STARKVILLE — Josey Marron and Matalasi Faapito were both aware of what was happening in the moment, but neither let that moment get too big.
Marron, Mississippi State’s sophomore ace, completed a five-inning no-hitter against IUPUI on Friday night, and the fifth-year senior Faapito did the same against the Jaguars on Saturday afternoon to highlight a perfect opening weekend for the Bulldogs at The Snowman: Alex Wilcox Memorial tournament.
The 24th and 25th no-hitters in program history represented the first time MSU (4-0) has thrown no-no’s in consecutive games.
“Two no-hitters in the four games was great,” Bulldogs head coach Samantha Ricketts said. “This team has really been locked into understanding that every game is important. We’re not just waiting for SEC play or postseason, but it starts right now. We treat these opponents just like we would when we get to March or April.”
In two wins each against IUPUI and Alabama-Birmingham, MSU’s hitters struck out a total of five times, while the Bulldogs’ pitchers did not walk a single batter. MSU twice scored at least seven runs in an inning, won the first three games in five innings with the run rule in effect and did not allow a run until the fourth inning of the weekend finale against the Blazers.
The Bulldogs put up a run in the first inning of Friday’s opening game against UAB, then exploded for seven in the second in an eventual 11-0 victory. Madisyn Kennedy and freshman Kylee Edwards opened the inning with back-to-back home runs, with Edwards taking the first pitch she saw as a collegiate softball player over the center-field wall. Two more freshmen, Ella Wesolowski and Salen Hawkins, also delivered run-scoring hits in the inning.
Fifth-year Aspen Wesley held the Blazers (1-3) hitless through three innings, striking out five in four innings of work before freshman Delaney Everett wrapped things up with a scoreless fifth.
“These freshmen are special,” Ricketts said. “We’ve been excited to get them here the last few years. They’re super athletic, they’ve played at a really high level and have experience, and they can do a lot of things well. They can hit home runs, they’re fast, they can run bases and they can play really good defense.”
MSU opened the first inning of Friday’s nightcap against the Jaguars (1-3) with a Sierra Sacco triple, a Nadia Barbary RBI double and a Jessie Blaine two-run home run to give the Bulldogs all the runs they would need. Wesolowski crushed a three-run shot in the third, while Marron was dominant in the circle, striking out nine batters in an 8-0 win.
Only the first play of the game kept Marron from a perfect game. IUPUI’s leadoff hitter slapped a one-hopper to third, and the first baseman Kennedy, who had been playing in, could not find the bag after catching Barbary’s throw and was charged with an error.
“It’s hard to not think about, but you kind of just have to force it out of your mind,” Marron said. “We put in a ton of work in the offseason, but I really wanted to start this season off on a high note. We have a great group this year and Jessie is amazing behind the plate. I had a lot of support. It definitely went better than I thought it would for the first start of the season.”
The Bulldogs put up an eight-spot in the second inning of Saturday’s rematch with the Jaguars, capped by a Paige Cook three-run homer, and went on to win 10-0. Faapito, like Marron, was an error away from a perfect game but was perfectly content with her second collegiate no-hitter.
“The last inning when I was walking out there… I looked at the scoreboard and I saw zero (in the hit column),” Faapito said. “I had to take a couple deep breaths the whole inning. It was just the same as the innings before, trusting my plan, trusting (pitching coach Taryne Mowatt-McKinney) and (Wesolowski) behind the plate.”
MSU faced a slight amount of adversity in its second game Saturday, a 6-2 win over UAB, but the outcome never felt in doubt after the Bulldogs’ three-run rally in the third. UCLA transfer Lexi Sosa allowed just one unearned run on four hits over five strong innings in her MSU debut.
The Bulldogs face a much greater test Tuesday, when No. 21 Louisiana visits Nusz Park for a doubleheader. The Ragin’ Cajuns defeated in-state rival LSU to win an NCAA Regional last year before falling to Washington in the Super Regionals.
“To have a team of that caliber coming in for a doubleheader is always fun,” Ricketts said. “Just another good challenge to see where we stack up against a ranked team early on. It’s a good test for our pitching staff as well as for our hitters, just trying to take some of the confidence and composure that we saw and continue to get reps.”
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