throwing error on Barbary's infield ground ball allowed Sacco to reach third. Jessie Blaine walked to load the bases before Kylee Edwards hit a grand slam to right field. Kiarra Sells then reach on a fielding error by the shortstop and advanced to second on a passed ball. She moved to third on Lexi Sosa's groundout. Bernardini then singled to third, scoring Kiarra Sells. Kalani Sells pinch ran for Bernardini at first, and Paige Ernstes came in to pinch hit. Ernstes walked, and Riley Hull re-entered to run at first. Stiles reached on a fielder's choice that saw Hull retired at second and left runners on the corners. Sacco doubled to center to drive in both runners before scoring on Barbary's double. Abby Grace Richardson ran for Barbary at second, and Blaine singled off the diving shortstop to score her.
No. 18 Mississippi State 14, Northwestern 0
Â
Â
Next Up
The teams will play a doubleheader on Saturday with both games airing on B1G+. Game 1 will begin at noon CT with the series finale set for 3 p.m.Â
For more information on the Bulldog softball program, follow on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram by searching "HailStateSB."
Â
Â
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Chaffin, Raelin (15-1)
L: Grudzielanek, Riley (6-6)
Batting:
2B: Sacco, Sierra 1 ; Barbary, Nadia 1
3B: Barbary, Nadia 1
HR: Edwards, Kylee 1 ; Stiles, Morgan 1
RBI: Sacco, Sierra 2 ; Barbary, Nadia 2 ; Blaine, Jessie 2 ; Edwards, Kylee 4 ; Bernardini, Morgan 1 ; Stiles, Morgan 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Sacco, Sierra 4 ; Barbary, Nadia 2 ; Richardson, Abby Grace 1 ; Blaine, Jessie 1 ; Grassel, Gretta 1 ; Edwards, Kylee 1 ; Sells, Kiarra 1 ; Sells, Kalani 1 ; Stiles, Morgan 2
Base Running:
PO: Nader, Kelsey 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
4
R
2
H
4
RBI
2
AB
4
R
4
H
3
RBI
2
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
2
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
4
Players Mentioned
INF
/ Softball
OF
/ SoftballC/OF
/ Softball
P
/ SoftballINF
/ Softball
C/INF
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
C/INF
/ SoftballOF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
P
/ SoftballSOFTBALL | Postgame Press Conference vs. Washington
Saturday, May 17
SOFTBALL | Postgame Press Conference vs. Texas Tech
Saturday, May 17
SOFTBALL | Raelin Chaffin ESPN2 Postgame Interview
Saturday, May 17
SOFTBALL | Postgame Press Conference vs. Washington
Friday, May 16