The regular season for Mississippi State softball came to an end with a series loss to the LSU Tigers on Mother’s Day weekend.
In game one, the Tigers kicked things off with a three-run homer, but the Bulldogs made the game close when Shea Moreno scored a run on a single from Chloe Malau’ulu. Madisyn Kennedy also scored a run on a wild pitch in the bottom of the third inning.
However, the Tigers would score four more runs due to four straight walks and a couple of singles. The Bulldogs were unable to respond and lost the series opener via a final score of 7-2.
In game two, the Bulldogs were barely scraping by the Tigers with a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the fifth. However, the following inning was plagued by errors and mistakes, which allowed the Tigers’ offense to score seven runs. The Tigers would go on to hand the Bulldogs the series, clinching 9-2 defeat
“I thought Matalasi Faapito did a good job limiting the damage, until the big hit,” Bulldogs head coach Samantha Ricketts said about the mistakes the team made. “To a team and offense like LSU, you cannot throw the ball down the middle, especially when you are ahead in the count. It goes back to being refocused for every pitch and being able to execute. We were not able to do either one today.”
Despite the loss, Mia Davidson continued to earn her name as the “Home Run Queen.” In her final regular season series at Nusz Park, she hit her 90th career home run in the bottom of the seventh.
Davidson tied Stacey Nuveman from UCLA for fifth place in the NCAA’s all-time home run leaders. She trails Stacey Chambers from Arizona, who holds a record of 92 career home runs.
Game three was senior day, and the seniors from both Mississippi State and LSU were recognized on the field before the game.
Senior Bulldogs recognized on the field included players Annie Willis, Allison Florian, Montana Davidson, and Mia Davidson. Team staff members Roslyn Williams and Charlie Latham were also recognized.
In game three, LSU’s Danieca Coffey scored a grand slam in the top of the second inning to lift the Tigers to a 5-0 lead. At that point in the game, 12 of the last 14 runs given up by the Bulldogs in the series had all been unearned.
In the fourth inning, Shea Moreno was walked and was able to score a run thanks to a double by Paige Cook. The Tigers defense allowed the Bulldogs to plate three more runs, which made it a 5-4 ballgame.
In the bottom of the sixth inning, Mia Davidson was intentionally walked with the bases loaded. However, Shea Moreno hit a single that allowed Montana Davidson and Brylie St. Clair to score at home. The Bulldogs sent their seniors off on a high note with a 6-5 win.
Bulldogs pitcher Annie Willis finished her last regular season series strong, achieving over 350 career strikeouts.
“After that hit in the second, I looked at my teammates behind me, and I decided that this game was going to be for them,” Willis said. “It may have been Senior Day for the four of us, but this game was for all of us. After the weekend we’ve been having, we had to find that grit and fight. That’s what we did this game; that was the turn around. It was great, it would’ve been great if we got the series win, but we didn’t. We weren’t going to give up on that, we came out today and got down 5-0. We came back, and we didn’t stop fighting. It was great to get this win on Senior Day.”
With the series conclusion, Mississippi State finished the regular season with a 32-23 overall record, including 10-14 in SEC play.
The Bulldogs will head to Gainesville, FL, for the SEC Tournament next, which lasts from May 10 through May 14. After that, Mississippi State will wait to see their placement in the NCAA Tournament on May 15.