After allowing two runners on base in the bottom of the seventh, history was on the line for Mississippi State’s softball team and Delainey Everett just needed one more out.
The junior hurler wound up her arm and fired a ball just over the plate and got Oklahoma’s Gabbie Garcia to bite, swinging for strike three.
They had done it.
The Bulldogs immediately rushed out of their dugout and mobbed Everett near the circle in an incredible moment that celebrated an even more remarkable comeback.
In a raw showing of pure effort and determination, MSU found itself trailing the mighty Sooners twice in Friday’s opening contest of the Norman Super Regional – and both times the squad produced an answer. After rallying from a 6-2 hole in the sixth inning, the No. 20 Bulldogs erupted for five runs in the seventh inning to shock the No. 3 Sooners with an 11-9 win for the program’s first-ever win against Oklahoma and its first-ever Super Regional victory.
The Bulldogs looked good early as some solid pitching by Alyssa Faircloth and a one-run single by Tatum Silva helped MSU (42-18) grab some momentum and a 1-0 lead. But even one of the best bullpens in all of softball could only keep a lid on Oklahoma’s offense for so long.
The Sooners (51-9) showcased why they are one of the nation’s best hitting units in the bottom of the third by blasting three home runs – back-to-back two-run shots by Kendall Wells and Isabella Emerling and a solo homer by Kasidi Pickering – for five runs to quickly storm back for a 6-1 lead. State responded with a solo homer by Des Rivera in the fourth, but the Sooners quickly equalized in the bottom fourth on an RBI single from Wells.
Still trailing by four, the Bulldogs just wouldn’t go away. Nadia Barbary drilled an RBI single to begin a spree of four runs for State in the sixth inning. Abby Grace Richardson reached home during a throwing error, Barbary scored on a passed ball, and Kiarra Sells was brought home on a single by Morgan Bernardini to tie the game at 6-6.
Oklahoma’s offense, though, didn’t seem to mind and again flexed its muscles with a three-run homer by Wells – her 39th of the year.
With their backs against the wall, the Bulldogs answered once more. Richardson delivered an RBI double to get the comeback started, Xiane Romero added another one-run hit, Bernardini took a bases-loaded walk to tie the game and Silva delivered the history-making hit that skipped high to second base. The throw to first was too high and allowed two Bulldogs to scramble home and take the lead for good.
The Bulldogs and Sooners battle at noon today in Game 2, where MSU is just one win away from advancing to its first-ever Women’s College World Series.
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