The Mississippi State softball team’s opening weekend got off to a good start.
It didn’t finish so well, though.
After winning their first three games, the Bulldogs were shut out in a pair of Saturday losses to Iowa and Stony Brook.
MSU (3-2) lost 2-0 to the Hawkeyes and 1-0 to the Seawolves at the Florida Atlantic Paradise Classic in Boca Raton, Florida.
The Bulldogs allowed all three runs on two-out errors by third baseman Paige Cook — an overthrow at first base to plate two runs in the Iowa game and a fielding error against Stony Brook to score the game’s lone run.
Mississippi State was held to four hits against Iowa and was just 2 of 9 with runners on base.
Against Stony Brook, the Bulldogs had six hits but stranded nine runners.
“Tough outing today,” head coach Samantha Ricketts said in a news release from MSU. “I thought the pitchers really looked sharp all weekend. The really did a good job of giving us a chance. We have to be able to pick them up with our bats and with our defense. We can’t go away on both of those fronts, and that’s what got us today. We’re definitely going home with a lot to work on and, hopefully, a renewed focus and understanding that it’s a long season. It’s going to take focus, intentionality and a lot of urgency from everyone involved to get us going back on track with where we want to be.”
The poor offensive performances came after MSU won three games in two days, including Ricketts’ 100th career win.
Mississippi State defeated Loyola-Chicago 5-4 on Friday before taking down Bethune-Cookman 9-2, which helped Ricketts hit the milestone.
“It wasn’t something I was thinking about in the moment, but I knew it was close,” Ricketts said. “I was definitely surprised. I didn’t know the direction that postgame meeting was going. It’s always fun. A big credit to all the players, coaches and staff that have been a part of all 100. It’s definitely been a team effort. I’m just really proud for this program.”
Against Loyola, Matalasi Faapito hit a tiebreaking home run to center field in the bottom of the fifth. Freshman Reis Beuerlein allowed no earned runs in 4 2/3 innings to get her first win.
Fellow freshman Josey Marron pitched five innings against Bethune-Cookman to get the victory. Freshman infielder Macy Graf was 3 for 4, and Faapito drove in a team-high three runs.
The Bulldogs opened their season with a 7-2 win over tournament host FAU on Thursday.
Fifth-year outfielder Chloe Malau’ulu hit a two-run home run before the Owls could record an out, and Malau’ulu’s triple in the fourth inning broke a 2-2 tie as the Bulldogs added on from there.
Malau’ulu was shaken up on a play in the outfield during the Bulldogs’ game with Stony Brook but did not leave the game, returning to the field shortly afterward.
Mississippi State will have to play better than it did Saturday in next weekend’s Clearwater Invitational, which features five games from Friday to Sunday.
The Bulldogs will face Indiana at 11:30 a.m. Friday before taking on Arizona, last year’s NCAA Super Regional foe, at 2 p.m. Friday at the Eddie C. Moore Complex in Clearwater, Florida.
Theo DeRosa reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @Theo_DeRosa.
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