No. 17 State Drops Series Opener At No. 7 Tennessee

Friday, April 4

Knoxville, Tenn.

5 p.m.

Mississippi State

30-9, 6-4

#7 Tennessee

31-7, 6-4

Team	1	2	3	4	5	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
Mississippi State	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	1
Tennessee	3	0	0	0	5	8	10	0

No. 17 State Drops Series Opener At No. 7 Tennessee

April 04, 2025 | Softball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Postgame Notes (PDF)Photo Gallery

By: Brian Ogden, Associate Director/Communications

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – No. 17 Mississippi State was shut out in Friday night's series opener at No. 7 Tennessee, dropping an 8-0 decision.

The Bulldogs collected four singles in the game but ultimately left all four runners stranded. State (30-9, 6-4 SEC) had a chance to open the scoring in the first with runners on second and third before an out was recorded in the game, but the Bulldogs were 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position.

After silencing the Bulldog threat, Tennessee (31-7, 6-4 SEC) immediately reached on an error and homered to plate two runs before recording an out. The Lady Vols added a third run in the first before a five-run fifth inning ended the game.

"Against any top-10, top-25 team, if you give them extra opportunities and freebies, they're going to take advantage of them, and that's exactly what they did," head coach Samantha Ricketts said. "We have to play better all around in all three phases. We need better pitching, better defense and some timely hitting if we're going to compete."

Quick Hitters

Nadia Barbary – Singled in her first plate appearance … now 2-for-6 with a double against Karlyn Pickens in her career … extended her reached-base streak to seven games.

Kylee Edwards – Collected a base hit to run her reached-base streak to a career-long-tying 13 games … has a five-game hitting streak.

Sierra Sacco – Singled on the first pitch of the ballgame … is now 2-for-6 with a walk against Karlyn Pickens in her MSU career.

Morgan Stiles – Finished 1-for-2 on the day.

Scoring Recap

Bottom 1
Saviya Morgan reached on a fielding error by the shortstop and then advanced to second on a wild pitch. Kinsey Fiedler hit a two-run homer down the right field line. Taylor Pannell walked, and McKenna Gibson was hit by a pitch. Pannell scored on Sophia Nugent's base hit.
No. 17 Mississippi State 0, No. 7 Tennessee 3

Bottom 5
Gibson led off with a solo home run to center. Nugent singled to left-center, and Katie Taylor pinch ran at first. Laura Mealer singled up the middle to put runners on first and second. Ella Dodge bunted the runners to second and third before Gabby Leach walked to load the bases. Emma Clarke pinch hit and doubled off the diving left fielder's glove, scoring Taylor and Mealer. Morgan re-entered to run at second. She and Leach scored on Fiedler's single to right field.
No. 17 Mississippi State 0, No. 7 Tennessee 8

Next Up

The series will conclude with a doubleheader on Saturday. First pitch of the second game of the series remains scheduled for 3 p.m. CT on SEC Network. The series finale will now be played immediately following Game 2 at 5:30 p.m. and will air on SEC Network+.

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