Friday, May 2
Starkville
11 a.m.
Mississippi State
37-15, 0
3
vs
0
#16 Ole Miss
34-16, 0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
Ole Miss
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
3
0
Mississippi State
0
0
0
2
1
0
X
3
5
0
Bulldogs Blank Ole Miss To Secure Third Consecutive Rivalry Series Win
May 02, 2025 | Softball
STARKVILLE – No. 18 Mississippi State matched its highest win total in a season under Samantha Ricketts on Friday, with a 3-0 shutout win to clinch the series against No. 17 Ole Miss. It marks the third series in a row between the two teams that State has come out as the victors.
Delainey Everett and Raelin Chaffin combined for 7.0 shutout innings to carry the No. 18 Bulldogs (37-15, 13-10 SEC) to a guaranteed finish above .500 in league play for the first time since 2001. Everett allowed two hits in 5.0 innings and earned her 10th win of the season. Chaffin allowed one hit the rest of the way to earn her third save.
Together the duo marks the first time MSU has had multiple 10-game winners since 2018 as Chaffin leads the SEC with 21 victories.
"I'm really proud of Delainey and for the outing that she gave us," head coach Samantha Ricketts said. "This is a tough conference, especially when you are one of the starters every weekend. You have no secrets and especially coming into Year 2, I think people know her a little bit. Delainey is one of the most competitive players we have. She is fiery, and she wasn't happy with her last couple of outings. We were reassuring her that everyone had full confidence in her, her ability and the way she competes, and I thought she did a great job at doing exactly that."
Sierra Sacco collected her 24th multi-hit game of the season with a pair of singles and collected an RBI in State's two-run fourth. Nadia Barbary delivered a sacrifice fly for her team-leading 22nd RBI in SEC play. Jessie Blaine hit her fifth homer of the year in the fifth inning to provide the rest of the Bulldogs' scoring.
"I think the turning point of that game was really the runner at third with nobody out [in the fourth] and her being able to go ahead and get that first strike out, then getting us out of that inning to strand that runner. I think that's huge. It takes guts. It takes grit. That is exactly what Delainey has, and she continues to show that to us. I'm proud of her for coming out and performing how she expects herself to, and how we expect her to perform."
Samantha Ricketts on the team manufacturing runs in the fourth inning...
"I really liked our adjustments early on. We were in between pitches and plans and what we were looking at. I think we made some really good adjustments in the middle innings to string some hits together. Huge credit to Xiane Romero for coming off the bench, getting us a lead off runner on base and having that ball in dirt read to get her over to third base. It allowed us to score that first run. It just takes being aggressive and being locked in and ready for your moment. Again, just focusing on the little things. For us, that's just as huge as the home run by Jessie [Blaine]. It's everybody taking their role, understanding it and attacking it to the best of their abilities. I thought she sparked us there, and there were some good balls behind there too manufacturing the sac flies. And then Jessie just finds ways to make adjustments on the pitch that we knew that we were getting, and she got all of that one."
Sierra Sacco on Delainey Everett's performance...
"I saw a lot of fight and a lot of competitiveness. I know Game 2 hasn't always been the best for us, so it's them going out there to send a message that we have a pitching staff. It's not just Raelin [Chaffin] even though a lot of eyes are on Raelin. It allows us to have more than one pitcher."
Delainey Everett on the work she did in preparation for her outing this weekend...
"This past week's bullpens were really focused on getting my stuff back on the right side of the plate and just trusting myself. I had kind of lost that after short innings and all that stuff over the past couple of weeks. It was just really working hard in the bullpen and going out there like it's the same thing as the bullpen. I wasn't stressed. I wasn't nervous. I just knew that what I put in this past week was enough."
Ricketts' Record Year - Mississippi State has matched its highest win total in a season under Samantha Ricketts (37) before even beginning the postseason … with the win Ricketts broke the school-record with 45 career victories against NFCA-ranked opponents … she also guaranteed State its first winning record in SEC play since 2001 (19-11) … MSU's 71 homers are fourth in program history, and all four 70-homer seasons have come under Ricketts' guidance.
Nadia Barbary – Extended her career-long reached-base streak to 11 games … hit a sacrifice fly to push a run home … now leads the team in RBIs in SEC play (22).
