Photo by: Mississippi State Athletics
Barbary’s Golden Glove
April 12, 2025 | Softball
STARKVILLE – The dirt kicked up by Nadia Barbary's cleats at the hot corner signified the many highlight-worthy plays made by the junior in Mississippi State's 7-0 victory over Missouri at Nusz Park on Friday night.
Her 360-degree spins, throws on the run and diving stops at third base gave the Maroon and White faithful in attendance a spectacle underneath the lights on a Mississippi night.
For Barbary, her outstanding defensive performance was just another day at the office.
"I was just seeing the ball. Raelin [Chaffin] really hit her spots, and I knew what pitch was coming so I kind of expected the ball to come and see it and be able to react," Barbary said of her third incredible snag of the night in the sixth inning. "[Head coach Samantha] Ricketts does that a lot at practice, hitting the balls like that. It was just like practice."
The Douglasville, Georgia, native signed with MSU in 2023 as a top-10 ranked infielder and the No. 17 player in her class according to Extra Innings Softball. In her freshman season in collegiate softball, Barbary made an immediate impact in State's starting lineup. She made 43 starts around the infield, splitting time evenly at shortstop, second base and third.
Fast-forward two years, Barbary has quickly established herself as one of the best infielders in the Southeastern Conference. As a sophomore she started every game at third, and this year she's missed just one contest as she's anchored the left side of the defense.
Her inning-ending dive and throw over to Riley Hull at first base was just one of many incredible plays by Barbary for State. Earlier, she charged a slow roller down the third base line and hummed it over to Hull in the fifth, which brought the crowd to its feet.
That type of fielding is not built overnight. It took hours of hard work building her confidence at the hot corner, especially when playing up the line. Barbary's fearless mindset is an attribute that Ricketts credited for her success on Friday night.
"We've seen her grow on both sides of the ball, offense and defense," Ricketts said. "We really challenged her with that particular hitter this weekend, knowing that she loves to bunt. We were going to challenge her to hit it by Nadia, and Nadia just kept getting up in her face. She tried to hit it by her, but Nadia wouldn't let her."
Barbary's golden glove has also been a welcome sight for her teammates, including the Bulldog softball pitching staff. Her confidence and determination to back up her pitcher gives her teammates a tremendous confidence boost while in the circle.
"Immediately after the game was over, I said, 'Defense won this game,' because of all the plays at third," Chaffin said. "I didn't have many strikeouts, so we had to play defense. The balls they fielded were not hit softly. They were hit hard, and they fielded them with ease and made it look super easy."
Barbary's ability to record web-gems is not her only impressive attribute. She's also the team's second leading hitter, and her slugging and on-base percentages are both top-five on the team. She tied her career-high with her 48th hit this season on Friday night with an RBI double to open the scoring.
The junior continues to embrace the challenge of the hot corner and take every opportunity to elevate her play on the field. Barbary's mentality, matched with her athleticism, has proved to be the perfect combination to handle third base.
"She loves the challenge. She's such a great athlete and her ability to make big-time plays like that is huge," Ricketts said. "It keeps them off the board. It keeps us rolling, and it backs up Raelin. She's made some really great plays, and I think those have been a couple of her best ones that we saw tonight."
Her 360-degree spins, throws on the run and diving stops at third base gave the Maroon and White faithful in attendance a spectacle underneath the lights on a Mississippi night.
For Barbary, her outstanding defensive performance was just another day at the office.
"I was just seeing the ball. Raelin [Chaffin] really hit her spots, and I knew what pitch was coming so I kind of expected the ball to come and see it and be able to react," Barbary said of her third incredible snag of the night in the sixth inning. "[Head coach Samantha] Ricketts does that a lot at practice, hitting the balls like that. It was just like practice."
Nadia, this is starting to just not be fair 🤯
— Mississippi State Softball (@HailStateSB) April 12, 2025
💻 https://t.co/ryAUJrnPUz@NadiaBarbary | #HailState🐶 pic.twitter.com/2r9NZhpPBB
The Douglasville, Georgia, native signed with MSU in 2023 as a top-10 ranked infielder and the No. 17 player in her class according to Extra Innings Softball. In her freshman season in collegiate softball, Barbary made an immediate impact in State's starting lineup. She made 43 starts around the infield, splitting time evenly at shortstop, second base and third.
Fast-forward two years, Barbary has quickly established herself as one of the best infielders in the Southeastern Conference. As a sophomore she started every game at third, and this year she's missed just one contest as she's anchored the left side of the defense.
Her inning-ending dive and throw over to Riley Hull at first base was just one of many incredible plays by Barbary for State. Earlier, she charged a slow roller down the third base line and hummed it over to Hull in the fifth, which brought the crowd to its feet.
Make it look easy @NadiaBarbary
— Mississippi State Softball (@HailStateSB) April 12, 2025
💻 https://t.co/ryAUJrnPUz#HailState🐶 pic.twitter.com/RJmhniEDuL
That type of fielding is not built overnight. It took hours of hard work building her confidence at the hot corner, especially when playing up the line. Barbary's fearless mindset is an attribute that Ricketts credited for her success on Friday night.
"We've seen her grow on both sides of the ball, offense and defense," Ricketts said. "We really challenged her with that particular hitter this weekend, knowing that she loves to bunt. We were going to challenge her to hit it by Nadia, and Nadia just kept getting up in her face. She tried to hit it by her, but Nadia wouldn't let her."
Barbary's golden glove has also been a welcome sight for her teammates, including the Bulldog softball pitching staff. Her confidence and determination to back up her pitcher gives her teammates a tremendous confidence boost while in the circle.
"Immediately after the game was over, I said, 'Defense won this game,' because of all the plays at third," Chaffin said. "I didn't have many strikeouts, so we had to play defense. The balls they fielded were not hit softly. They were hit hard, and they fielded them with ease and made it look super easy."
Barbary's ability to record web-gems is not her only impressive attribute. She's also the team's second leading hitter, and her slugging and on-base percentages are both top-five on the team. She tied her career-high with her 48th hit this season on Friday night with an RBI double to open the scoring.
The junior continues to embrace the challenge of the hot corner and take every opportunity to elevate her play on the field. Barbary's mentality, matched with her athleticism, has proved to be the perfect combination to handle third base.
"She loves the challenge. She's such a great athlete and her ability to make big-time plays like that is huge," Ricketts said. "It keeps them off the board. It keeps us rolling, and it backs up Raelin. She's made some really great plays, and I think those have been a couple of her best ones that we saw tonight."
Players Mentioned
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