State Takes Final Regular-Season Road Trip To Kentucky

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Mississippi State softball will travel to Lexington for its final conference road trip as the No. 17 Bulldogs take on Kentucky in a three-game series at John Cropp Stadium.

State will open the series on Friday at 5 p.m. CT on SEC Network. The last two games of the series are scheduled for 3:30 p.m. on Saturday and noon on Sunday and will air on SEC Network+.

With only two SEC series remaining in the regular season, the Bulldogs are looking to finish strong ahead of postseason. Head coach Samantha Ricketts enters the weekend one win shy of securing back-to-back seasons with double-digit conference victories, something Mississippi State hasn't accomplished in a decade (2014-15).

Ricketts is known for building explosive offenses, and the Bulldogs have racked up 29 run-rule victories in the past two years, including 14 this season alone. She has guided State to 65 homers this season, and she orchestrated the only three 70-homer campaigns in school history.

With postseason play on the horizon, State looks to finish league play on a strong note with a focused and energized effort in Lexington. The Bulldogs need just four more wins this season to record their highest win total under Ricketts.

Game Coverage

Leading Off

Ricketts' Record Year: MSU is just four wins shy of Samantha Ricketts' highest win total in a season with at least seven games remaining. MSU's team slugging percentage (.558) and on-base percentage (.411) would be single-season school records, and its batting average (.320) would rank second in program history.

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 65 homers and 42 stolen bases.

Quick Start: The Bulldogs are 21-3 when they score in the first inning this year. Last weekend, they scored four runs in the first in two of three games. Sierra Sacco has led off the game with a homer three times this year, including twice on the game's very first pitch.

Dual-Out Damage: The Bulldogs have already collected 104 two-out RBIs, which ranks seventh in program history. This year is one of four in program history in which State has averaged more than 2.00 two-out RBIs per game and Sierra Sacco's 26 two-out RBIs this year rank sixth.

Taking Down Top Teams: Samantha Ricketts boasts 43 victories against NFCA-ranked opponents in her coaching career, which ranks second all-time at Mississippi State.

Sierra Sets The Table: Sierra Sacco is among the top 10 nationally in batting average (7th), hits (10th), runs (10th) and on-base percentage (7th). MSU is 60-11 when she scores since the start of last year.

Keep It Clean: MSU's .968 team fielding percentage is its highest since 2014 (.976). Two regular starters remain errorless on the year. Jessie Blaine has gone 231 consecutive chances without an error, which is the sixth-longest streak in school history, and Sierra Sacco has not made an error since 2023.

Refreshing: Freshman Morgan Stiles is hitting .318 in SEC play after opening the season 2-for-17 in her first 12 career games. She is tied for the team lead in home runs (5) and RBIs (14) in SEC play and second in slugging percentage (.705). Her SEC-only slugging percentage is 14th in the league but leads all true freshmen.

About Kentucky (28-10, 6-12 SEC)

Series History

Notables

Kentucky enters the weekend on a four-game SEC losing streak and have lost three straight conference series. However, with a midweek win over Eastern Kentucky on Wednesday night, the Wildcats assured themselves of a .500 record and NCAA Tournament eligibility. Ace Sarah Haendiges picked up her 10th win of the year, and she ranks ninth in the SEC with a 2.28 ERA this season. Meanwhile, Alexia Lacatena leads the SEC and ranks 13th nationally with just 1.14 walks allowed per seven innings. The Wildcats have laid down the most sacrifice bunts in the SEC, and rank 10th in the nation with 44 sacrifices.

On Deck

The Bulldogs will close the regular season at home next week as part of Super Bulldog Weekend, hosting No. 16 Ole Miss for a Thursday-Saturday series. The weekend will feature Senior Day and graduation ceremonies on the field.

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State Takes Final Regular-Season Road Trip To Kentucky

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Jessie Blaine

Sierra Sacco

Morgan Stiles

Mississippi State University Athletics

State Takes Final Regular-Season Road Trip To Kentucky

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Jessie Blaine

Sierra Sacco

Morgan Stiles

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