This past weekend the Bulldogs looked to continue their success during the Bulldog Invitational, and Mia Davidson looked to continue to shatter records.
The Mississippi State University Bulldogs started the Bulldog Invitational off Friday evening against Furman University.
The starting pitcher for the Bulldogs was Annie Willis, and she went right to work getting two strikeouts in the first inning. Willis would finish the game with six total strikeouts.
Mia Davidson continued her early domination of the young season in the game. In the bottom half of the first inning, she hit her 10th home run of the year. The Bulldog offense continued to be successful at the plate as well, as they scored six runs in the bottom of the second inning.
In the top of the fourth, Furman made it on the board with a solo home run. However, after a Chloe Malau’ulu two run home run, the Bulldog lead was extended to 10-1, where it came to rest after five innings of play.
The second game of the Bulldog Invitational saw the Bulldogs taking on Alcorn State. On the rubber for the Bulldogs in game two was junior Kenley Hawk.
Shattering records has become a norm for Mia Davidson, and game two was no different. With a two run RBI double, Davidson broke the school career RBI record with 194 career RBI’s.
After a huge bottom half of the second inning, the Bulldogs led Alcorn State 7-0.
Kenley Hawk and the MSU defense played lights out and allowed no runs through four innings.
Grace Fagan came in to close the game out for the Bulldogs. Fagan ended the game with 4 strikeouts, and MSU won game two by a score of 10-2 in five innings.
The first game for the Bulldogs Saturday was against the Jacksonville State Gamecocks. This ballgame went down to the wire, as the Bulldogs and Gamecocks would be tied at 2 in the bottom of the seventh inning. However, infielder Paige Cook delivered a solo home run to walk the ball game off for the Bulldogs 3-2.
MSU then played Furman once more to cap off Saturday. The Bulldogs’ defense made some outstanding plays. However, a late game MSU rally at the plate wasn’t enough, and the Bulldogs fell to Furman 3-1.
The last day of the Bulldog Invitational featured the Bulldogs facing Alcorn State for the second time over the weekend. Staying hot was an understatement for the Bulldog offense, as they scored 14 runs and routed Alcorn State 14-1 in the last game of the tournament.
After the game, Mia Davidson spoke on the defensive side of the ball for the Bulldogs.
“It helps you build momentum throughout the rest of the game when you have a good play,” Davidson said. “You always want to cheer the team on. Say a pitcher is going through something, you just help them out and go from there”.
MSU out-scored their opponents 38-9 over the weekend. When asked about the offensive success, head coach Samantha Ricketts attributed it to the game plan.
“I think just having a good plan and being disciplined,” Ricketts said, “Not trying to do too much really. When we can kind of pass the bat up and down the lineup, and you’re not just depending on a Mia home run or whatever it might be. I think that’s when we are most relaxed and do what we do well.”
The Bulldogs ended the weekend 4-1 and will play the University of North Alabama Wednesday in Starkville at 6 p.m. That game will be broadcast on SEC Network Plus.
