Mississippi State left too much on the table last year, particularly in February, and it ultimately cost the Bulldogs the chance to host an NCAA regional.
Whether it was blown ninth-inning leads against Air Force and Austin Peay or falling behind by 10 runs in the fifth against Georgia Southern, MSU’s early struggles in 2024 came back to bite head coach Chris Lemonis and company in late May.
Which is why the Bulldogs’ season-opening weekend sweep of Manhattan, even against a team from the MAAC that has not had a winning season since 2012, is nothing to sneeze at — especially considering how quickly MSU put the Jaspers away in both games of Friday’s doubleheader.
The Bulldogs will see far tougher pitching than what they faced against Manhattan, but they struggled at times to hit soft-tossers last year. In the 2025 season opener, MSU had three runs on the board before making an out and scored 14 runs in the first three innings. Lemonis’ team was patient at the plate, drawing eight walks in those three innings, and the Bulldogs hit five home runs in the series despite unfavorable hitting conditions.
MSU’s pitching may have been even better. Left-hander Pico Kohn looked like true ace material, with 11 strikeouts and no walks in five innings of one-hit shutout baseball. Karson Ligon had an up-and-down year and worked mostly out of the bullpen in 2024, and he struck out eight without issuing a walk in his first start this season. Stone Simmons flashed potential in his first appearance in nearly three full years.
With big leads most of the weekend, Lemonis used nine different pitchers out of the bullpen, and all of them looked good with the exception of Indiana State transfer Jacob Pruitt, who allowed three runs in the seventh inning of the opener. Under the tutelage of Justin Parker, the Bulldogs had eight pitchers selected in last year’s MLB Draft, but early returns with this year’s new-look staff have been encouraging.
— Benjamin Rosenberg
Chaffin showing ace ability early on
MSU softball continued a hot start to the season with five home wins in The Snowman: Alex Wilcox Memorial tournament last weekend.
The toughest opponents of the weekend, North Texas and Georgia Tech, both ran into the hot arm of Raelin Chaffin.
Chaffin got a fresh start in Starkville after three years at LSU. She has had to deal with the unexpected, a thyroid cancer diagnosis in the fall, but she is showing early on that she is ready for a battle on and off the field.
Though she allowed the most hits and runs of the season so far, Chaffin also posted 12 strikeouts across the two games, nine against the Yellow Jackets, to keep racking up wins for the Bulldogs.
Chaffin is 6-0 through six appearances, boasting an ERA of 1.29 with 32 strikeouts and just 25 hits through 132 batters faced.
The senior transfer already has a slew of individual awards from her first week of action with the Bulldogs, where she allowed just one run through four games. She was named Pitcher of the Week for both the SEC, NFCA and D1Softbal.com, along with Star of the Week for Softball America.
It’s a hot start for the new leader in the circle for the Bulldogs, who have high expectations of themselves this season. With a pair of wins over top-25 opponents and four games with 10 or more runs, it’s the kind of start head coach Samantha Ricketts would have wanted, and there is still plenty more to come.
— Colin Damms
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