The Mississippi State softball team saw a promising 2020 season end early due to the coronavirus pandemic, but the Bulldogs are poised to run it back next year with many of the same key contributors.
On Monday, four of the team’s five seniors announced that they will be returning for the 2021 season, using the extra season of eligibility the NCAA is set to award them.
First baseman Fa Leilua, pitcher Alyssa Loza, pitcher/outfielder Candace Denis and outfielder Christian Quinn will all be back in 2021.
“To have them back for another year is a tremendous feeling,” head coach Samantha Ricketts said in a release from Mississippi State athletics Monday. “They’ve each been an integral part of our program. Who they are as women and as leaders has been such a blessing for this coaching staff. They are the foundation of this team.”
Leilua, who along with junior catcher Mia Davidson formed the SEC’s best home run-hitting duo with 48 long balls in 2019, will come back for a sixth year of college. Leilua, who was hitting .384 and had a team-leading nine home runs and a slugging percentage of .791 through 28 games in 2020, sat out the 2018 season after transferring from Arizona State, but she said there was never a doubt: She was coming back.
“I have the blessing of being offered another chance to restart,” Leilua said in a Twitter post Monday morning. “Without hesitation, I decided to take that chance and take one last ride with my Dawgs.”
Loza, who followed Leilua from Tempe to Starkville, will join her on the field again next year. On Monday, Loza announced her decision to return for 2021 as well.
“Given that this season was cut short, I feel the best thing I can do to support my teammates and to repay the faith that Mississippi State softball has had in me is to give it one more year of devotion,” Loza tweeted Monday. “Softball has been a driving force in my life, and this MSU Bulldog team has become my family.”
Loza had a 1.26 ERA in 16.2 innings pitched in 2020, striking out 14 batters.
Denis was the first Bulldog to announce she was staying, tweeting that “(i)t is with utmost joy to say that I get to wear maroon and white for another year and complete a lifelong journey the right way.”
She pitched to a 2.33 ERA in three innings this spring and hit .295 with eight doubles and two home runs as a starting outfielder for the Bulldogs.
Quinn tweeted that before the 2020 season she was sure it would be her last, but she soon found out that wouldn’t be the case.
“To say I am blessed is an understatement, and getting to represent this university for another year is a privilege,” Quinn said in a tweet Monday announcing her return. ” … Here’s to another year!”
Quinn, who started 11 of Mississippi State’s 28 games, hit .207 but got on base at a .361 clip this season.
Senior second baseman Lindsey Williams is the only member of the Bulldogs’ senior class not to return, saying Monday that 2020 was her final season. Williams, who started 21 games, hit .295 with two home runs, driving in 10 runs on the season.
“As disappointed as I am that my senior season ended this way, I know there comes a time when you just have to move on,” she tweeted Monday. ” … Everything I experienced at Mississippi State made me into the person I am today, and I will forever be grateful for this opportunity.”
Theo DeRosa reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @Theo_DeRosa.
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