STARKVILLE — The no-hit bid had already ended, and as the softball sliced a path into left center field, it appeared for all the world like Mississippi State’s shutout bid was over, too.
Ole Miss pinch-hitter Annie Orman’s liner into the outfield with two on and two out in the seventh seemed destined to find grass, plate the Rebels’ first run and perhaps set the stage for a rally despite a six-run MSU lead.
That is, until left fielder Chloe Malau’ulu dived in out of nowhere and snared the ball in her glove.
Malau’ulu’s catch kept Ole Miss off the scoreboard Sunday as the Bulldogs (19-10, 4-2 Southeastern Conference) closed out a sweep of the Rebels (21-7, 0-3 SEC) with a 6-0 win over the Rebels at Nusz Park.
Mississippi State made up for being swept last season in Oxford to open SEC play, winning all three games by a combined score of 22-11.
“It felt very nice, especially coming back from last season and showing up today and this weekend overall,” second baseman Paige Cook said. “It was just very nice to have that sweep under our belts.”
Cook’s two-run home run in the fifth inning capped the scoring for the Bulldogs. The junior took reliever Brooke Vestal deep to left field, stretching MSU’s lead to 6-0.
Cook, hitting .338 and anchoring the middle of the lineup for Mississippi State, said her two-run shot kept her team’s momentum up — though the Bulldogs didn’t need much help with that.
“We kept the energy on our side and knocked it off of their side even more,” Cook said.
Cook said an MSU team playing with as much vigor as it did Sunday is hard to beat, noting hitting, pitching and defense all receive a boost.
It was true in the series finale as the Bulldogs played errorless defense in the shutout win. Mississippi State has just five errors through six SEC games after committing nine in the same duration in 2021, including games of five and three miscues against Florida.
Ricketts said the team has stressed not letting one error “snowball” into another and limiting big innings, and the Bulldogs did that effectively Sunday. Ole Miss never had more than a single runner on base until the seventh inning.
That’s also because junior pitcher Kenley Hawk delivered a standout performance, pitching into the final frame before allowing her first hit there. Hawk was lifted for Annie Willis, who recorded the last two outs, after striking out three and walking two in her 6 1/3 strong innings.
“It felt really good,” Hawk said. “It just felt like everything we’ve been working toward is finally coming together, and it just felt good to have everybody behind me.”
Hawk said she feels like a “completely different kid” than she did in her past two seasons. She posted a 10.08 ERA in limited usage last year, appearing in just five games.
This year, that mark is down to a team-high 1.51. Her total of 51 innings pitched also leads the club.
“She’s throwing way more strikes than she did early on, and she’s done a good job of adding to her repertoire — not just being a drop ball pitcher, but (she) can go up in the zone, can go curve, can change speeds,” Ricketts said.
Hawk was backed Sunday by a pair of productive singles by center fielder Brylie St. Clair, who is hitting .315 after going 7 for 10 in the three-game series.
St. Clair scratched a run across in the second inning on a two-out bunt single and scored pinch runner Saleyna Daniel from second base with a base hit in the fourth.
Matalasi Faapito added a two-run single in the fourth before Cook’s two-run homer.
Four MSU players had two hits: Malau’ulu, Cook, St. Clair and second baseman Shea Moreno, who went 4 for 9 in the series and now has a seven-game hitting streak.
“It just felt great just knowing that we really needed this series to solidify us as a team,” Moreno said. “I’m happy with where we’re going and the direction that we’re going.”
Mississippi State won’t get to test its recent run of play against another SEC team next week, as the Bulldogs host Samford (14-12) for a doubleheader Saturday on their conference bye week. First, MSU will travel to Memphis (12-17) for a 6 p.m. Wednesday contest.
“We’ve got so many veteran players that I think some of their bodies could use some rest,” Ricketts said. “We’ve got to make sure we stay sharp, because it is going to be a break before we see another SEC opponent.”
Theo DeRosa reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @Theo_DeRosa.
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