Jessie Blaine – Hit her second home run of the series and her fifth of the year … extended her reached-base streak to 11 games … matched her career-long hitting streak at eight games.
Raelin Chaffin - Collected her third save of the year … threw 2.0 scoreless innings facing seven batters while allowing only one hit.
Delainey Everett - Pitched 5.0 scoreless innings and recorded three strikeouts while allowing two hits … earned her 10th win of the year … marks the first time that State has had multiple 10-game winners since Holly Ward (16) and Cassady Knudsen (13) in 2018.
Gretta Grassel – Stole her third base of the year after entering as a pinch runner.
Sierra Sacco – Robbed a home run in the third to keep the game tied … singled home a run ... stole her team-leading 16th base of the season … collected her 24th multi-hit game of the season, tied for sixth-most in a season in school history.
Kiarra Sells – Hit by a pitch for the 17th time this season, which leads the SEC … walked and stole a base and now 7-for-7 on stolen base attempts this year … made a diving catch in right field in the fifth inning.
Morgan Stiles – Extended her career-long reached-base streak to 14 games.
Xiane Romero was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning, and Riley Hull bunted her to second. Romero took third on a wild pitch before Kiarra Sells drew a walk. With one out, Sells stole second and Sierra Sacco singled to the pitcher. Romero scored on the single, and Sells advanced to third. Sacco then stole second before a sacrifice fly from Nadia Barbary brought Sells home.
No. 17 Ole Miss 0, No. 18 Mississippi State 2
Bottom 5
With one out, Jessie Blaine hit a solo homer to left.
No. 17 Ole Miss 0, No. 18 Mississippi State 3
For more information on the Bulldog softball program, follow on X, Facebook and Instagram by searching "HailStateSB."
Delainey Everett and Raelin Chaffin combined for 7.0 shutout innings to carry the No. 18 Bulldogs (37-15, 13-10 SEC) to a guaranteed finish above .500 in league play for the first time since 2001. Everett allowed two hits in 5.0 innings and earned her 10th win of the season. Chaffin allowed one hit the rest of the way to earn her third save.
Together the duo marks the first time MSU has had multiple 10-game winners since 2018 as Chaffin leads the SEC with 21 victories.
"I'm really proud of Delainey and for the outing that she gave us," head coach Samantha Ricketts said. "This is a tough conference, especially when you are one of the starters every weekend. You have no secrets and especially coming into Year 2, I think people know her a little bit. Delainey is one of the most competitive players we have. She is fiery, and she wasn't happy with her last couple of outings. We were reassuring her that everyone had full confidence in her, her ability and the way she competes, and I thought she did a great job at doing exactly that."
Sierra Sacco collected her 24th multi-hit game of the season with a pair of singles and collected an RBI in State's two-run fourth. Nadia Barbary delivered a sacrifice fly for her team-leading 22nd RBI in SEC play. Jessie Blaine hit her fifth homer of the year in the fifth inning to provide the rest of the Bulldogs' scoring.
Quotables
Samantha Ricketts on Delainey Everett's outing..."I think the turning point of that game was really the runner at third with nobody out [in the fourth] and her being able to go ahead and get that first strike out, then getting us out of that inning to strand that runner. I think that's huge. It takes guts. It takes grit. That is exactly what Delainey has, and she continues to show that to us. I'm proud of her for coming out and performing how she expects herself to, and how we expect her to perform."
Samantha Ricketts on the team manufacturing runs in the fourth inning...
"I really liked our adjustments early on. We were in between pitches and plans and what we were looking at. I think we made some really good adjustments in the middle innings to string some hits together. Huge credit to Xiane Romero for coming off the bench, getting us a lead off runner on base and having that ball in dirt read to get her over to third base. It allowed us to score that first run. It just takes being aggressive and being locked in and ready for your moment. Again, just focusing on the little things. For us, that's just as huge as the home run by Jessie [Blaine]. It's everybody taking their role, understanding it and attacking it to the best of their abilities. I thought she sparked us there, and there were some good balls behind there too manufacturing the sac flies. And then Jessie just finds ways to make adjustments on the pitch that we knew that we were getting, and she got all of that one."
Sierra Sacco on Delainey Everett's performance...
