Friday, April 10
Starkville
5 p.m.
Mississippi State
34-9, 6-7
1
vs
0
#8 Arkansas
33-6, 8-5
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | Runs R | Hits H | Errors E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arkansas | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Mississippi State | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | X | 1 | 5 | 1 |
Goold’s Gem Opens Series With A Win Against No. 8 Arkansas
April 10, 2026 | Softball
STARKVILLE – Peja Goold tied the Mississippi State single-season SEC shutouts record on Friday night, blanking No. 8 Arkansas in a 1-0 win for the No. 13 Bulldogs.
Goold allowed just two hits and struck out three while recording her 11th complete game and eighth shutout overall this year. She is now tied for second in MSU single-season history overall for shutouts.
"Every time Peja – really any of our pitchers – is on the mound, we know we have a good chance to fight for them and score some runs," head coach Samantha Ricketts said. "I love her confidence and the way she leads from the mound. She goes out there to compete and keeps us in the game. She did a really good job against a tough hitting team. She was able to keep them off-balance by mixing speeds, hitting her locations and having good defense behind her. She had another quality start, and we were able to scratch a run across for her."
The Bulldogs (34-9, 6-7 SEC) scored the game's only run in the bottom of the fifth. Kiarra Sells got things started with a walk and advanced to third on a double from Morgan Stiles. On the very next pitch, she scored on a passed ball.
Des Rivera also picked up an extra-base hit for State with her seventh double of the year. Anna Carder, Nadia Barbary and Morgan Bernardini also joined the hit column.
"Going into that, I was like, all right, I'm on third, Coach [Tyler] Bratton had just told me beforehand, 'Hey, on a passed ball, you're scoring.' During the read, I was looking, and I was like, that's sitting under her, I don't think I'm going to make that. Then all of a sudden, it started rolling down behind her and I was like, I'm going to go. Then the moment I saw that catcher slip, I kind of just pulled my hand back to get around her tag."
Kiarra Sells on growing as a baserunner since her freshman year...
"I've seen myself grow so much. I think that's a lot of the work I had to put in during practice, getting coached all the time has really shaped me into the baserunner that I am. It showed up today, and that's great."
Samantha Ricketts on Kiarra Sells' speed…
"That is why she is at the top of the order. She can do a lot of things well, and one of them is her speed. I think her decision to slide head first is what got us that run. She has come a long way in terms of embracing her speed and becoming more aggressive. She did exactly that for us there."
Peja Goold – Racked up her 11th complete game and eighth shutout this season, which is tied for second in MSU single-season history … tied State's single-season record for shutouts in SEC play at three … allowed only two hits.
Des Rivera – Collected a double and was hit by pitch.
Kiarra Sells – Has reached safely in 12 consecutive games, tying her season-long reached-base streak … scored the game's only run on a passed ball.
Morgan Stiles – Doubled and is now tied for fourth on the team with six this season.
Kiarra Sells led off with a walk, and Morgan Stiles followed with a double to center. Sells scored from third on a passed ball.
No. 8 Arkansas 0, No. 13 Mississippi State 1
For more information on the Bulldog softball program, follow on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook and Instagram by searching "HailStateSB."
Goold allowed just two hits and struck out three while recording her 11th complete game and eighth shutout overall this year. She is now tied for second in MSU single-season history overall for shutouts.
"Every time Peja – really any of our pitchers – is on the mound, we know we have a good chance to fight for them and score some runs," head coach Samantha Ricketts said. "I love her confidence and the way she leads from the mound. She goes out there to compete and keeps us in the game. She did a really good job against a tough hitting team. She was able to keep them off-balance by mixing speeds, hitting her locations and having good defense behind her. She had another quality start, and we were able to scratch a run across for her."
The Bulldogs (34-9, 6-7 SEC) scored the game's only run in the bottom of the fifth. Kiarra Sells got things started with a walk and advanced to third on a double from Morgan Stiles. On the very next pitch, she scored on a passed ball.
Des Rivera also picked up an extra-base hit for State with her seventh double of the year. Anna Carder, Nadia Barbary and Morgan Bernardini also joined the hit column.
Quotables
Kiarra Sells on scoring the game-winning run on a passed ball..."Going into that, I was like, all right, I'm on third, Coach [Tyler] Bratton had just told me beforehand, 'Hey, on a passed ball, you're scoring.' During the read, I was looking, and I was like, that's sitting under her, I don't think I'm going to make that. Then all of a sudden, it started rolling down behind her and I was like, I'm going to go. Then the moment I saw that catcher slip, I kind of just pulled my hand back to get around her tag."
Kiarra Sells on growing as a baserunner since her freshman year...
"I've seen myself grow so much. I think that's a lot of the work I had to put in during practice, getting coached all the time has really shaped me into the baserunner that I am. It showed up today, and that's great."
Samantha Ricketts on Kiarra Sells' speed…
"That is why she is at the top of the order. She can do a lot of things well, and one of them is her speed. I think her decision to slide head first is what got us that run. She has come a long way in terms of embracing her speed and becoming more aggressive. She did exactly that for us there."
Quick Hitters
Anna Carder – Has a hit in four of the last five games raising her season average 20 points.Peja Goold – Racked up her 11th complete game and eighth shutout this season, which is tied for second in MSU single-season history … tied State's single-season record for shutouts in SEC play at three … allowed only two hits.
Des Rivera – Collected a double and was hit by pitch.
Kiarra Sells – Has reached safely in 12 consecutive games, tying her season-long reached-base streak … scored the game's only run on a passed ball.
Morgan Stiles – Doubled and is now tied for fourth on the team with six this season.
Scoring Recap
Bottom 5Kiarra Sells led off with a walk, and Morgan Stiles followed with a double to center. Sells scored from third on a passed ball.
No. 8 Arkansas 0, No. 13 Mississippi State 1
Next Up
The series continues with All For Alex day on Saturday at 2 p.m. CT. All 15 SEC teams, along with select teams from other conferences across the country, will wear teal or teal accents to honor the late Alex Wilcox's legacy and raise awareness of ovarian cancer symptoms.For more information on the Bulldog softball program, follow on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook and Instagram by searching "HailStateSB."
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Goold, Peja (14-6)
L: Robyn Herron (11-3)
Batting:
2B: Brinli Bain 1
SH: Karlie Davison 1
Base Running:
HBP: Kennedy Miller 1
Batting:
2B: Stiles, Morgan 1 ; Rivera, Des 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Sells, Kiarra 1
SB: Richardson, Abby Grace 1
HBP: Rivera, Des 1
Game Leaders
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
INF
/ SoftballOF
/ SoftballC
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
C
/ Softball
OF
/ SoftballINF
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