Bulldogs Battle Back To Take SEC Opener Over No. 18 Auburn

Saturday, March 8

Starkville

5 p.m.

Mississippi State

20-3, 1-0

#18 Auburn

20-2, 0-1

Auburn

Mississippi State

Bulldogs Battle Back To Take SEC Opener Over No. 18 Auburn

March 08, 2025 | Softball

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By: Brian Ogden, Associate Director/Communications

STARKVILLE – Despite falling behind, 3-1, No. 21 Mississippi State rallied in the fifth inning to claim a 5-4 victory over No. 18 Auburn to open SEC play at Nusz Park on Saturday night.

The Bulldogs have now won their SEC opener in three consecutive seasons, and they've won the SEC home opener in three of the past four years.

State (20-3, 1-0 SEC) scored first on an RBI double from Jessie Blaine, but the Tigers (20-2, 0-1 SEC) plated three runs in the top of the third to take the lead. MSU answered on a Kiarra Sells single to cut the lead to 3-2 in the bottom of the third. The Bulldogs then trailed the Tigers by one run for three and a half innings before scoring three runs in the bottom of the fifth.

"Opening day of conference play is always exciting," head coach Samantha Ricketts said. "You know, it doesn't matter how many years you do it, whether you're coaching or one of the girls, it's what you prepare all year for. We call it second season, and it's just another chance for us to work towards our goals. I love the way we came out. We came out excited to play and on the attack. I thought we played Mississippi State softball, and we really didn't let it faze us when they took an early lead. I'm proud of the team, and Raelin especially. I think it was a great outing for her and her first start for us in SEC play. It really set the tone and kept us in it."

Blaine finished the night 3-for-3 with a double. She also caught a runner stealing and picked a runner off. Sierra Sacco reached base in every plate appearance with two hits and two walks. In the fifth, Morgan Bernardini brought Sells home with the help of an error before Paige Ernstes' delivered a go-ahead, pinch-hit RBI single.

Raelin Chafin had a career-high-filled night, tossing 144 pitches and striking out 11. She earned her 11th win of the year while throwing her SEC-leading eighth complete game.

Quotables

Samantha Ricketts on Raelin Chaffin's complete game...
"She will stay in for as long as she can. We thought about making a change there and bringing in somebody else to close it out, but I think she had done a good job with that part of the lineup. We wanted to give her a good opportunity. It got a little interesting there at the end, but never a doubt that she was going to be able to bear down and finish that game for us. I'm proud of her effort and with kind of some tough conditions, a little bit of rain and maybe not getting some of the calls she wanted early, but she kept battling, kept fighting. She was very gritty, I thought, all game long."

Samantha Ricketts on the team's ability to get the leadoff batter on every inning...
"It's really a big part of it. We just really try to set the tone, and we want to be the aggressors and just put the pressure on the other team. I really feel like energy and momentum are big parts of the way we play. Setting the tone early, finding ways to get on base. Sierra [Sacco] over and over has done that for us, game after game. She has set the tone in the first. I think we felt like we were having quality at-bats and knew we were going to be able to break through. There really wasn't any pressing. There wasn't anybody who felt like they were going to have to do it all. It was just, 'Hey, we got this. We're going to pick each other up and find a way to come through in the late innings here.'"

Samantha Ricketts on Paige Ernstes' performances as a pinch hitter...
"She's such a special kid. She's not afraid of anything. Most pinch hitters are afraid to go up there and swing first pitch. They want to go up there and see one. She is not. When I tell her to get ready in the dugout, she's locked in from that moment on. She's taking dry cuts. She's visualizing. She's ready to go, and she's embraced her role. She got her scout, and we just told her, 'Hey, go get her.' She just does such a phenomenal job with being prepared and with the work she puts in. It's something that's going to pay off for her in her career in the long run too."

Raelin Chaffin on Jessie Blaine and Ella Wesolowski catching...
"I mean obviously first SEC game here at Mississippi State, so I was just kind of feeling all the nerves, both good and bad. Before the game Jessie [Blaine] was like 'What do you need from me?' I just told her to treat it like every other game. I think she did a really good job of just keeping me in the game. Even when Ella [Wesolowski] came in, it was an effortless switch. She jumped right in, didn't miss a beat. They were both just keeping me motivated and keeping my eyes focused on the end goal."

Quick Hitters

Packing the Park – Tonight's attendance of 1,903 is the largest regular-season crowd in program history … that total trails only the two games of the 2022 Starkville Super Regional (2,299 and 2,209).

Jessie Blaine – Hit an RBI double for her fifth double of the season … caught a runner stealing home on a first-and-third play with Kylee Edwards ... picked off her SEC-leading fourth runner of the year … collected a season-high three hits for her third multi-hit game of the year … recorded 10 or more putouts for the third time this season.

Raelin Chaffin – Collected her 11th win of the season which matches her single-season career high … threw her eighth complete game which is also a single-season career high and leads the SEC … threw a career-high 144 pitches … struck out the side to end the game and tied her season high with 11 strikeouts.

Kylee Edwards – Hit her fifth double of the season … threw a runner out at home on a first-and-third play.

Paige Ernstes – Delivered a pinch-hit, go-ahead RBI single … is now 5-for-9 as a pinch hitter with five RBIs.

Gretta Grassel – Collected her first career stolen base.

Riley Hull – Stole her fifth base of the year, which is more than she had in her career entering the season.

Sierra Sacco – Extended her reached-base streak to 21 games and her hitting streak to eight games … reached base in every plate appearance tonight with two walks and two hits … posted her team-leading 10th multi-hit game of the year … leads the team with 22 walks.

Kiarra Sells – Hit RBI single to collect her 21st RBI of the year, which is third on the team … collected her fifth double of the year … stole her third base of the year and scored the tying run … picked up her fourth career multi-hit game.

Scoring Recap

Bottom 2
Kylee Edwards led off the inning with a double past the diving center field. She advanced to third on a wild pitch before scoring on a double off the left field wall by Jessie Blaine.
No. 18 Auburn 0, No. 21 Mississippi State 1

Top 3
Abbey Smith singled to third base to open the inning. Icess Tresvik reached on a fielder's choice that saw Smith retired before advancing to second on a single to left field by Nelia Peralta. Both runners scored on a double to center field by Anna Wohlers. Wohlers then advanced to third on a double by KK McCrary before scoring on a fielding error.
No. 18 Auburn 3, No. 21 Mississippi State 1

Bottom 3
Siarra Sacco singled to right-center before advancing to second on a ground out by Nadia Barbary. Kiarra Sells then singled to right-center to score Sacco.
No. 18 Auburn 3, No. 21 Mississippi State 2

Bottom 5
Sells doubled to right-center to open the frame. With one out, Sells advanced to third on a foul fly out to right by Edwards. Morgan Bernardini hit a grounder to third that went through the fielder's legs to score Sells. Blaine hit a single through the right side and advanced to second on throw, as Bernardini reached third. Paige Ernstes hit a pinch-hit single to score Bernardini and push Blaine to third. Riley Hull re-entered to run for Ernstes and stole second. The throw sailed into the outfield, allowing Blaine to score on the throwing error.
No. 18 Auburn 3, No. 21 Mississippi State 5

Top 7
Nelia Peralta drew a leadoff walk. With two outs, AnnaLea Adams doubled, scoring Peralta.
No. 18 Auburn 4, No. 21 Mississippi State 5

Next Up

The Bulldogs and Tigers will continue the series on Sunday evening. First pitch is set for 5:30 p.m. CT on SEC Network.

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