Friday, February 20
Starkville
12:30 p.m.
Mississippi State
11-1
0
vs
1
Belmont
7-4
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
Belmont
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
1
4
0
Mississippi State
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
Bulldogs Split Day One of the Bulldog Invitational
February 20, 2026 | Softball
STARKVILLE – No. 14 Mississippi State split a pair of games at the Bulldog Invitational on Friday, dropping a pitchers' duel to Belmont before bouncing back with a win over Samford.
State (12-1) collected four doubles against the other Bulldogs in a 6-2 victory. After Samford (4-8) scored in the top of the first, MSU responded with three runs on a pair of doubles in the bottom of the inning. State added runs in the second, fifth and sixth innings. Nadia Barbary went 4-for-4 with an RBI, and Kiarra Sells drove in four.
"You know, that's the beauty of our game. We play so many, and we had a chance to get right back out there and answer back," head coach Samantha Ricketts said. "I thought they did a good job of responding to Samford's scoring first there and just not getting too sped up and making sure that we just stayed under control and played our game. I liked the response from the team overall in the first inning and in the game in general. I'm looking forward to seeing how we respond tomorrow with another chance to play [Belmont] tomorrow."
In the circle, Alyssa Faircloth went the distance, striking out nine while allowing just four hits. Faircloth had also pitched in relief earlier in the day, striking out a pair in a scoreless frame.
State was one-hit in the first game of the day while facing Belmont's (7-4) All-American Maya Johnson. The nation's leader in strikeouts per seven innings, sat the Bulldogs down 13 times as the Bruins held on for a 1-0 victory. The only run of the game was unearned as State made just its third error of the campaign in the sixth inning. That run very nearly came off the board as well on a close play at the plate that ultimately stood after replay review was inconclusive.
"We just prepared the way we did earlier, and I just trusted myself. I've been in a little slump for a while now, and I just knew eventually that it was going to end in a certain amount of time. And once it's over, it's over."
Alyssa Faircloth on pitching in both games...
"I definitely was starting to feel it by the end. I haven't thrown that much in a while, so I'm glad I was able to finish through it. I think my teammates were really behind me today. They were putting balls in play and little dinks everywhere. Morgan [Stiles] made a good play. Nadia [Barbary] made a good diving play. I think that by keeping the ball in the infield, I gave them opportunities to make plays for me, and overall, keep the game where it was."
Double Trouble Dawgs – MSU tied its season high with four doubles against Samford … State has now hit three or more doubles in three games this season … State has doubled in all but two games this year.
Nadia Barbary – Posted her fourth multi-hit game of the season and the 40th of her career … 21st Bulldog with 40 or more career multi-hit games … went 4-for-4 on the day, tying her career high in hits … stole her first base of the season.
Anna Carder – Recorded Mississippi State's only hit against Belmont.
Alyssa Faircloth – Struck out two of the three batters she faced in relief against Belmont … struck out nine batters in her start against Samford … leads the team with 49 strikeouts this year … entered the weekend ranked No. 14 nationally in strikeouts.
Peja Goold – Struck out eight batters against Belmont, tying her season high … has struck out five or more batters in 30 appearances since the start of 2025, earning the win in 26 of those games.
Kinley Keller – Hit her team-leading fifth double of the season against Samford.
Gabby Schaeffer – Doubled and walked to reach in every plate appearance against Samford … her first career multi-hit game.
Kiarra Sells – Doubled home two runs against Samford … added a sacrifice fly … now second on the team with 11 RBIs.
Morgan Stiles - Has reached to open the MSU half of the first inning in nine of 13 games … recorded a season-high four putouts against Samford.
Rylee Spindler drew a leadoff walk, and Addison Swink pinch ran at first. Lizzie Ozim hit into a fielder's choice, but the pitcher's throw to second sailed into center field, allowing Swink to advance safely. Swink then scored from second on an infield single to second base.
Belmont 1, No. 14 Mississippi State 0
Brandy Phillips led off with a single to third base. Sydnie Ferrant drew a walk before Olivia Shaw singled home Phillips.
Samford 1, No. 14 Mississippi State 0
Bottom 1
Morgan Stiles led off with a walk. Nadia Barbary singled through the left side and advanced to second on the throw as Stiles reached third. Kiarra Sells doubled down the left field line, scoring Stiles and Barbary. Kinley Keller hit a two-out double down the left field line to score Sells.
Samford 1, No. 14 Mississippi State 3
Bottom 2
With one out, Gabby Schaeffer doubled down the left field line. Barbary hit a two-out single up the middle, scoring Schaeffer.
Samford 1, No. 14 Mississippi State 4
Top 4
Katie Campbell led off with a home run to left field.
Samford 2, No. 14 Mississippi State 4
Bottom 5
With one out, Taylor Troutman doubled to center field, and Ally Supan pinch ran. Morgan Bernardini singled to left center to score Supan.
Samford 2, No. 14 Mississippi State 5
Bottom 6
Schaeffer led off with a single to left field, and Stiles bunted her to second. Barbary singled to left field and advanced to second on the throw as Schaeffer advanced to third. Sells scored Schaeffer with a sacrifice fly.
Samford 2, No. 14 Mississippi State 6
For more information on the Bulldog softball program, follow on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook and Instagram by searching "HailStateSB."
State (12-1) collected four doubles against the other Bulldogs in a 6-2 victory. After Samford (4-8) scored in the top of the first, MSU responded with three runs on a pair of doubles in the bottom of the inning. State added runs in the second, fifth and sixth innings. Nadia Barbary went 4-for-4 with an RBI, and Kiarra Sells drove in four.
