Friday, May 22
Norman, Okla.
12 p.m.
Mississippi State
at
#2 Oklahoma
Photo by: Mississippi State Athletics
No. 20 Bulldogs Start Super Regional At No. 2 Oklahoma Friday
May 21, 2026 | Softball
NORMAN, Okla. – A familiar foe is all that stands between No. 20 Mississippi State and its first trip to the Women's College World Series. The Bulldogs are set to play at No. 2 Oklahoma in the Super Regionals beginning Friday, May 22 at noon CT.
State and the Sooners have met every year since 2021, the Bulldogs' longest active uninterrupted series. The teams did not meet in the regular season, but the postseason matchup will extend the annual series. The two programs have never met in the postseason.
It is Mississippi State's second Super Regional appearance in program history. In 2022, the Bulldogs won the Tallahassee Regional, upsetting then-No. 2 Florida State before losing the Super Regional to Arizona.
This year, the Bulldogs completed a dominant run through the Eugene Regional, winning three straight games and allowing just two runs. In fact, the only runs MSU allowed came in the first inning of the first game. MSU has not allowed a run in 21.2 consecutive innings.
12 p.m. – at No. 2 Oklahoma | Watch on ESPN2 | Live Stats
Saturday, May 23
12 p.m. – at No. 2 Oklahoma | Watch on ESPN | Live Stats
Sunday, May 24
TBD – at No. 2 Oklahoma | Watch on ESPN Platforms | Live Stats
Postseason Prowess: Morgan Stiles is MSU's active career leader in NCAA Tournament hits, batting average and on-base percentage. She needs one hit to tie the MSU career record thanks to her eight hits last year, which were one shy of State's single-season record.
Big-Time Bat: Nadia Barbary holds the MSU career (9) and single-year (7) NCAA Tournament records for runs scored. She is the program's active career leader in slugging percentage (.645) and her three NCAA Tournament homers trail only Mia Davidson (5, 2018-22) in program history.
Rewriting Records: MSU's pitching staff has broken the single-season school record with 503 strikeouts which is just the eighth 500-strikeout season by an SEC team since 2016. Five of the previous seven teams to reach that mark reached the Women's College World Series.
A Big O For Oregon: Alyssa Faircloth's no-hitter at No. 12 Oregon (May 16) in the Eugene Regional was MSU's first ever in the NCAA Tournament and first ever against a ranked team. It was State's third this year, all by a different pitcher.
Broccoli Bites: Similar to the 2018 Mississippi State baseball team that reached Omaha with its Rally Banana, the Bulldogs embraced broccoli at the Eugene Regional after a fan danced with the vegetable in centerfield through every pitch of every game.
Newcomers Of The Year: Alyssa Faircloth and Peja Goold were both named SEC Newcomer of the Year. Faircloth earned the honor from the league's coaches, while Goold was selected by a panel of USA Today Sports' writers.
Back To Her Roots: Samantha Ricketts was an All-American under Patty Gasso at Oklahoma. With a win, Ricketts would become the first former Gasso player-turned-head-coach to beat a Gasso-led Sooners team as a head coach. Despite not playing in the regular season this year, the postseason matchup extends MSU's longest active uninterrupted series. The Bulldogs and Sooners have met every year since 2021.
Head Coach: Patty Gasso | Record at OU: 1618-369-4 (32nd Year) | Career Record: 1618-369-4 (32nd Year)
Batting Average: .390 | Runs Per Game: 10.15 | Hits Per Game: 10.46 | Slugging Pct: .802
ERA: 3.01 | K/7: 6.07 | K/BB Ratio: 2.82 | Opp. Batting Avg: .254
Current Streak: Lost 11 | Last Series: Apr. 18-20, 2025, OU won in Norman, Okla. (G1: OU, 4-0 | G2: OU, 6-5 | G3: OU, 9-6)
State and the Sooners have met every year since 2021, the Bulldogs' longest active uninterrupted series. The teams did not meet in the regular season, but the postseason matchup will extend the annual series. The two programs have never met in the postseason.
It is Mississippi State's second Super Regional appearance in program history. In 2022, the Bulldogs won the Tallahassee Regional, upsetting then-No. 2 Florida State before losing the Super Regional to Arizona.
