Friday, March 13
Starkville
6 p.m.
Mississippi State
26-3, 0-1
1
vs
3
#1 Tennessee
26-0, 4-0
1st innning1
2nd innning2
3rd innning3
4th innning4
5th innning5
6th innning6
7th innning7
8th innning8
9th innning9
RunsR
HitsH
ErrorsE
Tennessee
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
3
3
6
1
Mississippi State
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
2
1
State Falls In Extra-Innings Pitchers’ Duel To Open SEC Play Against No. 1 Tennessee
March 13, 2026 | Softball
STARKVILLE – The first run of the night didn't come until the ninth inning, but it was a three-run swing for No. 1 Tennessee that was the difference as No. 12 Mississippi State lost to the Lady Vols, 3-1, in extras.
Coming into the weekend both pitching staffs ranked inside the top three nationally in ERA, and the first game of the weekend series delivered on the expectation that runs would be at a premium. The teams combined for just five hits through the first seven innings.
Alyssa Faircloth threw the entire game for State (26-3, 0-1 SEC), striking out nine. The Bulldogs turned two double plays to preserve the shutout. In the fourth, Faircloth started one after snagging a liner back at her, and in the seventh, the Bulldogs cut down a runner at home to end the inning.
"I love the start and the outing from Alyssa Faircloth," head coach Samantha Ricketts said. "She really did what she's done all year long for us. She's just a competitor. She wants it. She wasn't afraid of the challenge, and I hate that we couldn't find a way to score some runs early. If she continues to throw like that, she is going to win a lot of games at this conference, so I'm really proud of her."
A two-out, three-run homer in the top of the ninth gave Tennessee the lead. Taylor Troutman opened the bottom half of the inning with a solo home run to cut the deficit, and the Bulldogs later brought the tying run to the plate. Nadia Barbary lifted a long fly ball back to the warning track that had the potential to tie the game, but it was caught in left-center field for the final out of the night.
"I think we saw a lot of good things. Good defense. I think obviously our offense has to find a way to scratch one out and make some better adjustments early, but give credit to them. They're the No. 1 team in the country for a reason. I thought their pitcher did a great job of keeping us off-balance. She was really utilizing all her pitches and keeping us from finding a way to kind of settle in and stick with an approach on the plate today."
Alyssa Faircloth on the how she felt in the circle today...
"Today, I felt good. I turned my brain off and went out there, trusted our plan and trusted the work that I put in beforehand. We really wanted to use my strengths rather than pitch to their weaknesses, which I think worked out for us for the most part. I'm glad that my teammates had my back defensively. We made some really great plays, heads-up plays, and I think it was an all-around good performance other than the one pitch."
Alyssa Faircloth on her defensive play...
"The funny thing is I actually asked Coach Zac [Shaw] last week after watching film to start hitting them at me harder because at practice we were kind of doing little lobbers, and they keep getting hit hard at me. I wanted to practice them that way. I feel like maybe that helped. I don't know. Today, I just had good reflexes. Some days I do, and some days I don't."
Nadia Barbary – Has a hit in seven consecutive games and has reached safely in 10 straight.
Alyssa Faircloth – Made her first start in the SEC … tied her career high with 9.0 innings pitched … struck out nine hitters, including striking out the side in the first inning … turned a double play on her own in the fourth.
Taylor Troutman – Hit a pinch-hit home run in her first career at-bat in SEC play.
Bella Faw led off the inning with a single. Sophia Knight then reached on an error by the third baseman, and Faw advanced to second. With two outs, Makenzie Butt hit a three-run homer to right field
No. 1 Tennessee 3, No. 12 Mississippi State 0
Bottom 9
Taylor Troutman hit a pinch-hit home run to left field.
No. 1 Tennessee 3, No. 12 Mississippi State 1
For more information on the Bulldog softball program, follow on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook and Instagram by searching "HailStateSB."
