Mississippi State University’s softball team opened the season on a high note this past weekend with a historic four-game sweep in The Snowman: Alex Wilcox Memorial Tournament.
The weekend series featured no hitters from two Bulldog pitchers, sophomore Josey Marron and graduate Matalasi Faapito, throwing the 24th and 25th no hitters in program history respectively.
On Friday night against IUPUI, Marron recorded nine strikeouts along with her zero hits across 5.0 innings pitched against the Jaguars in a 8-0 victory for the Bulldogs.
“We put in a ton of work in the offseason. I really wanted to start this season off on a high note,” Marron said about her performance. “We have a great group this year. Jesse [Blaine] is amazing behind the plate, so I had a lot of support.”
Meanwhile, Faapito threw a career-high nine strikeouts on Saturday in her second career no hitter for the Bulldogs in their 6-2 victory over IUPUI. They also went on to beat UAB the following game, 6-2, with graduate Lexi Sosa on the mound for the Bulldogs.
Overall, the Bulldogs’ pitching crew allowed just one earned run across this past weekend while striking out a combined 30 batters.
The offense was also exceptional with junior Jesse Blaine recording her 14th career multi-hit game against UAB, going 2-for-4 against the Blazers. Meanwhile, fifth year senior Paige Cook blasted a three-run homer against IUPUI, extending her hitting streak to six games dating back to last season.
“We’re very well rounded in all aspects,” Cook said about the Bulldogs’ offense. “We have very good slappers, we have quick hitters, we have power just top and bottom throughout the lineup and then people coming off the bench. We’re just very well-rounded.”
With the weekend sweep, the Bulldogs start the season with a strong 4-0 record. They return to action with a two-game series against Louisiana in Starkville on Tuesday starting at 4 p.m. The game will be aired on SEC Network+.