This year, the Bulldogs completed a dominant run through the Eugene Regional, winning three straight games and allowing just two runs. In fact, the only runs MSU allowed came in the first inning of the first game. MSU has not allowed a run in 21.2 consecutive innings.
Game Coverage
Friday, May 2212 p.m. – at No. 2 Oklahoma | Watch on ESPN2 | Live Stats
Saturday, May 23
12 p.m. – at No. 2 Oklahoma | Watch on ESPN | Live Stats
Sunday, May 24
TBD – at No. 2 Oklahoma | Watch on ESPN Platforms | Live Stats
Leading Off
Regional For The Records: Alyssa Faircloth turned in the best regional performance by an MSU pitcher on record. She set MSU NCAA Tournament single-year records for wins, strikeouts, strikeouts looking, strikeouts per seven innings, ERA, opposing batting average, complete games and shutouts while throwing the first postseason no-hitter in program history at No. 12 Oregon.Postseason Prowess: Morgan Stiles is MSU's active career leader in NCAA Tournament hits, batting average and on-base percentage. She needs one hit to tie the MSU career record thanks to her eight hits last year, which were one shy of State's single-season record.
Big-Time Bat: Nadia Barbary holds the MSU career (9) and single-year (7) NCAA Tournament records for runs scored. She is the program's active career leader in slugging percentage (.645) and her three NCAA Tournament homers trail only Mia Davidson (5, 2018-22) in program history.
Rewriting Records: MSU's pitching staff has broken the single-season school record with 503 strikeouts which is just the eighth 500-strikeout season by an SEC team since 2016. Five of the previous seven teams to reach that mark reached the Women's College World Series.
A Big O For Oregon: Alyssa Faircloth's no-hitter at No. 12 Oregon (May 16) in the Eugene Regional was MSU's first ever in the NCAA Tournament and first ever against a ranked team. It was State's third this year, all by a different pitcher.
Broccoli Bites: Similar to the 2018 Mississippi State baseball team that reached Omaha with its Rally Banana, the Bulldogs embraced broccoli at the Eugene Regional after a fan danced with the vegetable in centerfield through every pitch of every game.
Newcomers Of The Year: Alyssa Faircloth and Peja Goold were both named SEC Newcomer of the Year. Faircloth earned the honor from the league's coaches, while Goold was selected by a panel of USA Today Sports' writers.
Back To Her Roots: Samantha Ricketts was an All-American under Patty Gasso at Oklahoma. With a win, Ricketts would become the first former Gasso player-turned-head-coach to beat a Gasso-led Sooners team as a head coach. Despite not playing in the regular season this year, the postseason matchup extends MSU's longest active uninterrupted series. The Bulldogs and Sooners have met every year since 2021.
About Oklahoma (51-8, 20-4 SEC)
Rankings: NFCA Coaches – 2 | USA Softball – 4 | D1Softball – 1 | Softball America – 1Head Coach: Patty Gasso | Record at OU: 1618-369-4 (32nd Year) | Career Record: 1618-369-4 (32nd Year)
Batting Average: .390 | Runs Per Game: 10.15 | Hits Per Game: 10.46 | Slugging Pct: .802
ERA: 3.01 | K/7: 6.07 | K/BB Ratio: 2.82 | Opp. Batting Avg: .254
Series History
Overall: 0-11 | Home: 0-2 | Away: 0-5 | Neutral: 0-5Current Streak: Lost 11 | Last Series: Apr. 18-20, 2025, OU won in Norman, Okla. (G1: OU, 4-0 | G2: OU, 6-5 | G3: OU, 9-6)
Notables
The Norman Super Regional is one of three Super Regionals this year featuring a pair of SEC teams. None of the three include matchups between teams that met at any point earlier in the season. The most-recent road team to win a Super Regional matchup within its own conference was Ole Miss last season, defeating No. 4-seed Arkansas in three games. The Sooners have been held to fewer than five runs 11 times this year, going 8-3 in those games, but the offense is their strength. Oklahoma leads the nation in batting average and is second in homers, on-base percentage, slugging percentage RBIs and scoring.On Deck
Should the Bulldogs win the series, they will advance to the Women's College World Series, which begins on Thursday, May 28, for the first time in school history.Follow the Bulldogs
For more information on the Bulldog softball program, follow on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook and Instagram by searching "HailStateSB." 
Players Mentioned
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