Bulldogs Close Non-Conference Slate With 12th Run-Rule Victory

Tuesday, April 1

Starkville

5 p.m.

Mississippi State

30-8

Central Arkansas

17-20

Central Arkansas

Mississippi State

Bulldogs Close Non-Conference Slate With 12th Run-Rule Victory

April 01, 2025 | Softball

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By: Brian Ogden, Associate Director/Communications

STARKVILLE – No. 17 Mississippi State shut out Central Arkansas to win its final regular-season non-conference game of the year, 8-0, in five innings.

Delainey Everett shone in the circle, tossing her first complete game of the year and allowing just two hits. After being held scoreless in the first two frames, State responded with multiple runs in each of the final three frames.

"We have played some midweeks or non-conference games where when we don't score right away, we start to tighten up and get a little intense," head coach Samantha Ricketts said. "I thought we did a really good job of learning from that over the last few weeks, and we just stayed with our process and found ways to have quality at-bats the second time through the lineup get on the board. I thought that was huge, just not putting too much pressure on ourselves and not worrying about the ranking or the name of the team across from us on the field. Once they got going, I though they stayed more relaxed, and you could really see contagious quality at-bats up and down the lineup."

In the third, Kylee Edwards and Jessie Blaine drove in runs with singles. In the fourth, a run scored on an obstruction play at the plate before Morgan Bernardini drove in a run with her second hit of the night. Morgan Stiles added one more run on a fielder's choice. In the fifth, Sierra Sacco and Nadia Barbary delivered sacrifice flies before a passed ball resulted in the eighth run scoring to end the ballgame.

Quotables

Samantha Ricketts on changing up the lineup…
"We were trying to take some pressure off some people who were feeling it a little bit the last few weeks and trying to give some more at-bats to some younger players. I think we could shuffle it back, but if I was going to make the changes, I did not want to do it Friday night. I thought tonight might be the night to do it. I have a lot of confidence in all of them, especially in Kiarra [Sells] with how often she gets on base and her on-base percentage. I thought that she would be a good one to have in front of Sierra [Sacco] and get someone on base at the top of the order."

Delainey Everett on pitching efficiently...
"Yea, I usually tell the girls to just miss the bat enough, and it should work. That's basically the mindset. I do know that I'm not a strikeout pitcher, but if I can get them to miss enough, it produces softer contact and I'm able to just let my defense work. I trust them enough to let that happen."

Sierra Sacco on finishing the non-conference season strong...
"I think we finished strong. Midweeks are very important, especially this last one, and to get it out of the way before we continue SEC play. We came out. We scored, and we were able to end it in five."

Sierra Sacco on having more time to prepare the rest of the season with no remaining midweeks...
"I definitely think it gives us more time to focus on SEC pitchers. It will give us more in-depth where we aren't just focusing on a midweek pitcher on a Tuesday practice and then only getting that Thursday to work on [the SEC team's] pitchers. Now we are going to be able to get that Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday on just their pitchers. I think it's going to be a big advantage for us moving forward."

Quick Hitters

The Thirty-Win Mark – The Bulldogs have reached 30 wins faster than any other State softball team since 2006 (also 38 games).

Nadia Barbary – Walked and scored twice … extended her reached-base streak to six games.

Morgan Bernardini – Hit her seventh double of the season … extended her reached-base streak to a career-long 17 games … recorded her seventh multi-hit game and drove in a run.

Kylee Edwards – Extended her reached-base streak to 12 with an RBI single … has a hit in four consecutive games.

Delainey Everett – Matched her season-long outing with 5.0 scoreless innings … struck out three, one shy of her season high … allowed just two hits ... threw her first complete game and shutout of the season ... complete game and shutout were both the second of her career (Alcorn State, March 3, 2024).

Sierra Sacco – Recorded her team-leading 19th multi-hit game … went 2-for-2 along with a hit-by-pitch and sacrifice fly … hit her team-leading 13th double of the year.

Kiarra Sells – Was hit by a pitch for the 13th time this season … ranks third in the country in hit-by-pitches … scored twice.

Scoring Recap

Bottom 3
Sierra Sacco led off with a single to center field and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Nadia Barbary walked. With one out, Kylee Edwards sent a hard ground ball past the third baseman, scoring Sacco. Morgan Stiles reached first on a fielder's choice that saw Kylee Edwards retired at second as Barbary advanced to third. With two outs, Lexi Sosa walked to load the bases. Jessie Blaine singled up the middle to score Barbary, but Stiles was thrown out at the plate to end the inning.
Central Arkansas 0, No. 17 Mississippi State 2

Bottom 4
With one out, Kiarra Sells singled to left field. Sacco doubled over the right fielder, and Kiarra Sells advanced to third. Barbary reached on a fielder's choice that saw the throw from the first baseman come home. After review, the play at the plate was ruled obstruction, allowing Kiarra Sells to score. Sacco advanced to third on the play. With one out, Morgan Bernardini singled through the left side, scoring Sacco and advancing Barbary to second. Kalani Sells pinch ran for Bernardini at first. Sells and Barbary both advanced on a wild pitch. Edwards walked to load the bases. Stiles reached first on a fielder's choice that saw Kylee Edwards thrown out at second while Barbary scored.
Central Arkansas 0, No. 17 Mississippi State 5

Bottom 5
Ella Wesolowski was hit by a pitch, and Paige Ernstes drew a walk as a pinch hitter. Kiarra Sells was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Sacco and Barbary hit sacrifice flies to score Wesolowski and Ernstes, respectively. With two outs, Kiarra Sells, who had worked her way to third on the sacrifices, scored on a passed ball ending the game by run rule.
Central Arkansas 0, No. 17 Mississippi State 8

Next Up

Mississippi State returns to the road this weekend, heading to Knoxville, Tennessee. The Bulldogs will play the No. 9 Tennessee Lady Vols in a three-game series April 4-6. Friday and Saturday's games will air on SEC Network at 5 p.m. and 3 p.m., respectively. Sunday's series finale is set for 12:30 p.m. on SEC Network+.

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