If you haven’t been paying attention, the Mississippi State softball team is off to a really solid start. And, as is the case every year, the Bulldogs just took part in another preseason invitational tournament sort of shindig.
It’s common in college softball for teams to get together early in the year at neutral site locations for a lot of fun and it’s becoming more common in college baseball for this same sort of fun.
Out in California, the Mississippi State Bulldogs faced off against five foes in three days. You won’t see that from a baseball team this early in the year.
And Samantha Ricketts and her MSU Bulldogs did really, really well.
Table of Contents
Let’s start reviewing what happened for the Mississippi State softball team. But let’s focus in on recapping things first.
MSU softball weekend review: A solid showing in the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic
Let’s go over what happened this weekend
Game 1: Mississippi State 2 – UCF 1
In the opening Mississippi State softball game of the weekend, the Bulldogs squeaked past UCF, winning by a score of 2-1. And while the bats were a little quiet, Aspen Wesley was absolutely dominant in the circle for MSU.
Wesley threw 6.2 innings, allowing just one run while striking out seven Knights hitters. Josey Marron was able to step into the circle and get the final out of the game (and earning a save along the way).
And while I would’ve liked more runs to be scored, I’m never going to be upset about Mississippi State winning a pitchers duel. I can get on board with seeing low scoring games in this sport (and in baseball). As long as MSU comes out on top, that is.
Game 2: Mississippi State 7 – Notre Dame 4
Oh, hey, look, runs! Runs were scored!
And Miss. State was pretty resilient all along the way. The Bulldogs won in slightly dramatic comeback fashion after falling behind the Notre Dame Fighting Irish 4-2.
The Bulldogs found themselves down 4-2 early and then got an energetic jolt from Kylee Edwards, who seems to like hitting home runs. Marron struggled a little bit in the circle against Notre Dame, but Lexi Sosa was able to step in and provided 5.0 innings of scoreless softball for the Bulldogs.
Thus, a 7-4 win.
Game 3: Oklahoma 9 – Mississippi State 3
At one point, the Mississippi State softball team actually led this game. The Bulldogs looked sharp early on as they battled the best college softball program in existence.
Miss. State struck first as Jessie Blaine smashed a two-run homer in the opening inning.
But, uh, this is Oklahoma we’re talking about here. The Sooners slowly pulled away as they tacked run after run onto the scoreboard with a really impressive steady pace.
But again, this is a team that has won back-to-back-to-back national championships. I’m not too worried about losing against the Sooners like this. They’re the most dominant force in their respective sport right now.
Game 4: Mississippi State 4 – Cal State Fullerton 2
Once again the Bulldogs struck first. And once again, interestingly enough, the Bulldogs found themselves trailing early on. But hey, the MSU softball team got the chance to prove their comeback abilities once more.
Miss. State managed to reverse a 2-1 deficit and knocked off the Titans in the process. Salen Hawkins and Brylie St. Clair were instrumental in driving in runs and Josey Marron stepped up to throw 5 innings. Aspen Wesley earned the save and sealed the win for MSU.
And 4-2 wins are worth celebrating.
Game 5: Fresno State – Mississippi State
I’m not even remotely upset about this one. It truly wasn’t that big of a deal for the Bulldogs. It’s not great, but this game started super late and was the fifth of five games in three days.
But it does kinda stink to suffer a 3-1 defeat to Fresno State. Mississippi State really has to figure something out at the plate as the Bulldogs struggled to generate runs.
High notes and Mississippi State softball highlights
The game didn’t end up going in Mississippi State’s favor, but this two-run shot to start things off against Oklahoma? Scoring first on the best college softball program in the country? Yeah, that was fun.
Double plays. Double plays are always fun to watch. As long as they’re for your team. And that’s the case here.
This team likes to hit home runs. That’s fun.
Kylee Edwards has been phenomenal for the Bulldogs and she doesn’t just hit impressive home runs.
Low moments
There were two losses from the past weekend, but I’m really not worried about either of them.
That 6-run loss to Oklahoma? I mean, that’s the defending national champs. Some folks said that “Oklahoma is good” and it’s not a big deal, and that truly doesn’t do justice for what this circumstance is.
THE SOONERS HAVE WON THREE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS IN A ROW.
If you’re chalking this up to “Oklahoma is a good team” then you’re really underestimating just how dominant the Sooners have been.
They have 14 wins this season. ZERO losses. The three runs that MSU scored? That’s tied for the most runs the Sooners have allowed this season. This is a team that went 61-1 in 2023, 59-3 in 2022, and 56-4 in 2021.
Losing to Oklahoma? That’s not a big deal.
As for that Fresno State loss? Well, it started at like 9:30 p.m. and it was the second game of a double header and the fifth game in three days. I’m not sweating that one either.
There were a couple low moments, sure. But they weren’t big deals at all.
Final Thoughts
When it’s all said and done, Samantha Ricketts and the Mississippi State softball team managed to win three of their five games out on the West Coast. That’s pretty good.
The Bulldogs are now 11-3 on the season. They’ve got four ranked wins. Those four ranked wins are coming by an average of five runs a game. Again, that’s pretty good.
I’m happy with where this Mississippi State softball team sits right now.
Did I want them to play Oklahoma a little closer? Sure. Am I worried that they lost a couple games this weekend? Not really. I think this team is in a pretty good spot and I’ve been covering it for nine seasons now.
Does this early season success guarantee success later in the year? Nope. But it’s totally fine to be excited about where Ricketts and the Bulldogs stand right now.
And if I had to grade this past weekend, I’d give MSU an 8.5 out of 10. It could’ve been better, and we’ve seen the Bulldogs play better at times this season, but it’s really hard to be upset with winning three of five all the way across the country.
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