State Loses Late At Ole Miss To Close Regular Season

Saturday, May 2

Oxford, Miss.

2 p.m.

Mississippi State

37-17, 9-15

Ole Miss

32-23, 6-18

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
Mississippi State	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	1
Ole Miss	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	3	5	0

State Loses Late At Ole Miss To Close Regular Season

May 02, 2026 | Softball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

By: Brian Ogden, Director/Communications

OXFORD, Miss. – A scoreless ballgame changed on the final swing as No. 18 Mississippi State lost to Ole Miss via a walk-off home run for the second time in as many days on Saturday. Pinch-hitter Rachel Connors hit a three-run homer to break a scoreless tie in the bottom of the seventh.

Alyssa Faircloth got the start for State (37-17, 9-15 SEC) and went the distance. She struck out seven with just one walk. Faircloth finished the weekend with 21 strikeouts and just two walks in 13.1 innings of work.

"Alyssa just continues to give us a chance. Another great outing from her, just one missed pitch," head coach Samantha Ricketts said. "But, you know, we have to find a way to produce. You can get some runs on the board, and it's going to have to happen soon. I think we have to show some fight, get some grit, and going into postseason, we've got to get something rolling here in the next couple days."

MSU was held to just three hits, all of them singles. Des Rivera, Kinley Keller and Paige Ernstes provided the baserunners with Rivera also laying down a successful sacrifice bunt. Taylor Troutman walked twice along with Kiarra Sells drawing a free pass.

Quick Hitters

Strikeout State – The Bulldogs struck out a school-record 179 batters in conference play this year … their 42 strikeouts looking were second in program history in league play … meanwhile, at the plate, State struck out just 97 times in SEC play, which is the fourth-lowest total in school history.

Alyssa Faircloth – Struck out seven … retired 12 straight at one point after allowing a single to open the game … finished the regular season with 231 strikeouts, which ranks third in MSU single-season history … has struck out 57 batters looking, which is one shy of the program record … her 105 strikeouts in SEC play are tied for second in MSU history.

Des Rivera – Had a hit in every game of the series.

Kiarra Sells – Has walked or been hit by a pitch 22 times in the last 23 games.

Taylor Troutman – Drew multiple walks for the first time in her career.

Scoring Recap

Bottom 7
Cassie Reasner led off with a single into center. Laylonna Applin laid down a bunt, and the throw went to second. It pulled the shortstop off the back, and Reasner was safe on the error. With one out, pinch-hitter Rachel Connors hit a three-run homer.
No. 18 Mississippi State 0, Ole Miss 3

Next Up

The 2026 SEC Tournament is slated to be hosted by Kentucky in Lexington. The Bulldogs will be the No. 10 seed and play the No. 15 seed and host team Kentucky on Tuesday.

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