No. 23 ranked Mississippi State softball started the Bulldog Invitational in dominant fashion with a 9-0 win over Southern Miss on Thursday night.
Head coach Samantha Ricketts’ team came into the weekend on the heels of a 3-2 showing in the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic and sporting an 11-3 overall record. It was a difficult run of games on the road, but more than adequate preparation for picking up their 12th win on their return to Nusz Park.
“Got to see a lot of different pitching on the road and kind of got away from ourselves, so the message this week has been got back to being aggressive within our plan and in our zone,” Ricketts said. “I thought they did a good job of not trying to overswing and do too much and really pass the bat up and down the lineup.”
The Bulldogs came out swinging strong, with six runs in the first two innings. Madisyn Kennedy and Nadia Barbary each hit deep shots over the outfield wall and Aquana Brownlee got an RBI single with a drive into left field.
“The team’s energy was really good,” Barbary said after the win. “Everybody’s bats were hot and I’m glad we were able to give Josey some comfort in the circle.”
The lead was protected well by the hot hand of pitcher Josey Marron, who struck out eight Golden Eagles in a shutout performance for her fifth win on the mound this season.
“Josey and Aspen have been frontline starters for us, 1A and 1B,” Ricketts said after the game. “You can go to either one anytime and they do such a good job and compliment each other so well.”
It was a strong display at the plate and on defense after some difficult tests against quality opponents the week before. With the Southeastern Conference schedule just around the corner, the Bulldogs have shown some grit against quality opponents. With five games still to play over the next three days, Ricketts is hoping to see them carry that confidence and stay hot going to Oxford next week.
“It’s great all the way around and with our lineup, a good mix of veterans as well as freshmen that are out there,” she said. “I think it was good to get that experience, but we learned that we haven’t arrived yet and we don’t get to act like it. We have to continue to work hard every day and put our heads down knowing we’re going to get everybody’s best shot.”
The Bulldog Invitational continues on Friday for the Bulldogs with a 3 p.m. matchup with Troy.
Philip Poe is sports editor.
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