State Closes Road Stretch At Southern Miss Wednesday

STARKVILLE – Coming off a week that saw No. 18 Mississippi State win three games, including two by run-rule, the Bulldogs are set to face Southern Miss on Wednesday at 6 p.m. CT.

It will be the last contest in a run of eight straight road games for MSU before the Bulldogs return home to host No. 1 Texas this weekend.

The Golden Eagles are the Mississippi State's most-common non-conference opponent, and the teams will be facing off for the 55th time this week. They have played six times in the Samantha Ricketts era, and State is 5-1 in that span.

The bats were hot this weekend for Mississippi State offense with Nadia Barbary being a big part of the fire. Barbary hit .600 (6-for-10) this weekend and was a home run shy of the cycle on Friday afternoon. Kiarra Sells picked up that home run and added a grand slam on Saturday going 3-for-5 across two games on the day.

On the other side of the ball, Raelin Chaffin and Delainey Everett have been dealing in the circle. Chaffin picked up her 15th win of the season, leading the SEC in victories and ranking second in the nation. Everett improved to 6-0 with a pair of wins last week and now boasts a 1.37 ERA that ranks 15th in the nation.

Leading Off

Take It From The Top: MSU's top three hitters in the lineup - Sierra Sacco, Nadia Barbary and Jessie Blaine - are all hitting above .350 individually. Over the last five games since the lineup was shuffled, that trio is hitting .481 combined (25-for-52) with five doubles, two triples, a homer and 14 RBIs. MSU is 4-1 when using that top third of the lineup.

Sierra Sets The Table: One of the best hitters in the country, Sierra Sacco is among the top 10 nationally in batting average (9th), hits (6th), doubles (6th), on-base percentage (5th) and runs (2nd). Her .708 on-base percentage in conference games leads the SEC, and her SEC-only batting average (.588) is second in the league. MSU is 54-8 when scores a run.

Two Tough Arms: Raelin Chaffin and Delainey Everett are among the top 20 national ERA leaders. Everett's 1.37 ERA is fifth in the SEC and 15th in the NCAA, while Chaffin's 1.42 is sixth in the league and 19th nationally.

Call The Bomb Squad: State's 46 long balls rank 16th nationally. MSU has scored 94 runs on homers this year, which accounts for 39.7 percent of the Bulldogs' scoring this season. The Bulldogs have tied the school record with five grand slams already this year.

Fifty-Fifty: The Bulldogs are on pace for their first 50 homer-50 stolen base season since 2018. State has accomplished that feat two other times in 2015 and 2013 as well. MSU currently has 46 homers and 38 stolen bases in 2025.

Keep It Clean: State's .967 fielding percentage would be its highest in a season since 2014 (.976). Sierra Sacco has not made an error since the 2023 season, going 190 straight chances error-free, and Jessie Blaine has recorded 209 chances, dating back to last season, without an error making her just the sixth player in program history with a 200-chance errorless streak.

Where Are You Going?: Bulldog catchers have dominated opposing team's running games. Jessie Blaine and Ella Wesolowski have combined to pick off six runners, which is as many as all other SEC teams combined.
Blaine's five pickoffs are one shy of the MSU single-season record, and she has also caught three runners stealing.

Magic Number: The Bulldogs have scored five or more runs in 72 of State's 89 wins 89 wins (80.9 percent) over the past three seasons, and they are 142-15 under Samantha Ricketts when scoring at least five.

About Southern Miss (16-16, 3-3 SBC)

Series History

Overall: 41-13 | Home: 18-7 | Away: 20-3 | Neutral: 3-3
Current Streak: Won 2 | Last Meeting: Feb. 29, 2024, in Starkville, Miss. (MSU 9, USM 0 [5 inn.])

Notables

The Bulldogs have played Southern Miss more than any other non-conference opponent, and this will be the teams' 55th meeting all-time. They have met six times in the previous five years, playing twice in 2021 and 2022 before missing each other in 2023. State is 5-1 in those six meetings. The Golden Eagles are coming off of a series victory against Troy and are in the middle of a five-game homestand. USM is 1-3 against SEC teams this year with an extra-innings victory over Ole Miss in its home opener in February. They've also faced Arkansas, Kentucky and LSU this season. Head coach Natalie Poole earned her 600th career win this season.

On Deck

The Bulldogs are back at home this weekend to host No.1 Texas. The series opener is set for Friday at 6 p.m. and will be MSU's annual Bark in the Park night. Saturday is All For Alex day when every SEC team will wear teal or teal accents in honor of the late Alex Wilcox, who played at MSU in 2018 while battling the ovarian cancer that would ultimately take her life. First pitch is set for 2 p.m. on Saturday, and Sunday's finale will begin at 1 p.m. All three games will air on SEC Network+.

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State Closes Road Stretch At Southern Miss Wednesday

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Nadia Barbary

Jessie Blaine

Raelin Chaffin

Delainey Everett

Sierra Sacco

Kiarra Sells

Ella Wesolowski

Mississippi State University Athletics

State Closes Road Stretch At Southern Miss Wednesday

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Nadia Barbary

Jessie Blaine

Raelin Chaffin

Delainey Everett

Sierra Sacco

Kiarra Sells

Ella Wesolowski

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