Saturday, May 16
Eugene, Ore.
4 p.m.
Mississippi State
40-18
4
at
0
#12 Oregon
41-13
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | Runs R | Hits H | Errors E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mississippi State | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 7 | 0 |
| Oregon | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Faircloth Tosses State’s First NCAA Tournament No-Hitter To Reach Regional Final
May 16, 2026 | Softball
EUGENE, Ore. – No one was touching Alyssa Faircloth on Saturday. The junior twirled her second career no-hitter and MSU's first ever in the NCAA Tournament as No. 20 Mississippi State defeated No. 12 Oregon, 4-0.
Faircloth allowed one baserunner on a first-inning walk, but the Bulldogs (40-18) were in control from the start. She struck out eight.
"I'm just really proud of the way our team played today. It was just a full team effort, and something we'd really been working hard on the last real month of the season to try and put everything together at once," head coach Samantha Ricketts said. "I love the way it showed up. I think, from the beginning of the game, [Morgan] Stiles, Gretta [Grassel] setting the table for us, and then just getting Alyssa [Faircloth] some runs early and letting her do what she does best. It's never easy to throw a postseason no-hitter, especially against a quality team like Oregon. love the effort, the confidence that she went out there with – the defense behind her – and just knowing that they all had each other's backs. They were really just playing together, trying to keep it loose and have some fun, because we know that's when we're going to really be confident and go out there and play our best softball."
MSU opened the scoring with a two-run homer from Gretta Grassel on the seventh pitch of the game. Xiane Romero brought home a run in the third with a double, and Paige Ernstes plated one with an RBI single in the fourth.
The win gives State its first 40-win season since 2008 and only its third on record. It is the first time that MSU has started the NCAA Tournament 2-0 since the Bulldogs' first appearance in 2000.
"I knew [Kinley] Keller had it. You know, if it was in the yard, she was going to get it, so, I mean, it was just trust in her, trust in my defense, those kinds of things. There really wasn't any thought. I was just happy that she got it."
Gretta Grassel on her home run…
"I feel like over the past few weeks I've been putting together pretty good at bats, and I don't really have much to show for it. Today, I knew I was ready. Obviously, Morgan [Stiles] got walked, and she threw probably like six balls ahead of me, so I knew a pitch was going to come that I could hit."
Morgan Stiles on reaching base four times…
"I'm just trying to do what I can do to get on base, because I have full trust in the people behind me, no matter who it is. So I'm just trying to get on base any way that I can."
Bulldog Bats – State collected four extra-base hits, which is its highest total in a game since April 5 at No. 5 Florida (4).
Alyssa Faircloth – Threw the first NCAA Tournament no-hitter in school history and the seventh shutout … per ESPN, the no-hitter is the first of a national seed in the NCAA Tournament in since 1999 … stands as the first no-hitter of her Bulldog career and her first since March 7, 2025, while pitching at Troy against UMass … only baserunner allowed was a walk … struck out 10.
Gretta Grassel – Hit her first career home run … homer was her first career postseason hit in either the SEC Tournament or NCAA Tournament.
Kinley Keller – Doubled and has reached base in every game of the 2026 postseason … now 4-for-9 in the postseason with three doubles and two walks … riding a five-game reached-base streak, which is one shy of her career-long streak.
Xiane Romero – Drove an RBI double in the third … was also hit by a pitch to reach twice.
Morgan Stiles – Doubled and singled for her 10th and 11th career NCAA Tournament hit, which is tied for fifth in MSU history … boasts a career .579 (11-for-19) average in the NCAA Tournament, which would be the MSU record … has a hit in all six NCAA Tournament games she's played in her career … reached in all four plate appearances today with a pair of walks as well.
Morgan Stiles walked on four pitches to open the game. Gretta Grassel then took a 2-0 pitch out to straightaway center field for a two-run homer.
No. 20 Mississippi State 2, No. 12 Oregon 0
Top 3
Stiles led off with a double into right center. She moved to third on a ground out to first base from Grassel and scored on a two-out double down the right field line by Xiane Romero
No. 20 Mississippi State 3, No. 12 Oregon 0
Top 4
Morgan Bernardini singled up the middle, and Tatum Silva pinch ran at first. Silva took second on a wild pitch and moved to third on a ground out from Kiarra Sells. Paige Ernstes drove in Silva with a single up the middle.
No. 20 Mississippi State 4, No. 12 Oregon 0
For more information on the Bulldog softball program, follow on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook and Instagram by searching "HailStateSB."
Faircloth allowed one baserunner on a first-inning walk, but the Bulldogs (40-18) were in control from the start. She struck out eight.
"I'm just really proud of the way our team played today. It was just a full team effort, and something we'd really been working hard on the last real month of the season to try and put everything together at once," head coach Samantha Ricketts said. "I love the way it showed up. I think, from the beginning of the game, [Morgan] Stiles, Gretta [Grassel] setting the table for us, and then just getting Alyssa [Faircloth] some runs early and letting her do what she does best. It's never easy to throw a postseason no-hitter, especially against a quality team like Oregon. love the effort, the confidence that she went out there with – the defense behind her – and just knowing that they all had each other's backs. They were really just playing together, trying to keep it loose and have some fun, because we know that's when we're going to really be confident and go out there and play our best softball."
