STARKVILLE — Leave it to one of the hottest hitters in all of college softball to flip the script after Mississippi State fell into another early hole.
Needing a win Sunday to avoid a sweep at the hands of Texas A&M, No. 21 Mississippi State found itself chasing the lead in the first inning as Aspen Wesley issued four walks in the opening frame as well as a three-run home run to Aiyana Coleman. But facing the No. 13 Aggies’ ace, Emiley Kennedy, Sierra Sacco and Nadia Barbary worked walks to start the bottom of the first, sending the red-hot Madisyn Kennedy to the plate.
MSU’s veteran shortstop-turned-first baseman — who entered the weekend second in the nation in slugging percentage — worked the count full, then unloaded on a pitch on the outer half of the plate, sending it well over the center field wall for a three-run blast that tied the game before Texas A&M’s star left-hander had even recorded an out.
Wesley settled into a groove after her rough start and the Bulldogs continued battling against Kennedy, coming away with a 6-5 victory and handing the Aggies their first loss in Southeastern Conference play.
“After yesterday, we knew we were going to learn a lot about ourselves in the way that we responded,” MSU head coach Samantha Ricketts said. “Even after getting down early, there was no panic. It was just a lot of trust.”
Both pitchers dealt with a tight strike zone in the early going, but while Kennedy walked eight hitters and plunked two more, Wesley did not give up a free pass after the first inning. She allowed a two-out solo homer to Jazmine Hill in the second, then retired 13 batters in a row, striking out nine on the day.
Left fielder Brylie St. Clair provided a highlight-reel play with a full-extension diving catch to end the top of the sixth.
“It’s going to be a dogfight every single day. It’s the SEC,” Wesley said. “There were some (calls) that weren’t going my way, but same for them. It wasn’t going their way either.”
The Bulldogs (21-6, 3-3 SEC) wasted scoring chances in the second and third innings — Paige Cook was cut down at home plate trying to score on a fly ball to right field to end the third — but they evened things up in the fourth.
With two outs and St. Clair on first, Kennedy started Barbary with two off-speed pitches in the zone, putting Barbary behind in the count 0-2. Barbary fouled off a heater on the inner half, then timed up Kennedy’s next offering, driving it into the gap in left-center for a double that scored St. Clair all the way from first for the tying run.
“After those two changeups, I was like, ‘I need to stay late, and if it’s fast, foul it off,’” Barbary said. “If it’s another changeup, I was ready for it. Just trusting myself and trusting the plan and the scouting report we did this morning, and it showed.”
Jessie Blaine pinch hit for Barbary to lead off the sixth and jumped on the first pitch for a double, and then Sacco’s bunt stayed fair along the third base line to put runners at the corners. MSU plated the go-ahead run on a passed ball, then added another in the inning on freshman catcher Ella Wesolowski’s RBI single.
Texas A&M (25-3, 5-1) was not finished yet as Rylen Wiggins led off the seventh with a home run to left-center, and Kramer Eschete then reached on an infield single. But Wesley closed the door from there, with Barbary making a nice catch up against the netting in foul territory to end the game.
The Bulldogs will head back out on the road this coming week, with a Wednesday game at Alabama State and then a three-game weekend series at No. 20 Arkansas.
“(Wesley) really just dug deep and kept fighting and wanted to fight for her team,” Ricketts said. “The aggressiveness, the attack that we went out on today all the way around was just a big difference from what we saw yesterday.”
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 24 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 24 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