Coming into the weekend both pitching staffs ranked inside the top three nationally in ERA, and the first game of the weekend series delivered on the expectation that runs would be at a premium. The teams combined for just five hits through the first seven innings.
Alyssa Faircloth threw the entire game for State (26-3, 0-1 SEC), striking out nine. The Bulldogs turned two double plays to preserve the shutout. In the fourth, Faircloth started one after snagging a liner back at her, and in the seventh, the Bulldogs cut down a runner at home to end the inning.
"I love the start and the outing from Alyssa Faircloth," head coach Samantha Ricketts said. "She really did what she's done all year long for us. She's just a competitor. She wants it. She wasn't afraid of the challenge, and I hate that we couldn't find a way to score some runs early. If she continues to throw like that, she is going to win a lot of games at this conference, so I'm really proud of her."
A two-out, three-run homer in the top of the ninth gave Tennessee the lead. Taylor Troutman opened the bottom half of the inning with a solo home run to cut the deficit, and the Bulldogs later brought the tying run to the plate. Nadia Barbary lifted a long fly ball back to the warning track that had the potential to tie the game, but it was caught in left-center field for the final out of the night.
Quotables
Samantha Ricketts on takeaways from tonight's game for the rest of the series..."I think we saw a lot of good things. Good defense. I think obviously our offense has to find a way to scratch one out and make some better adjustments early, but give credit to them. They're the No. 1 team in the country for a reason. I thought their pitcher did a great job of keeping us off-balance. She was really utilizing all her pitches and keeping us from finding a way to kind of settle in and stick with an approach on the plate today."
Alyssa Faircloth on the how she felt in the circle today...
"Today, I felt good. I turned my brain off and went out there, trusted our plan and trusted the work that I put in beforehand. We really wanted to use my strengths rather than pitch to their weaknesses, which I think worked out for us for the most part. I'm glad that my teammates had my back defensively. We made some really great plays, heads-up plays, and I think it was an all-around good performance other than the one pitch."
Alyssa Faircloth on her defensive play...
"The funny thing is I actually asked Coach Zac [Shaw] last week after watching film to start hitting them at me harder because at practice we were kind of doing little lobbers, and they keep getting hit hard at me. I wanted to practice them that way. I feel like maybe that helped. I don't know. Today, I just had good reflexes. Some days I do, and some days I don't."
Quick Hitters
Runs At A Premium – Neither team had a hit until the fourth inning … neither team had a runner reach second base until the seventh inning … the first runs were scored in the ninth.Nadia Barbary – Has a hit in seven consecutive games and has reached safely in 10 straight.
Alyssa Faircloth – Made her first start in the SEC … tied her career high with 9.0 innings pitched … struck out nine hitters, including striking out the side in the first inning … turned a double play on her own in the fourth.
Taylor Troutman – Hit a pinch-hit home run in her first career at-bat in SEC play.
Scoring Recap
Top 9Bella Faw led off the inning with a single. Sophia Knight then reached on an error by the third baseman, and Faw advanced to second. With two outs, Makenzie Butt hit a three-run homer to right field
No. 1 Tennessee 3, No. 12 Mississippi State 0
Bottom 9
Taylor Troutman hit a pinch-hit home run to left field.
No. 1 Tennessee 3, No. 12 Mississippi State 1
Next Up
The teams continue the series at 2 p.m. CT on Saturday. The game will air 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: Sage Mardjetko (6-0)
L: Faircloth, Alyssa (7-2)
S: Erin Nuwer (3)
Batting:
2B: Makenzie Butt 1
HR: Makenzie Butt 1
RBI: Makenzie Butt 3
Base Running:
RUNS: Sophia Knight 1 ; Makenzie Butt 1 ; Bella Faw 1
Batting:
HR: Troutman, Taylor 1
RBI: Troutman, Taylor 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Troutman, Taylor 1
Game Leaders
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
1
R
1
H
1
RBI
1
AB
4
R
0
H
0
RBI
0
AB
0
R
0
H
0
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
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