Facing NiJaree Canady for the fourth time in the last two seasons, Mississippi State forced Texas Tech’s superstar ace into by far her worst start of the year in terms of runs allowed. But the Bulldogs still saw their 2025 campaign come to an end Sunday in the Lubbock Regional final with a 9-6 loss to the No. 12 seed Red Raiders.
Bulldogs ace Raelin Chaffin had to battle through an intense elimination game Saturday night against Washington, throwing 128 pitches, and she did not have her best stuff in her third start of the weekend. With Canady much more rested on the other side for the Red Raiders, MSU could ill afford to fall into an early hole, but Texas Tech jumped in front by four runs after two innings and did not look back.
Chaffin nearly worked out of a jam in the first, but Bailey Lindemuth reached out for a changeup on an 0-2 count with two outs and just kept it fair down the left-field line for an RBI double. The Red Raiders added three more in the second after loading the bases with nobody out and the lineup turning over, including two on a single into right-center by Lauren Allred.
In the third, the Bulldogs were close to putting up their first zero, but freshman second baseman Morgan Stiles could not quite backhand a grounder up the middle, with another run scoring on the error. Hailey Toney hit an opposite-field solo home run to lead off the fourth as Chaffin’s tank was clearly not close to full.
Meanwhile, Canady was sharp early, mixing speeds well and jamming several of MSU’s right-handed hitters. She induced a lot of soft contact in the air early in the game, and no Bulldog reached base until there was one out in the third, when MSU began to see her well. Riley Hull reached on an error, Kiarra Sells singled, and Sierra Sacco legged out a hustle double to put her team on the board. Stiles, who had three hits against Canady in Saturday’s game, then hit a ball up the middle for a single to score two more and make it a two-run game.
Canady was dealing with a blister on her finger that limited her devastating spin, and the wind, which was blowing out hard, helped make it a good day for hitters. MSU put together another three-run rally in the fifth, scoring on a Jessie Blaine RBI double and an Ella Wesolowski two-run single. But once again, Chaffin could not put together a shutdown inning, allowing another leadoff homer to Toney as part of a two-run sixth.
Following a leadoff walk to Sells in the Bulldogs’ half of the sixth, Canady exited the game with the blister clearly bothering her. Reliever Chloe Riassetto proceeded to coax a double-play ball from Sacco, though, and get out of the inning.
Chaffin worked her first scoreless inning of the day in the seventh, but this was an uncharacteristic outing for her, with 14 hits and eight earned runs allowed and just one strikeout. MSU’s last chance was foiled when Kylee Edwards’ ground ball hit Blaine as she was running from first to second.
Texas Tech (48-12) advanced to its first Super Regional in program history, while the Bulldogs saw their season end at 39-19. Chaffin and Sacco will be taking their talents to the Talons of the Athletes Unlimited Softball League this summer, with Hull, Blaine and Lexi Sosa also out of eligibility.
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