STARKVILLE — Tyler Bratton suffered an unlucky break during a recent softball camp at Mississippi State.
The Bulldogs’ longtime assistant coach broke his nose when a line drive ricocheted off the pole of a protective screen and straight into Bratton’s face.
It was no soft liner, either.
“It’s never the slapper that hits you, right?” Bratton said during a Dec. 12 Twitter space hosted by D1 Softball. “It’s always the kid that’s got bat speed.”
On Dec. 6, Bratton underwent surgery to correct the fracture.
The next day, he boarded a plane to San Antonio for the 2022 National Fastpitch Coaches Association conference.
Such is life for Bratton, who enters his 10th season as an assistant softball coach at MSU in 2023 — and his first as the Bulldogs’ associate head coach.
He remains an integral part of head coach Samantha Ricketts’ staff as the Bulldogs look to go from the Super Regional round — which they cracked for the first time in 2022 — to the Women’s College World Series.
“We’re trying to get to Oklahoma City, trying to get to the next step,” Bratton said. “We went to a Super Regional this year, and now we’re trying to take that next step forward.”
Mississippi State went into Tallahassee and stunned No. 2 overall seed Florida State for its first-ever NCAA Regional victory in May.
Given a chance to host in the Super Regional round, the Bulldogs saw outstanding fan support. More than 4,500 people in all packed Nusz Park for a pair of games against Arizona, which swept the best-of-three series to advance to the WCWS.
Despite the results, the atmosphere was electric, Bratton recalled.
“I think it’s a deal where we could have had 8,000 there,” he said. “If there was room for 8,000, there could have been 8,000 people there.”
From that team, the Bulldogs lost ace pitcher Annie Willis as well as all-American catcher Mia Davidson.
Bratton warned Mississippi State’s power could dip in 2023, although a talented crop of returning players led by outfielder Chloe Malau’ulu should be able to provide all-around production.
“We set a school record for homers last year with 73,” Bratton said. “We may not hit 73 this year. We might hit 53. Who knows? We might hit 83. You never know what’s going to happen. But I do think we’re more dynamic and have some opportunities to be creative with the run game and apply some pressure offensively.”
Out of a seven-player freshman class, Bratton singled out pitchers Reis Beuerlein and Josey Marron as well as infielder Macy Graf.
He also touted Florida State transfer outfielder Kiersten Landers, who he said was able to squat 300 pounds just 10 months removed from a torn ACL.
Landers was not in action but on the roster when the Bulldogs pulled a major upset in Tallahassee.
As MSU has repeated ever since, beating the Seminoles twice in one day wasn’t a fluke but the culmination of years of hard work.
Mississippi State made three straight NCAA regional finals in 2018, 2019 and 2021. In 2020, MSU was off to a 25-3 start before the COVID-19 pandemic ended the season prematurely.
“Sooner or later, we knew that we were on the cusp of something good,” Bratton said. “It just needed to click at the right time, and I think that kind of scenario happened for us, as you guys all saw, this past spring and summer.”
For Bratton, it’s been a long time coming.
The West Point native played baseball at Mississippi State before becoming an assistant with the baseball program under John Cohen.
At a speaking engagement with Cohen and then-head softball coach Vann Stuedeman, Bratton piqued Stuedeman’s interest with his knowledge of the game.
The next day, Stuedeman got Cohen’s approval to talk to Bratton about a position on the softball staff.
He was offered the job a week later, officially starting Jan. 7, 2014.
Almost nine years later, Bratton has yet to look back.
“That’s been a journey that’s really, really taken off for me,” Bratton said. “I’ve really enjoyed it.”
Theo DeRosa reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @Theo_DeRosa.
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