MSU opened the scoring with a two-run homer from Gretta Grassel on the seventh pitch of the game. Xiane Romero brought home a run in the third with a double, and Paige Ernstes plated one with an RBI single in the fourth.
The win gives State its first 40-win season since 2008 and only its third on record. It is the first time that MSU has started the NCAA Tournament 2-0 since the Bulldogs' first appearance in 2000.
Quotables
Alyssa Faircloth on her reaction to seeing the last out of the game… "I knew [Kinley] Keller had it. You know, if it was in the yard, she was going to get it, so, I mean, it was just trust in her, trust in my defense, those kinds of things. There really wasn't any thought. I was just happy that she got it."
Gretta Grassel on her home run…
"I feel like over the past few weeks I've been putting together pretty good at bats, and I don't really have much to show for it. Today, I knew I was ready. Obviously, Morgan [Stiles] got walked, and she threw probably like six balls ahead of me, so I knew a pitch was going to come that I could hit."
Morgan Stiles on reaching base four times…
"I'm just trying to do what I can do to get on base, because I have full trust in the people behind me, no matter who it is. So I'm just trying to get on base any way that I can."
Quick Hitters
Milestone Win – With the win, State recorded its third 40-win season in program history and first since 2008 … it is the highest single-season win total under Samantha Ricketts … it was also just the third time that MSU has defeated an NFCA-ranked opponent in the NCAA Tournament … the prior two ranked wins came in 2022 at No. 2 Florida State on the way to the Super Regionals … it is the first time that MSU has started the NCAA Tournament 2-0 since the Bulldogs' first NCAA Tournament appearance in the 2000 Seattle Regional.Bulldog Bats – State collected four extra-base hits, which is its highest total in a game since April 5 at No. 5 Florida (4).
Alyssa Faircloth – Threw the first NCAA Tournament no-hitter in school history and the seventh shutout … per ESPN, the no-hitter is the first of a national seed in the NCAA Tournament in since 1999 … stands as the first no-hitter of her Bulldog career and her first since March 7, 2025, while pitching at Troy against UMass … only baserunner allowed was a walk … struck out 10.
Gretta Grassel – Hit her first career home run … homer was her first career postseason hit in either the SEC Tournament or NCAA Tournament.
Kinley Keller – Doubled and has reached base in every game of the 2026 postseason … now 4-for-9 in the postseason with three doubles and two walks … riding a five-game reached-base streak, which is one shy of her career-long streak.
Xiane Romero – Drove an RBI double in the third … was also hit by a pitch to reach twice.
Morgan Stiles – Doubled and singled for her 10th and 11th career NCAA Tournament hit, which is tied for fifth in MSU history … boasts a career .579 (11-for-19) average in the NCAA Tournament, which would be the MSU record … has a hit in all six NCAA Tournament games she's played in her career … reached in all four plate appearances today with a pair of walks as well.
Scoring Recap
Top 1Morgan Stiles walked on four pitches to open the game. Gretta Grassel then took a 2-0 pitch out to straightaway center field for a two-run homer.
No. 20 Mississippi State 2, No. 12 Oregon 0
Top 3
Stiles led off with a double into right center. She moved to third on a ground out to first base from Grassel and scored on a two-out double down the right field line by Xiane Romero
No. 20 Mississippi State 3, No. 12 Oregon 0
Top 4
Morgan Bernardini singled up the middle, and Tatum Silva pinch ran at first. Silva took second on a wild pitch and moved to third on a ground out from Kiarra Sells. Paige Ernstes drove in Silva with a single up the middle.
No. 20 Mississippi State 4, No. 12 Oregon 0
Next Up
MSU now advances to Sunday's regional final at 6:30 p.m. CT. No. 12 Oregon will play the winner of today's first elimination game between Saint Mary's and Idaho State. The winner of that second elimination game will advance to meet the Bulldogs on Sunday, and State will have two chances to win and secure its second trip to the Super Regional round in program history.For more information on the Bulldog softball program, follow on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook and Instagram by searching "HailStateSB."
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Faircloth, Alyssa (15-7)
L: Elise Sokolsky (9-4)
Batting:
2B: Stiles, Morgan 1 ; Romero, Xiane 1 ; Keller, Kinley 1
HR: Grassel, Gretta 1
RBI: Grassel, Gretta 2 ; Romero, Xiane 1 ; Ernstes, Paige 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Stiles, Morgan 2 ; Grassel, Gretta 1 ; Silva, Tatum 1
HBP: Romero, Xiane 1
Game Leaders
AB
2
R
2
H
2
RBI
0
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
2
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
1
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
OF
/ Softball
C/INF
/ Softball
P
/ SoftballOF
/ SoftballOF
/ SoftballINF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
OF
/ SoftballINF
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