"I saw a lot of fight and a lot of competitiveness. I know Game 2 hasn't always been the best for us, so it's them going out there to send a message that we have a pitching staff. It's not just Raelin [Chaffin] even though a lot of eyes are on Raelin. It allows us to have more than one pitcher."
Delainey Everett on the work she did in preparation for her outing this weekend...
"This past week's bullpens were really focused on getting my stuff back on the right side of the plate and just trusting myself. I had kind of lost that after short innings and all that stuff over the past couple of weeks. It was just really working hard in the bullpen and going out there like it's the same thing as the bullpen. I wasn't stressed. I wasn't nervous. I just knew that what I put in this past week was enough."
Quick Hitters
Our State – The Bulldogs have now won three consecutive series against Ole Miss … State is now 30-5 against teams from the state of Mississippi under Samantha Ricketts … MSU has outscored in-state foes, 256-78, in her tenure.Ricketts' Record Year - Mississippi State has matched its highest win total in a season under Samantha Ricketts (37) before even beginning the postseason … with the win Ricketts broke the school-record with 45 career victories against NFCA-ranked opponents … she also guaranteed State its first winning record in SEC play since 2001 (19-11) … MSU's 71 homers are fourth in program history, and all four 70-homer seasons have come under Ricketts' guidance.
Nadia Barbary – Extended her career-long reached-base streak to 11 games … hit a sacrifice fly to push a run home … now leads the team in RBIs in SEC play (22).
Jessie Blaine – Hit her second home run of the series and her fifth of the year … extended her reached-base streak to 11 games … matched her career-long hitting streak at eight games.
Raelin Chaffin - Collected her third save of the year … threw 2.0 scoreless innings facing seven batters while allowing only one hit.
Delainey Everett - Pitched 5.0 scoreless innings and recorded three strikeouts while allowing two hits … earned her 10th win of the year … marks the first time that State has had multiple 10-game winners since Holly Ward (16) and Cassady Knudsen (13) in 2018.
Gretta Grassel – Stole her third base of the year after entering as a pinch runner.
Sierra Sacco – Robbed a home run in the third to keep the game tied … singled home a run ... stole her team-leading 16th base of the season … collected her 24th multi-hit game of the season, tied for sixth-most in a season in school history.
Kiarra Sells – Hit by a pitch for the 17th time this season, which leads the SEC … walked and stole a base and now 7-for-7 on stolen base attempts this year … made a diving catch in right field in the fifth inning.
Morgan Stiles – Extended her career-long reached-base streak to 14 games.
Scoring Recap
Bottom 4Xiane Romero was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning, and Riley Hull bunted her to second. Romero took third on a wild pitch before Kiarra Sells drew a walk. With one out, Sells stole second and Sierra Sacco singled to the pitcher. Romero scored on the single, and Sells advanced to third. Sacco then stole second before a sacrifice fly from Nadia Barbary brought Sells home.
No. 17 Ole Miss 0, No. 18 Mississippi State 2
Bottom 5
With one out, Jessie Blaine hit a solo homer to left.
No. 17 Ole Miss 0, No. 18 Mississippi State 3
Next Up
The Bulldogs will complete the series Saturday as part of Mississippi State's annual Super Bulldog Weekend. The game will also be Senior Night for the six State seniors. First pitch is set for 5 p.m. CT and the regular-season finale will be broadcast nationally on SEC Network.For more information on the Bulldog softball program, follow on X, Facebook and Instagram by searching "HailStateSB."
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Everett, Delainey (10-1)
L: Miali Guachino (14-10)
S: Chaffin, Raelin (3)
Batting:
2B: Jaden Pone 1
Base Running:
HBP: Lexie Brady 1
Batting:
HR: Blaine, Jessie 1
RBI: Sacco, Sierra 1 ; Barbary, Nadia 1 ; Blaine, Jessie 1
SH: Barbary, Nadia 1 ; Hull, Riley 1
SF: Barbary, Nadia 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Blaine, Jessie 1 ; Romero, Xiane 1 ; Sells, Kiarra 1
SB: Sacco, Sierra 1 ; Grassel, Gretta 1 ; Sells, Kiarra 1
HBP: Edwards, Kylee 1 ; Romero, Xiane 1 ; Sells, Kiarra 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
3
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H
2
RBI
1
AB
2
R
0
H
1
RBI
1
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
2
R
1
H
1
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
INF
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