The Mississippi State University softball team hit the road to take on Texas A&M in College Station, Texas, for a three-game series this weekend.
The series kicked off Saturday with the Aggies taking a quick lead in the first game. With Texas A&M up by three in the fifth, MSU freshman Macy Graf singled to the right to get the Bulldogs on base.
The Aggies fought to extend their lead in the first game and ended the final inning 9-1. TAMU took the first game of the series, while the Bulldogs awaited the 2 p.m. game Wednesday.
The Bulldogs and the Aggies remained tied at a stand-still during game two until the third inning when freshman Nadia Barbary gave the Bulldogs a lead with a home run. MSU fought hard to preserve their lead, but two errors in the fifth gave TAMU the edge to tie the game.
Head coach Samantha Ricketts noted that the Bulldogs fought hard but still had work to do to finish the series in their favor.
“It was good for us to have a clean first inning,” Ricketts said. “We talked about being aggressive and attacking and I thought we did a better job of that in game two. It was a bit more of our playing style, but we’ve got to be able to finish it out as well.”
The Aggies secured their lead with a home run in the sixth inning to break the tie and take the series. Game two ended in Texas A&M’s favor 2-1.
The Bulldogs faced the Aggies in the final game of the series Monday night. TAMU came out strong in the first inning and scored two runs to give them an early lead. MSU retaliated in the third with senior third baseman Paige Cook doubling to the right, stealing third on a wild pitch and scoring on another wild pitch that walked senior Aquana Brownlee.
Ricketts explained that her Bulldogs faced several obstacles in this series but will continue to work hard to overcome them.
“We’re in the middle of some adversity right now,” Ricketts said. “We have a few injuries and some trouble at the plate recently, but this gives us an opportunity to learn from our mistakes to avoid them in the future. I’ve liked seeing the more aggressive approach lately.”

TAMU added two more points to their lead on a triple in the fourth inning and a final run in the fifth inning to end the game 5-1 over the Bulldogs and sweep the series. Head coach Ricketts stated that the loss is just a lesson that the team can use to better themselves for the remainder of the season.
“We still have a lot to play for. We’ve been in these situations before, but we learned from them and were a better team late in the season because of the adversity we had gone through,” said Ricketts.
The Bulldogs return home for Super Bulldog Weekend this upcoming weekend to host No. 16 Alabama for a three-game series. This will be Mississippi State’s first home Super Bulldog Weekend since 2018.