STARKVILLE — Friday was the introduction, Saturday was the statement and Sunday was the closer.
Mississippi State softball nearly began its opening series of Southeastern Conference play in losing fashion after going down 5-4 to South Carolina in extras.
However, by the fifth inning on Sunday, the Bulldogs found themselves three runs away from a series sweep, which Madisyn Kennedy secured in grand style, launching a grand slam to right-center for a 9-1 mercy rule victory in five innings and a 3-0 start in the SEC.
“Honestly, we knew she wasn’t throwing a lot of strikes,” Kennedy said. “She was kind of struggling in the two or three batters before me, so it was just make sure I get my pitch, see the ball, hit it well and put a good swing on it.”
Kennedy finished with a career-high five RBIs in the win, adding an RBI double in the first inning to cap off a four-run frame for Mississippi State (22-8, 3-0 SEC) but it was South Carolina (23-7, 1-5 SEC) who struck first.
Brooke Blankenship doubled with one out in the top of the first and Riley Blampied singled her home with two outs, putting the Bulldogs in an early 1-0 hole.
However, the Gamecocks’ lead lasted just a half-inning as Mississippi State fought back and took control for good in the bottom-half of the frame.
“This team more than ever, I think, has shown so much grit, the ability to stay focused and not ever feel like they’re out of a game until the end,” Mississippi State head coach Samantha Ricketts said. “That’s a hard thing to do. It’s a hard thing to teach…I think they’re starting to see it and believe it a lot more every game we bounce back.”
Kennedy delivered the big blow late, but like on Saturday, it was senior Paige Cook who set the tone to start, hitting a home run in her second-straight game, a three-run shot to right field in the first.
After hitting two through her first 18 games of 2023, Cook has hit four in her last seven games alone, bringing her season total to six.
That’s just two behind her career-high of eight, which she did in 64 games last season.
“I just kept it simple,” Cook said. “We had an expectation of her coming inside and I just decided to take it the other way, knew what was coming.”
Despite seeing four different pitchers on Sunday, the Bulldogs were prepared for the arsenal of arms South Carolina was going to throw at them and came in looking to attack early and often at the plate.
“It really was a full team effort,” Ricketts said. “They wanted to make sure they came out ready to play and not be satisfied with the series win yesterday. We knew it was going to be another dogfight and we had to bring our A game.”
Just as the offense was clicking early, so was the Bulldogs’ pitching as senior starter Matalasi Faapito and freshman Reis Beuerlein combined to give up one earned run and three hits on the day, striking out seven.
The win extended Mississippi State’s winning streak to four games and a much-needed week off comes up this week before a weekend trip to Georgia starting Friday night.
Now having won four-straight SEC regular season games dating back to last year, the Bulldogs want to be a force in the conference and show last season was no fluke.
“Don’t count us out,” Cook said.
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