State Drops Series To No. 8 Arkansas

Sunday, April 12

Starkville

11 a.m.

Mississippi State

34-11, 6-9

#8 Arkansas

35-6, 10-5

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
Arkansas	3	0	0	0	2	2	3	10	13	0
Mississippi State	1	0	0	2	0	0	0	3	4	1

State Drops Series To No. 8 Arkansas

April 12, 2026 | Softball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Press Conference

By: Brian Ogden, Director/Communications

STARKVILLE – No. 13 Mississippi State lost the rubber match and lost the series to No. 8 Arkansas on Sunday afternoon, falling by a score of 10-3.

"There were not enough adjustments," head coach Samantha Ricketts said. "I thought today was better, in terms of making hard outs and finding a way to have quality at bats even when we are getting out. It was just a little bit too late on the weekend. We talk about it all the time. You have to be ready for every game. You can't decide which games to go for it and which games not to."

Arkansas (35-6, 10-5 SEC) plated three runs in the top of the first, but State (34-11, 6-9 SEC) battled back to tie the game in the bottom of the fourth. Nadia Barbary homered in the first, and Morgan Bernardini and Taylor Troutman drove in runs in the fourth.

The Razorbacks scored multiple runs in every inning after that, tallying a pair in the fifth and sixth and scoring three in the seventh.

Bernardini finished with a two-hit day. Kiarra Sells and Anna Carder also reached, drawing walks. Delainey Everett again closed the ballgame, throwing 0.2 scoreless innings with a strikeout.

Quick Hitters

Nadia Barbary – Hit a solo home run and walked … now second on the team with 11 home runs this year.

Morgan Bernardini – Hit an RBI single and doubled ... now tied for second on the team in doubles (8) … recorded her sixth multi-hit game this season.

Kiarra Sells – Has reached safely in 14 consecutive games.

Taylor Troutman – Hit a pitch-hit, game-tying RBI double … batting .462 (6-for-13) when pitch-hitting this year with four RBIs.

Scoring Recap

Top 1
Reagan Johnson singled through the left side then advanced to second on a ground out by Brinli Bain. Ella McDowell drove in Johnson with a single to right field. Dakota Kennedy singled through the right side, and McDowell advanced to second. Tiana Bell singled to center field, scoring McDowell. Kennedy advanced to third on the play when the centerfielder made an error. Atalyia Rijo walked to load the bases. Kailey Wyckoff reached on fielder's choice to second, scoring Kennedy.
No. 8 Arkansas 3, No. 13 Mississippi State 0

Bottom 1
Nadia Barbary homered to left center with two outs.
No. 8 Arkansas 3, No. 13 Mississippi State 1

Bottom 4
Barbary walked, and with one out, Anna Carder walked. Gretta Grassel pinch ran for Barbary, and Tatum Silva ran for Carder. Morgan Bernardini singled up the middle, advancing Silva and scoring Gressel. Kalani Sells pinch ran for Bernardini at first. Taylor Troutman doubled to right center, scoring Silva.
No. 8 Arkansas 3, No. 13 Mississippi State 3

Top 5
Wyckoff and Kennedy Miller hit back-to-back solo homers.
No. 8 Arkansas 5, No. 13 Mississippi State 3

Top 6
McDowell walked to lead off, and Kennedy doubled to left center, advancing McDowell to third. McDowell scored on a wild pitch and Kennedy advanced to third when Bell walked. Kasey Wood pinch ran for Bell and stole second. Wyckoff hit a sacrifice fly to right to score Kennedy.
No. 8 Arkansas 7, No. 13 Mississippi State 3

Top 7
Karlie Davison beat out a bunt single. She advanced to third on two wild pitches. Johnson walked, then stole second. With one out, McDowell walked to load the bases. Davison and Johnson scored on a single by Kennedy. Bell then singled up the middle, scoring McDowell.
No. 8 Arkansas 10, No. 13 Mississippi State 3

Next Up

The Bulldogs go back on the road and head west as they play at No. 14 Texas A&M next weekend. Friday's game will be broadcast nationally on SEC Network at 7:30 p.m. CT. The final two games of the series will air on SEC Network+ at 4 p.m. on Saturday and 1 p.m. on Sunday.

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