STARKVILLE — A four-game Southeastern Conference losing streak looked all but over for Mississippi State softball heading into the top of the seventh inning on Sunday.
Down 3-2 in the bottom of the sixth, Matalasi Faapito gave the Bulldogs a 4-3 lead with a massive two-run homer into right-center field.
It was the jolt this team had been looking for, but that jolt lasted all of five minutes as No. 10 Arkansas took the lead back and won, 5-4, with a two-run homer in the seventh from Raigan Kramer.
From salvaging a game to getting swept, the Bulldogs now are on a five-game SEC losing streak, searching for consistency in the early going, but spirits are still very high.
“This series was definitely a learning lesson for us,” Faapito said Sunday. “It doesn’t feel good, but we just have to turn the page and push forward for next weekend. It’s good that we lose. We learn from things, learn from our mistakes and work for each other.”
The Bulldogs (23-13, 3-5 SEC) twice faced reigning SEC Pitcher of the Year Chenise Delce in the series.
Delce threw a complete game in Friday’s 4-2 win and came back to close things out in a one-run game on Sunday.
Saturday’s game felt like a wash, not indicative of the series as a whole as the Razorbacks won, 11-0, in five innings. Starter Josey Marron struggled from the jump in the circle and things continued to spiral.
However, Sunday was a much different story and one of the better all-around performances in conference play to date.
“It was good to see some fight,” Mississippi State head coach Samantha Ricketts said Sunday. “To me, it shows that we still have some fight in us the rest of the year. That’s kind of the message. We’re not even halfway through the SEC right now. We have to continue to fight and show up for each other. … We embrace the challenge and that’s why everyone chose to be here.”
The challenge on both Friday and Sunday was clutch hitting, something that has evaded Mississippi State since last week’s two-game sweep against a top-20 Georgia team.
After taking a 2-0 lead on Friday, the Bulldogs were shut out in the final six innings of play. Sunday saw it take until the fourth inning for either team to score, and they quietly went down in the seventh.
“I think we just need to trust each other on defense more and especially when we’re in the box, knowing that we have the skills and any pitcher that’s throwing against us, we’re just as good or better than them,” Faapito said.
Mississippi State put together good at-bats against Arkansas, making hard contact. More often than not, those hard-hit balls went right to Razorback fielders.
All the Bulldogs can do is continue to look forward to next weekend, a three-game set with Texas A&M in College Station.
“There’s never an off-weekend in this league,” Ricketts said. “Everyone is good and that’s what makes it tough and that’s what makes it fun. We’ve embraced the challenge and that’s why everyone chose to be here. We have to be ready to go next weekend.”
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 32 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 32 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
Join the Discussion