For the first time in program history, Mississippi State has won a series at Rhoads Stadium.

Considered one of the most hostile and intimidating atmospheres in college softball, the home of the Alabama Crimson Tide was the largest on-campus softball stadium in the country until Oklahoma opened the new Love’s Field in 2024. And the home team rarely loses there — Alabama has reached four of the last five Women’s College World Series and won the Southeastern Conference’s first-ever national championship in 2012.

But the No. 19 Bulldogs came, they saw and they conquered the Rhoads House, taking Sunday’s rubber game 4-3 over the No. 25 Crimson Tide. Raelin Chaffin again went the distance in the pitcher’s circle, and Nadia Barbary drove in the eventual game-winning run with an RBI single in the sixth inning.

“This team came in with the mindset that we’ve been working on all year, and really it started with previous years,” MSU head coach Samantha Ricketts said. “It’s to prove ourselves right, knowing how good we are and how good we can be. Teams have to play us. We want to come in with a confidence and a swagger.”

Chaffin can carry the pitching staff through the challenging SEC schedule

In her three seasons at LSU, Chaffin topped out at 88 innings pitched in 2024. She is one-third of an inning shy of that mark after Sunday, and she is putting together by far the best year of her career, improving to 14-1 with a 1.36 ERA and 107 strikeouts.

Chaffin worked around a lot of traffic on the basepaths in Friday’s six-inning complete-game win, and she had to do the same Sunday, allowing a run on two hits in the first inning and two more runs in the third. But she got stronger as the game progressed, working her way out of a two-on, nobody-out jam in the fifth and mostly cruising from there. She scattered seven hits and walked just one with four strikeouts, throwing 103 pitches.

If Chaffin is able to consistently give the Bulldogs (24-5, 5-1 SEC) seven innings or close to it in games one and three over the weekend, it will ease the burden on the rest of the staff. Chaffin credited pitching coach Taryne Mowatt-McKinney in her ascension to the staff ace and one of the best pitchers in the strongest conference in the country.

“It’s been the greatest experience of my life getting to work with her,” Chaffin said. “She trusted me. She works with me every day. There’s not a single day I go to the field that she’s not ready to buy into me 100 percent. It shows. She’s in it with me every pitch. Every time I look into the dugout, she’s looking right back at me in the eye, and I just have to stay ready to compete.”

Saturdays could be a struggle

Or in this case, it was the second game of Friday’s doubleheader. Without Chaffin available, MSU started sophomore left-hander Delainey Everett, and she allowed three runs on five hits in the first inning before settling down.

Josey Marron was a big part of the Bulldogs’ staff the last two years, but her command has been shaky for most of the season, with 27 walks in 36 innings. She walked in two runs in the fourth inning to give Alabama (21-9, 1-2) the lead for good in its only win of the series. Lexi Sosa made a costly mistake in the sixth, serving up a two-run home run to Abby Duchscherer.

Ricketts knows she will need Marron in top form for MSU to reach its full potential, and Everett is better in short relief situations. Freshman Sara Phillips has not proven herself at this level yet, and Sosa has allowed six earned runs in four innings over her last three appearances. The Bulldogs will have to patch things together when Chaffin is not in the circle.

Barbary is the ideal protection for Sierra Sacco

Sacco has transformed herself from a slap hitter into one of the best all-around offensive threats in the SEC, and her .618 on-base percentage is among the best in the country. She is driving the ball consistently for extra-base hits, and her sharp eye at the plate has led to 27 walks and just seven strikeouts.

Batting behind Sacco, second in the lineup, is junior third baseman Nadia Barbary. Last Monday when MSU completed a sweep of Auburn, Barbary followed a walk to Sacco with a go-ahead grand slam. The Crimson Tide intentionally walked Sacco with a runner at second and two outs Sunday with the game tied in the sixth, and Barbary came through with an RBI single to put the Bulldogs in front.

MSU’s lineup is full of weapons, from emergent stars Kiarra Sells and Morgan Bernardini to holdovers like Jessie Blaine and Kylee Edwards. Barbary often gets overlooked among that group, but she is part of the glue that holds this offense together.

The Bulldogs have a midweek game Wednesday at UAB, then travel to Evanston, Illinois for a three-game series at Northwestern.

“(Walking Sacco) seems to be something teams feel comfortable doing, and I hope they’re starting to realize that it’s not a good idea for them,” Barbary said. “It hasn’t worked the past couple of times. Sierra’s been hot, so they’re scared to throw her the ball. They’re a little bit more comfortable with me, and I’m starting to prove them wrong.”