STARKVILLE — Any car parked in the lot behind the right-field fence at Nusz Park over the weekend was in danger of being struck by a softball off the bat of a Mississippi State player.

As the weather warmed up, so did the Bulldogs’ bats, as No. 21 MSU hit seven home runs on each of the first two days of the Bulldog Invitational in two wins over New Mexico and one each over Alabama State and Northwestern State. But on a cooler day Sunday with the wind blowing in slightly, the offense ground to a complete halt in a shutout loss to Northwestern State that put a damper on the weekend.

“We have to do a much better job making adjustments,” Bulldogs head coach Samantha Ricketts said. “There’s no way we can continue to just put the ball in the air against a pitcher that’s trying to (make us) do that. Regardless of the wind blowing in, it’s 100 percent on us to make the adjustment and hit the ball on the ground, make them make two plays to get us out. We just did not make enough adjustments at all, up and down the lineup the whole game.”

MSU (18-3) jumped all over Alabama State in Friday afternoon’s game, taking the lead on back-to-back homers from Nadia Barbary and Kiarra Sells in the first inning. That duo had also gone back-to-back Wednesday in a win over UAB, and would do so again Saturday in a win against New Mexico.

Sierra Sacco added on with a two-run blast in the second, and Kiarra Sells hit a two-run shot in a seven-run third as the Bulldogs quickly put the game into run-rule territory. The Hornets scored a pair of unearned runs in the second after Sells lost a fly ball in the sun, but MSU wrapped up a 17-2, five-inning win. Lexi Sosa pitched the first three innings, with Josey Marron working the last two.

“All year I’ve been seeing the ball, it just came down to trusting the process,” Edwards said. “You can’t always start off hot. It’s a game of failure, so just riding the roller coaster, trusting my stuff and knowing that I’m putting the barrel on the ball.”

Against the Lobos on Friday night, the Bulldogs did not break through until the second trip through the batting order, but Sells opened the scoring with a two-run homer in the third. Edwards hit a solo shot in the fourth, and Sacco broke the game open later that inning with a three-run blast to right-center that traveled 290 feet.

Raelin Chaffin pitched five scoreless innings to earn the win in a 6-1 MSU victory.

“(I’ve been) attacking early in the count, especially when I know they’re going to throw it (on the inner half),” Sells said. “We’ve been working on a lot of inside pitches, so I’ve been attacking those pitches when they’re giving them right to me.”

Rocking brand-new white pinstriped uniforms Saturday, the Bulldogs took a first-inning lead over the Demons on a two-run homer by Sosa, and that was all the scoring in the game until the sixth, when Edwards’ solo blast gave MSU an insurance run.

It was a run the Bulldogs would need as freshman Sara Phillips, making her first start in the pitcher’s circle, was working on a shutout into the seventh before running into trouble and being relieved by Sosa with two on and one out. Both runners wound up scoring on a double before Sosa recorded the final out to secure a 3-2 win.

MSU defeated New Mexico for the second time later Saturday, this time by a 10-4 final. Barbary homered twice, Edwards went deep for the fourth straight game, and pinch-hitter Paige Ernstes also hit one out. Delainey Everett earned the win with four scoreless innings in the circle.

“We are just being aggressive and trusting our plan that we make before the game,” Barbary said. “Batting practice shows it, and we are just going through the plan. When we do get to the plate, it’s right where we expect it to be. I’m kind of seeing beach balls now, thankfully.”

Sunday’s game was a completely different story, though. Northwestern State pitcher Brooklynn Stohler held the Bulldogs to just three hits and defeated MSU 5-0. She struck out just one batter, but the Bulldogs hit 13 fly balls that were caught by outfielders. They also wasted leadoff doubles by Sacco in both the first and the sixth.

The Demons, who came into the game with a 2-17 record, scored an unearned run in the third and then added on with four more in the sixth against Marron.

MSU hosts Louisiana, perennially one of the top mid-major programs in the country, on Wednesday. The Bulldogs then host No. 20 Auburn for a three-game weekend series to kick off Southeastern Conference play.

“(Northwestern State) was 2-17, and we just kind of walked in like we were going to win regardless,” Sacco said. “It’s something that is either going to really hurt us or it’s going to motivate us. We’re either going to realize it’s going to either define us in a bad way or it can help us realize our mistakes and propel us forward.”