Mississippi State softball dropped the second of back-to-back SEC series losses over the weekend to visiting No. 8 Arkansas, which grabbed Games 2 and 3 as MSU’s offense struggled to find footing.
The No. 13 Bulldogs (34-11, 6-9 SEC) got a pitching gem from Peja Goold and a game-winning run by Kiarra Sells in taking the first game, 1-0. Goold allowed only two hits and fanned three Razorbacks (35-6, 10-5 SEC) in capturing her eighth shutout of the year to tie for the second most in program single-season history.
“Every time Peja – really any of our pitchers – is on the mound, we know we have a good chance to fight for them and score some runs,” head coach Samantha Ricketts said. “I love her confidence and the way she leads from the mound.”
Sells plated the game winner in the fifth inning to end a sequence that began with her taking a walk to get on base. Morgan Stiles doubled to send her to third base, where she scampered home during a passed ball.
“Going into that, I was like, ‘All right, I’m on third.’ Coach (Tyler) Bratton had just told me beforehand, ‘Hey, on a passed ball, you’re scoring.’ During the read I was looking and I was like, ‘That’s sitting under her, I don’t think I’m going to make that.’ Then all of a sudden, it started rolling down behind her and I was like, ‘I’m going to go.’ Then the moment I saw that catcher slip, I kind of just pulled my hand back to get around her tag.”
The teams were in the midst of another scoring drought in Game 2 until Arkansas exploded for eight runs in the fifth inning to tie the series with an 8-0 win. The Razorbacks had been held hitless until the fifth by MSU’s Alyssa Faircloth until Tianna Bell broke the levee with a single. Arkansas followed up with two more singles to load the bases and Faircloth issued a walk for the game’s first score. The Hogs then tacked on two RBI singles, a two-RBI double and a three-run homer for the win.
“They’re one of the best teams in the country, one of the best offenses in the country for a reason,” Ricketts said. … “I thought they did a really good job early in the counts and hunting for their pitch.”
Arkansas closed out the series Sunday with a 10-3 win as it outhit the Bulldog 13-4. The Hogs broke a 3-3 tie in the fifth inning on back-to-back home runs before adding three more in the seventh.
Morgan Bernardini hit two singles, Nadia Barbary had a solo home run and Taylor Troutman had an RBI double for the team’s four hits.
Up next for the Bulldogs is another tough outing at No. 14 Texas A&M, and that series begins at 4 p.m. Friday.
‘All For Alex’
The series marked the sixth annual “All for Alex” weekend in honor of former MSU player Alex Wilcox who died in 2018 after a three-year battle with ovarian cancer. Mississippi State, Arkansas and teams around the SEC and the country each donned teal jerseys, numbers or other lettering or ribbons to promote ovarian cancer awareness.
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