STARKVILLE — Jessie Blaine walks nearly twice as often as she strikes out, so she returned to the Mississippi State dugout extra frustrated after going down swinging on a full count Thursday night with the bases loaded and one out of a tied game in the fifth inning.
But softball is a game of redemption, and Blaine’s next at-bat came with two outs and a runner at first base in the seventh with the No. 18 Bulldogs and No. 17 Ole Miss still even on the scoreboard. The senior worked the count full again, then launched a payoff pitch over the center-field wall for a two-run walk-off home run, giving MSU a 3-1 victory.
“I was really frustrated with that at-bat (in the fifth),” Blaine said. “It was a big opportunity and there were ducks on the pond, runs everywhere to be had. So I was frustrated at losing that opportunity. The game being how it is, I knew at the end there it would come back to me and I would have a second opportunity. So really taking my experience and approaching my at-bat with maturity was big. Definitely a fun moment.”
Timely hits eluded MSU (36-15, 12-10 Southeastern Conference) for most of the night despite a steady stream of baserunners. Rebels starter Brianna Lopez issued six walks and hit a batter in 4 ⅔ innings but allowed just one run as the Bulldogs were hitless in five at-bats with runners in scoring position.
Likewise, Ole Miss (34-15, 10-12) had plenty of scoring chances against MSU ace Raelin Chaffin, but nearly always came up empty. Chaffin worked around leadoff singles in the first two innings before the Rebels opened the scoring on Aliyah Binford’s opposite-field solo homer to start the fourth.
That inning could have gotten further out of hand following a Persy Llamas single, but pinch-runner Star Ferguson was called out for leaving first base early on a hit-and-run attempt, and Chaffin pitched out of trouble from there.
“Raelin gave us another quality start. Great outing from her in the circle. She just continued to fight and keep us in it,” Bulldogs head coach Samantha Ricketts said. “She really buckled down. You just see her grit and her fight and what she’s able to do.”
Blaine drew a one-out walk in the home half of the fourth, and pinch-runner Kalani Sells came around to score on Ella Wesolowski’s double that deflected off Ole Miss right fielder Lair Beautae’s glove. The score remained 1-1 until the seventh, when the Rebels tried to push the envelope on the basepaths.
Mackenzie Pickens doubled with one out, and Ashton Lansdell hit a line drive straight to Kiarra Sells in right field for the second out. Pickens attempted to take third on the play, but Sells fired a frozen rope straight to third baseman Nadia Barbary, who applied the tag for the inning-ending double play.
“I just know how hard (Sells) works on her throws all the time. She’s such a hard worker. She puts in so much time, so much energy,” Chaffin said. “I was just so happy for her, and so happy for me because that could have also gone bad with a runner on third. I know she has my back.”
Binford, pitching in relief of Lopez, retired the first two MSU hitters on ground balls in the bottom of the seventh, but Morgan Stiles worked a six-pitch walk, and then Blaine, after fighting off a few changeups, got a 3-2 fastball over the plate and did not miss it.
“She did throw a handful of changeups, a little bit more than her stats suggested, but I was definitely ready to battle with the changeup and hit something harder,” Blaine said. “I really was just being in the moment and trusting that I had the ability to hit whatever she was going to throw at me.”
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 34 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 34 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
