Barbary Blasts No. 12 Bulldogs To Victory In Birmingham

Wednesday, March 4

Birmingham, Ala.

5 p.m.

Mississippi State

19-2

UAB

11-10

Mississippi State

UAB

Photo by: Mississippi State Athletics

Barbary Blasts No. 12 Bulldogs To Victory In Birmingham

March 04, 2026 | Softball

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By: Brian Ogden, Director/Communications

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Two big swings from Nadia Barbary put No. 12 Mississippi State in front for good on Wednesday night in a 6-1 victory at UAB.

Barbary opened the scoring with a solo home run in the top of the first. She later broke a 1-1 tie with a three-run blast in the fifth. Abigail Stevens delivered a pinch-hit, two-run double for insurance with two outs in the sixth.

"Nadia has been such a consistent presence for us, all year and every year," head coach Samantha Ricketts said. "It's just been fun to watch her continue to grow and step up when we need her, setting the tone in the first, and then helping us extend it late in the game. I think it just give us a little bit of breathing room. You know, with our lineup, we know it can be anyone at any given time, and with the expectations for the senior, she does a great job of handling that pressure."

Kiarra Sells added a double, her ninth extra-base hit during her current nine-game hitting streak. Morgan Stiles and Tatum Silva both singled and scored.

In the circle, Leila Ammon went 6.0 innings without allowing an earned run. She struck out seven. Delainey Everett closed the ballgame with a scoreless seventh inning.

Quotables

Samantha Ricketts on Abigail Stevens' success as a pinch hitter this year…
"I think she's just scratching the surface of how good she's going to be. It's been fun to watch her just continue to grow in her confidence and realize that, you know, she has a role right now, and it's going to continue to get bigger. There will be more opportunities as she continues to do what she does. She's a tough matchup. She is a tough out, and I think she just is bringing a lot of that confidence to the plate. It's been fun to watch her find success in that role."

Nadia Barbary on sparking the offense with two home runs…
"It felt good just having the team's back. You know, we kind of had a slow start and it was just about knowing that as time comes, we'll take care of business."

Quick Hitters

Leila Ammon – Struck out seven over 6.0 innings without allowing an earned run.

Nadia Barbary – Hit her fourth and fifth home runs of the season … collected a season-high-tying four RBIs … recorded her sixth multi-hit game of the season.

Des Rivera – Walked to extend her reached-base streak to eight games.

Kiarra Sells – Extended her season-long hitting streak to nine games … has an extra-base hit in eight of the last nine games with six doubles and three homers … batting .600 (15-for-25) during the streak.

Abigail Stevens – Delivered a two-run, pinch-hit double … now .600 (3-for-5) as a pinch hitter with two extra-base hits and three RBIs.

Morgan Stiles - Has reached base in all but one game this year … has reached safely in nine straight games, batting .375 (9-for-24) during that span.

Scoring Recap

Top 1
With one out, Nadia Barbary hit a solo home run to center.
No. 12 Mississippi State 1, UAB 0

Bottom 3
With one out, Hannah Miles tripled off the left-center field wall. She scored when Jaycee Holt reached on a throwing error by the pitcher.
No. 12 Mississippi State 1, UAB 1

Top 5
With two outs, Tatum Silva singled to center, and Morgan Stiles singled up the middle. The runners advanced on a wild pitch before Barbary hit her second home run of the night.
No. 12 Mississippi State 4, UAB 1

Top 6
Des Rivera drew a leadoff walk, and Ally Supan pinch ran at first. With two outs, Xiane Romero reached on a fielder's choice, and Supan was safe at second on an error as the shortstop couldn't handle the ball while trying to step on the bag. Abigail Stevens delivered a pinch-hit double down the right field line to score both runners.
No. 12 Mississippi State 6, UAB 1

Next Up

Mississippi State will conclude its longest road stretch of the season when the Bulldogs head to Mobile, Alabama, to compete in the Jaguar Classic this weekend. State will square off against New Mexico, Samford and South Alabama, playing two games on both Friday and Saturday and one game on Sunday.

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