STARKVILLE — Watching Arizona celebrate a Women’s College World Series berth at Nusz Park left the Mississippi State softball team with a new — and extremely unwelcome — feeling.
Almost exactly eight months later, that sensation has yet to subside.
“I think about it all the time,” outfielder Chloe Malau’ulu said. “I was really frustrated, upset, all of the above because we were so close. We were two wins away.”
Thanks to a pair of historic upsets, the Bulldogs made their first NCAA Super Regional in program history — then learned later in the day they were going to host it.
But the Wildcats swept Mississippi State in two games, moving on to Oklahoma City and leaving the Bulldogs to ponder what could have been.
And even with the 2023 season set to begin Feb. 8, no one is going to stop thinking about it anytime soon.
“It definitely is fuel for our fire this year,” Malau’ulu said.
Mississippi State moves on without all-American catcher Mia Davidson, the best player in program history, and No. 1 pitcher Annie Willis.
Other than those two losses — and they are big ones — MSU’s roster remained mostly intact. Those ready to take the ball in 2023 have invaluable postseason experience — including the heartbreak the Bulldogs experienced in late May.
“They know what that feels like, and they know they want that to be the standard, not it to be an every now and then where we get to host an event or we make a Super Regional,” MSU coach Samantha Ricketts said. “We’re still really working towards that and towards that respect. We’re not going to do the same things we did last year to get to that point. We want to raise the bar and do more.”
An influx of new talent could help with that.
In addition to Florida State transfer outfielder Kiersten Landers, Mississippi State brought in a top-20 recruiting class and has the country’s No. 10 group waiting in the wings for next year.
The Bulldogs’ seven freshmen include Texas infielder Macy Graf, Iowa pitcher Josey Marron and Arizona hurler Reis Beuerlein. Ricketts praised the athleticism and raw talent of the class.
Malau’ulu said she and fellow fifth-year player Jackie McKenna compare the new crop of players favorably to their own freshman class during the 2019 season.
“When I look back at when my class came in as a freshman, I feel like they’re two completely different classes,” she said. “Me and Jackie talk about it all the time. ‘How are they literally amazing and we came in here and it’s like we forgot how to play softball?’”
Malau’ulu and McKenna are among those too seasoned to forget.
Third baseman Paige Cook, center fielder Brylie St. Clair, shortstop Madisyn Kennedy, designated player/pitcher Matalasi Faapito and second baseman Shea Moreno are all returning starters for the Bulldogs.
In the circle, Willis moves on to the professional ranks, but Aspen Wesley and Kenley Hawk each return for their senior years, as does fifth-year left-hander Grace Fagan.
Add in Faapito, sophomore Bri Bower, Marron and Beuerlein, and the Bulldogs’ pitching staff should have enough talent to cover the loss of Willis.
“I think all of us working together, we’re going to be pretty good,” Wesley said.
The Bulldogs have another new player in infielder Kat Wallace, a former player at Jones College who started out as a manager on Mississippi State’s staff.
Over the summer, realizing Wallace’s talent, Ricketts added the senior to her team’s active roster — a move welcomed by the Bulldogs’ other players.
“I was like, ‘About time,’” third baseman Paige Cook said. “She deserves to be here. I’m very excited to see how she does.”
Mississippi State will be tested early with a trip to the Clearwater Invitational in mid-February, facing top-25 teams Michigan and UCF as well as the Arizona team that knocked them out of last year’s postseason.
The Bulldogs will also welcome No. 1 Oklahoma, the defending national champion, to Starkville for a pair of March games before their challenging Southeastern Conference slate begins.
“I think if we just come out the gates ready to rock and roll, I think that we’re going to be doing alright,” Malau’ulu said.
Mississippi State won’t play at Nusz Park until Feb. 28 because of ongoing construction on its new indoor facility, but the team hopes for a packed house once the gates do open.
The Bulldogs hope the promise of last season — and the chance to go even further this time around — keeps the stands packed.
“I hope that with the run that we had last year, they’ll keep coming,” Wesley said. “We’re going to be something.”
Theo DeRosa reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @Theo_DeRosa.
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