Nusz Park Opener Set For Tuesday Afternoon

STARKVILLE – The No. 22/24 Mississippi State softball team will host Southern Miss for its home opener at Nusz Park on Tuesday, Feb. 10. First pitch is scheduled for 4 p.m. CT on SEC Network+

The Bulldogs started the season 4-0 at the Getterman Classic and climbed to No. 18 in Monday's Softball America poll. The weekend saw State homer in every game it played with Nadia Barbary, Morgan Stiles and Taylor Troutman all leaving the yard twice.

In the circle, Peja Goold and Alyssa Faircloth are 2-0. Goold was one out away from a no-hitter in her MSU debut, and Faircloth struck out 14 in just her second outing in Maroon and White, good for fourth-most in a game in program history.

Gates to Nusz Park will open one hour prior to first pitch. Single-game tickets are available starting at $6 on HailState.com/Tickets.

Leading Off

Bicentennial Bulldog: Samantha Ricketts became the fastest Bulldog softball head coach to win 200 career games at State in the win over Northwestern State on Feb. 6, needing just 319 games.

Our State: The Bulldogs are 30-6 against teams from the state of Mississippi under Samantha Ricketts, while outscoring in-state foes, 261-84.

Spread The Nusz: Over the last two seasons, the Bulldogs are 40-14 at home while outscoring opponents, 388-170, in those games. MSU's top two regular-season attendance marks in program history were set last spring.

Faircloth Fans Foes: Alyssa Faircloth's 14 strikeouts vs. New Mexico (Feb. 7) were a career high and fourth-most in a game in MSU history. She now ranks eighth nationally in strikeouts per seven innings (13.36).

Hot Hands: Morgan Stiles and Nadia Barbary are both riding eight-game hitting streaks dating back to last season. Stiles is hitting .556 with a 1.378 OPS during her streak. Barbary is slugging .800 with nine RBIs in that span while launching four doubles and three homers.

Peja Pitches A Gem: Peja Goold came one out away from a no-hitter in her MSU debut at Baylor (Feb. 5). She struck out five hitters and is 23-2 when striking out at least five since the start of last year.

Put To The Test: MSU was the only team in the nation to play each of the final four teams at the Women's College World Series three times in 2025.

Portal Pickups: Mississippi State's transfer class was ranked No. 3 in the nation by 6-4-3 Charts, which based its rankings on the total number of Wins Above Replacement (WAR) each school added. State's 17.43 WAR added was tied for the most in the SEC with Tennessee.

Long Time Coming For Troutman: Taylor Troutman homered in each of her first two career at-bats after missing the 2025 season with a torn ACL.

Barbary's Big Both Ways: Nadia Barbary earned her first career All-SEC honors last spring and picked up All-Defensive Team recognition at third base. She recorded single-season career highs in hits, homers, RBIs and total bases while being one of only 13 third basemen across the nation to post more than 12.00 Defensive Runs Saved.

About Southern Miss (4-1, 0-0 Sun Belt)

Series History

Overall: 42-13 | Home: 18-7 | Away: 21-3 | Neutral: 3-3
Current Streak: Won 3 | Last Meeting: Mar. 26, 2025, in Hattiesburg, Miss. (MSU 9, USM 1 [5 inn.])

Notables

Southern Miss went 4-1 at its home tournament to open the year. The Golden Eagles' defense was a difference maker as they lead the Sun Belt in double plays with three already. Southern Miss also leads their league in shutouts, sacrifice flies, walks and times hit by a pitch. USM hit eight sacrifice flies, which leads the nation after one week of play. Kayla Giardina is one of 44 qualified pitchers nationally with a 0.00 ERA. The Golden Eagles have scored at least five runs in each of their wins. Hannah Christian enters Tuesday night with a hit in every game this season.

On Deck

Mississippi State remains in Starkville this weekend to host The Snowman: Alex Wilcox Memorial presented by Newk's Eatery. State welcomes Murray State, Rutgers and North Texas for five games on Feb. 13-15.

The Bulldogs play at 12:30 p.m. and 3 p.m. on Friday and Saturday before a 12:30 p.m. first pitch against the Mean Green to wrap up the tournament on Sunday.

Follow the Bulldogs

For more information on the Bulldog softball program, follow on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram by searching "HailStateSB."

Nusz Park Opener Set For Tuesday Afternoon

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Players Mentioned

Nadia Barbary

Alyssa Faircloth

Peja Goold

Morgan Stiles

Taylor Troutman

Mississippi State University Athletics

Nusz Park Opener Set For Tuesday Afternoon

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Next Event

Players Mentioned

Nadia Barbary

Alyssa Faircloth

Peja Goold

Morgan Stiles

Taylor Troutman

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