"You know, that's the beauty of our game. We play so many, and we had a chance to get right back out there and answer back," head coach Samantha Ricketts said. "I thought they did a good job of responding to Samford's scoring first there and just not getting too sped up and making sure that we just stayed under control and played our game. I liked the response from the team overall in the first inning and in the game in general. I'm looking forward to seeing how we respond tomorrow with another chance to play [Belmont] tomorrow."
In the circle, Alyssa Faircloth went the distance, striking out nine while allowing just four hits. Faircloth had also pitched in relief earlier in the day, striking out a pair in a scoreless frame.
State was one-hit in the first game of the day while facing Belmont's (7-4) All-American Maya Johnson. The nation's leader in strikeouts per seven innings, sat the Bulldogs down 13 times as the Bruins held on for a 1-0 victory. The only run of the game was unearned as State made just its third error of the campaign in the sixth inning. That run very nearly came off the board as well on a close play at the plate that ultimately stood after replay review was inconclusive.
Quotables
Nadia Barbary on her 4-for-4 performance against Samford..."We just prepared the way we did earlier, and I just trusted myself. I've been in a little slump for a while now, and I just knew eventually that it was going to end in a certain amount of time. And once it's over, it's over."
Alyssa Faircloth on pitching in both games...
"I definitely was starting to feel it by the end. I haven't thrown that much in a while, so I'm glad I was able to finish through it. I think my teammates were really behind me today. They were putting balls in play and little dinks everywhere. Morgan [Stiles] made a good play. Nadia [Barbary] made a good diving play. I think that by keeping the ball in the infield, I gave them opportunities to make plays for me, and overall, keep the game where it was."
Quick Hitters
The Magic Number – MSU has scored five or more runs in 92 of State's 113 wins (81.4 percent) since 2023 … State is 162-20 when scoring five or more under Coach Ricketts … the Bulldogs have scored five or more runs in 11 of 13 games this season.Double Trouble Dawgs – MSU tied its season high with four doubles against Samford … State has now hit three or more doubles in three games this season … State has doubled in all but two games this year.
Nadia Barbary – Posted her fourth multi-hit game of the season and the 40th of her career … 21st Bulldog with 40 or more career multi-hit games … went 4-for-4 on the day, tying her career high in hits … stole her first base of the season.
Anna Carder – Recorded Mississippi State's only hit against Belmont.
Alyssa Faircloth – Struck out two of the three batters she faced in relief against Belmont … struck out nine batters in her start against Samford … leads the team with 49 strikeouts this year … entered the weekend ranked No. 14 nationally in strikeouts.
Peja Goold – Struck out eight batters against Belmont, tying her season high … has struck out five or more batters in 30 appearances since the start of 2025, earning the win in 26 of those games.
Kinley Keller – Hit her team-leading fifth double of the season against Samford.
Gabby Schaeffer – Doubled and walked to reach in every plate appearance against Samford … her first career multi-hit game.
Kiarra Sells – Doubled home two runs against Samford … added a sacrifice fly … now second on the team with 11 RBIs.
Morgan Stiles - Has reached to open the MSU half of the first inning in nine of 13 games … recorded a season-high four putouts against Samford.
Scoring Recap vs. Belmont
Top 6Rylee Spindler drew a leadoff walk, and Addison Swink pinch ran at first. Lizzie Ozim hit into a fielder's choice, but the pitcher's throw to second sailed into center field, allowing Swink to advance safely. Swink then scored from second on an infield single to second base.
Belmont 1, No. 14 Mississippi State 0
Scoring Recap vs. Samford
Top 1Brandy Phillips led off with a single to third base. Sydnie Ferrant drew a walk before Olivia Shaw singled home Phillips.
Samford 1, No. 14 Mississippi State 0
Bottom 1
Morgan Stiles led off with a walk. Nadia Barbary singled through the left side and advanced to second on the throw as Stiles reached third. Kiarra Sells doubled down the left field line, scoring Stiles and Barbary. Kinley Keller hit a two-out double down the left field line to score Sells.
Samford 1, No. 14 Mississippi State 3
Bottom 2
With one out, Gabby Schaeffer doubled down the left field line. Barbary hit a two-out single up the middle, scoring Schaeffer.
Samford 1, No. 14 Mississippi State 4
Top 4
Katie Campbell led off with a home run to left field.
Samford 2, No. 14 Mississippi State 4
Bottom 5
With one out, Taylor Troutman doubled to center field, and Ally Supan pinch ran. Morgan Bernardini singled to left center to score Supan.
Samford 2, No. 14 Mississippi State 5
Bottom 6
Schaeffer led off with a single to left field, and Stiles bunted her to second. Barbary singled to left field and advanced to second on the throw as Schaeffer advanced to third. Sells scored Schaeffer with a sacrifice fly.
Samford 2, No. 14 Mississippi State 6
Next Up
The Bulldogs have two more games at the Bulldog Invitational scheduled on Saturday. State hosts Belmont for a rematch at 12:30 p.m. CT before meeting Delaware State at 3 p.m. Both games will be available on SEC Network+.For more information on the Bulldog softball program, follow on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook and Instagram by searching "HailStateSB."
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Johnson, Maya (5-0)
L: Goold, Peja (5-1)
Batting:
RBI: Dolecki, Madison 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Swink, Addison 1
Batting:
SH: Keller, Kinley 1
Base Running:
HBP: Bernardini, Morgan 1
Game Leaders
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
0
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
0
RBI
0
rf/dp
AB
3
R
0
H
0
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
INF
/ Softball
OF
/ SoftballC
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
INF
/ SoftballOF
/ SoftballINF
/ Softball
UTL
/ Softball
INF
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