STARKVILLE — Delainey Everett made just one start in her 14 appearances as a freshman last season, and although she had started nine times this year prior to Tuesday, her season high in innings pitched was 4 ⅔ on Mar. 22 at Northwestern.
But in Mississippi State’s final midweek game of the season, Everett was both sharp and efficient against Central Arkansas. She threw just 59 pitches in a five-inning complete-game shutout, and the Bulldogs’ offense helped her out by ending the game early in an 8-0 run-rule victory.
“(It’s about) working on efficiency, getting me through innings as fast as possible, being efficient, working through the strike zone, finding the umpire’s strike zone early and often,” Everett said. “Just using my defense to help me get out of jams or any situations to make it a little bit quicker for me.”
Everett only got into one real jam when she allowed back-to-back one-out singles in the second inning, but she worked out of it on a fly ball to center field and a grounder back to the circle. She also worked around a leadoff walk in the fifth, but otherwise retired every batter she faced with three strikeouts, seven ground ball outs and two infield pop-ups.
It was just the second complete game of the sophomore’s MSU career, with the first coming in 2024 against Alcorn State.
“She’s out there just being so efficient, having short innings and getting us back in the dugout,” Bulldogs head coach Samantha Ricketts said. “She was just fighting for her team every time to get back in the dugout, and they did a great job backing her up with some big defensive plays. She really set the tone and helped us settle in.”
No. 17 MSU (30-8) wasted a scoring opportunity with runners at second and third and one out in the first, but broke through once the lineup turned over in the third. Kylee Edwards brought in the game’s first run with an RBI single to score Sierra Sacco, and Jessie Blaine’s single made it a 2-0 game.
The Bulldogs took advantage of an obstruction call at home plate in the fourth to add on, and Morgan Bernardini’s RBI single further extended the lead. Bernardini and Morgan Stiles both moved up in the lineup to third and fifth, respectively, with Blaine moving down to seventh and Kiarra Sells to the ninth position.
“Just trying to maybe take some pressure off some people,” Ricketts said. “Trying to give some more at-bats to some younger ones. We could shuffle it back, but if I was going to make a change, I didn’t want to do it Friday night (at Tennessee). I thought tonight might be the first time to do it. (I have) a lot of confidence in all of them, especially with Kiarra with how often she gets on base and her on-base percentage, she’d be a good one to have in front of Sierra.”
The bottom of the MSU order loaded the bases with nobody out in the fifth on two hit-by-pitches and a walk, and Sacco and Nadia Barbary each hit a sacrifice fly to bring in two more runs. Sells then scored on a passed ball to push across the game-ending tally.
The Bulldogs head on the road this weekend for a three-game series at No. 7 Tennessee. All 15 of MSU’s remaining regular-season games will be against Southeastern Conference opponents, nine of them away from Nusz Park.
“We’re excited to be done with the non-conference slate,” Ricketts said. “It’s a grind. It’s a lot of games that are just as important, if not more so, than our SEC games when it comes to your postseason outlook. It’s nice to be able to finish out our non-conference on a high note and to help us lock back in for SEC play.”
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