Chloe Malau’ulu got things started, Candace Denis ended them, and Grace Fagan excelled in between to give the Mississippi State softball team a 9-0 win over North Carolina State on Sunday at the NFCA Leadoff Classic in Clearwater, Florida.
Denis’ three-run homer in the bottom of the fifth put the Bulldogs (4-0) over the eight-run threshold for the mercy rule, summarily ending the game. That gave Mississippi State its fourth straight victory to start the season and earned the Bulldogs the championship trophy for the NFCA Leadoff Classic, based on their plus-5.5 average run differential.
“I saw a lot of really good things from our team this weekend,” head coach Samantha Ricketts said in a news release from the school. “I really like what our pitching staff did. I thought Coach Josh [Johnson] and them have really been working hard. He called a great game, and they’ve really bought in and were mixing speeds and locations.”
Fagan allowed just one hit in five shutout innings in the circle, walking two batters and striking out eight.
Malau’ulu crushed a grand slam with none out in the first inning to give Mississippi State a lead it never gave up.
Denis added a sacrifice fly in the fourth inning, and Anna Kate Segars doubled home a run in the fifth before Denis came up and ended things immediately afterward.
“I think it was a really good weekend,” Ricketts said. “It was good for our confidence. We’re trying to get them to understand that we’re going to perform like an elite team, and that’s what we want to do. Teams are going to come at us with their best effort. I want them to be confident in themselves and each other when they’re out there and play like it.”
The Bulldogs defeated Missouri State, Liberty, Louisville and NC State in the tournament. Mississippi State lost Friday’s exhibition game with Team USA 4-0, but the defeat did not count in the official standings.
The Bulldogs will host Alabama State at 4 p.m. Wednesday at Nusz Park in Starkville, the team’s home opener for the 2020 season.
Theo DeRosa reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @Theo_DeRosa.
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