2027 Softball Roster
Roster
OF
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OF
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OF
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P
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UTL
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INF
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INF
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INF
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P
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C/INF
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P/UTL
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P
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P
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OF
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INF
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P
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INF
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OF
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UTL
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
OF
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UTL
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UTL
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INF
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Jersey Number 12
Paige Ernstes
- Position:
- Catcher/Infield
- Bats/Throws:
- R/R
- Class:
- Junior
- Height:
- 5-6
- Hometown:
- New Palestine, Ind.
- High School:
- New Palestine HS
Awards / Honors
2026 NFCA All-America Scholar-Athlete2025 SEC First-Year Honor Roll
ย
2026ย | Sophomore
Played in 54 games, making 37 starts at first base or designated player โฆ batted .183 (20-for-109) on the year โฆ turned in just the second perfect fielding percentage season with a minimum of 150 chances in school history โฆ doubled vs. Wichita State (2/6) โฆ retired a Shockers runner at first after she returned to the wrong portion of the double base โฆ singled and walked vs. New Mexico (2/7) โฆ recorded third career multi-RBI game against Murray State (2/13) โฆ walked and was hit by a pitch while driving in a run against Delaware State (2/21) โฆ drew an RBI walk vs. Wofford (2/27) โฆ was hit by a pitch as a pinch hitter at No. 15 Georgia (3/21) โฆ singled as a pinch hitter against UT Martin (3/25) โฆ hit her first home run of the season against No. 23 South Carolina (3/30) and drew a walk โฆ recorded a career-high five RBIs with two doubles at No. 5 Florida (4/4) โฆ drew a walk at No. 12 Texas A&M (4/19) โฆ tallied a hit in all three games of the series against No. 20 LSU (4/24-26), going 4-for-9 with two homers and six of the teamโs 12 RBIs โฆ hit a three-run home in each of the first two games against the Tigers โฆ singled and walked at Ole Miss (5/1) โฆ had a hit in every game of the Super Regional at No. 2 Oklahoma (5/22-24) โฆ hit a solo homer in the clinching game against the Sooners (5/24) โฆ started both Womenโs College World Series games vs. No. 4 Texas Tech (5/28) and vs. No. 6 Texas (5/29) โฆ turned an unassisted double play against the Longhorns (5/29).ย
2025 | Freshman
Played in 40 games, making four starts โฆ batted .293 (12-for-41) โฆ boasted a .957 OPS โฆ all eight RBIs came as a pinch hitter โฆ made her debut and collected her first career hit vs. Penn State (2/8) โฆ hit her first career home run on the first pitch she saw as a pinch hitter against North Texas (2/14) to drive in a career-high three runs โฆ made her first start against Bradley (2/15) and went 2-for-3 with a double โฆ singled and walked as a pinch hitter in the games against Georgia Tech (2/16) and Samford (2/18) โฆ started at third base vs. Jacksonville State (2/23) โฆ walked and scored against Alabama State (2/28) โฆ homered as a pinch hitter for the second time against New Mexico (3/1) โฆ picked up her fifth pinch-hit RBI of the season against No. 18 Auburn (3/8) โฆ doubled off the bench at No. 25 Alabama (3/14) โฆ started at designated player in the series finale with the Crimson Tide (3/16) โฆ started her fourth game at designated player at Northwestern (3/22) and collected a single and a walk โฆ delivered the pinch-hit, walk-off RBI double in the win over No. 1 Texas (3/28) โฆ walked as a pinch hitter against No. 1 Texas (3/30) and Central Arkansas (4/1) ... drew two pinch-hit walks in the series against Missouri (4/11-13)... walked as a pinch hitter at Kentucky (4/27) โฆ delivered a pinch-hit, go-ahead, two-run double in the NCAA Tournament win vs. Washington (5/17).ย
High School
Considered the No. 41 prospect in the class by Extra Inning Softball and the No. 21 catcher โฆ played at New Palestine High School where her team was the 2024 Indiana 4A State Runner-Up and 2023 conference championย โฆ missed her freshman season due to injury โฆ named all-county in each of her three seasons and All-Hoosier Heritage conference twice โฆ hit for a .433 average with a .672 slugging percentage as a sophomore โฆ posted a 1.191 OPS that season โฆ batted .432 as a junior with a .727 slugging percentage and 1.212 OPS โฆ turned in a .385 averageย and 1.274 OPS as a senior with a career-high 51 RBIs, including 11 home runs โฆ named all-state and selected to the NFCA High School All-Region First Team following her senior year โฆ played travel ball for Indiana Magic Gold and Indy Edge โฆ Magic Gold finished 17th at Alliance Nationals in 2023 โฆ team placed in the top five at the 2022 IDT and won the Midwest PGF Firecracker Championship in 2020 โฆ won the USSSA National Championship in 2019 with Indy Edge and finished as runners-up the previous year โฆ batted .458 batting with an .833 slugging percentage and 1.313 OPS in the summer preceding her sophomore year โฆ posted a .989 fielding percentage that year โฆ leading into her junior year hit .500 with a .593 slugging percentage and a .991 fielding percentage โฆ hit .381 in her final travel summer โฆ selected to play in The Alliance All-Star Game where she collected a go-ahead RBI double.ย
Community Service/ Academics
Member of the National Honor Society โฆ served as a DARE student ambassador and was part of the New Palestine Academic A Team in high school.ย
Personal
Born Paigeย Ernstes on June 20 in Carmel, Indianaโฆ daughter of Nick and April Ernstesโฆ has a brother, Jared โฆ grandfather, Jan Ernstes, played football at the University of Indianapolis โฆ majoring in kinesiology.ย
MSU Season Records (Through 2026)
T-1st โ Fielding Pct. (1.000, 2026)T-1st โ Fielding Pct. - SEC play only (1.000, 2026)
ย
Career Highs (Through 2026)
At-Bats: 5, at Oklahoma (5/22/26)Hits: 2, 3x, last, LSU (4/24/26)
Runs Scored: 1, 12x, last, at Oklahoma (5/24/26)
Runs Batted In: 5, at Florida (4/4/26)
Doubles: 2, at Florida (4/4/26)
Home Runs: 1, 6x, last, at Oklahoma (5/24/26)
Walks: 1, 17x, last, at Ole Miss (5/1/26)
Putouts: 10, at Florida (4/3/26)
Assists: 1, 10x, last, vs. Texas (5/29/26)
Hitting Streak: 3 games (4/24/26, LSU to 4/26/26, LSU)
Friday, May 29
Thursday, May 28
Wednesday, May 27
Sunday, May 24
