No. 21 Bulldogs Host Louisiana For Final Game Before Conference Play

STARKVILLE – In its final game before the opening of SEC play the No. 21 Mississippi State softball team will host Louisiana on Wednesday. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. CT on SEC Network+.

The Bulldogs will look to get back to their recent success at home after they hit an impressive 17 home runs at the Bulldog Invitational over the weekend. State is 11-1 at home and has driven in 73 percent of its season total of RBIs inside of Nusz Park.

Sierra Sacco has been pacing the Bulldog offense. The Marrero, Louisiana, native leads the team in batting average (.458), slugging percentage (.831), on-base percentage (.595), hits (27), walks (20), runs scored (26), doubles (8), RBIs (22) and total bases (49). Her on-base percentage is currently on pace to match the school record, and her 1.426 OPS right now would rank second in single-season history.

The Bulldogs have scored at least five runs in 14 of their 18 wins this year, and they are undefeated when they score. Sacco has reached base in all but one game, and she has scored in 14 games. MSU is 45-7 over the last two years when she scores a run.

Leading Off

We Love Free Bases: Kiarra Sells ranks eighth nationally with seven hit-by-pitches. Jessie Blaine and Sierra Sacco are both among the top 75 in the nation in walks per game. As a team, State's 88 walks rank 13th nationally. MSU has been walked or hit by a pitch 98 times. For comparison, the Bulldogs have 162 hits and have only struck out 53 times.

Call The Bomb Squad: State has hit 31 home runs in just 21 games. The Bulldogs hit 17 homers at last weekend's Bulldog Invitational, and MSU reached the 30-homer mark in just 20 games this year, tying 2022 for the fewest games to reach the total. MSU's 17 homers last weekend were the most in a five-game stretch since at least 2001.

Going Back-To-Back: Nadia Barbary and Kiarra Sells hit back-to- back home runs three times last week. That's the most by a pair of Bulldogs in a single season since Mia Davidson and Fa Leilua did so four time in 2021.

Sierra Sets The Table: Sierra Sacco has batted leadoff in every game of her collegiate career (190 consecutive games). For her career, she has reached safely in 51.9 percent (154-of-297) leadoff opportunities, and MSU is 45-7 when scores a run since she arrived in 2024.

Where Sacco Stacks Up: Sierra Sacco's .595 on-base percentage this season would be tied for the school record, and her career .522 on-base percentage would be second in program history. She currently boasts a 1.426 OPS this year, which would be second in school history.

Made You Look: The Bulldog pitchers are second in the SEC with 42 strikeouts looking, and Raelin Chaffin ranks second in the league (20). Chaffin's 9.02 strikeouts per seven innings would be second in MSU single-season history.

Home Cooking: State's batting average is 102 points higher at home, and its slugging percentage is 322 points higher than when away from home. Seventy-three percent (96-of-132) of MSU's RBIs have come at home this year.

Magic Number: The Bulldogs have scored five or more runs in 64 of State's 80 wins (80.0 percent) over the past three seasons. The Bulldogs are 135-15 under Samantha Ricketts when scoring at least five.

About Louisiana (11-6, 0-0 SBC)

Series History

Notables

In their meeting last spring, the Bulldogs defeated then-No. 23 Louisiana for the first time since 1986. The Ragin' Cajuns are in the midst of a 15-game road trip that includes a 10-day stretch away from campus that began last weekend in Auburn, Alabama. Fourteen of Louisiana's 24 players are newcomers. The Ragin' Cajuns have not yet played a midweek game this season but will play four in the month of March. The Ragin' Cajuns lead the nation in double plays turned per game (1.00) and are second in total double plays (17). Louisiana turned a season-high four double plays in its last contest at Auburn.

On Deck

Mississippi State remains in Starkville this weekend to host the No. 18/17 Auburn Tigers in its SEC opener. The three-game series is the week's spotlight series, beginning on Saturday and concluding with SEC Network's showcase broadcast on Monday night at 7 p.m. All three games will see evening first pitches with the opener beginning at 5 p.m. and Sunday's game starting at 5:30 p.m.

Follow the Bulldogs

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

No. 21 Bulldogs Host Louisiana For Final Game Before Conference Play

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Nadia Barbary

Jessie Blaine

Raelin Chaffin

Sierra Sacco

Kiarra Sells

Mississippi State University Athletics

No. 21 Bulldogs Host Louisiana For Final Game Before Conference Play

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Nadia Barbary

Jessie Blaine

Raelin Chaffin

Sierra Sacco

Kiarra Sells

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