Samantha Ricketts and her Mississippi State softball team showcased plenty of resilience and offensive power in a crucial SEC series against a ranked Arkansas Razorbacks team. Mississippi State managed to win two out of three games in Fayetteville and the Bulldogs improved their record to 24-7 overall and 5-4 in conference play.
That’s a pretty strong spot for the Bulldogs to be in right now as they sit right in the midst of the SEC standings (which happen to be crowded with plenty of ranked and tough teams).
Table of contents
- Miss. State softball weekend recap: Ricketts and the Bulldogs thrived on the road
- High notes and Mississippi State softball highlights from series win over Arkansas Razorbacks
- Low moments from the Miss. State softball series vs. Arkansas
- Final Thoughts on Mississippi State softball’s series win over Arkansas
Let’s start looking at what happened this past weekend.
Miss. State softball weekend recap: Ricketts and the Bulldogs thrived on the road
Arkansas is solid. Really solid. The Razorbacks entered the weekend at No. 18 and MSU managed to hand them a couple of losses, knocking them to 24-8 overall and 3-3 in the Southeastern Conference. Here’s how that happened:
Game 1: Mississippi State 6 – Arkansas 3
In a closely contested series opener, Mississippi State softball managed to stage a remarkable road comeback win over the Razorbacks.
Trailing 3-0 late in the game, Mississippi State rallied with six unanswered runs, including four in the 7th inning. Aquana Brownlee’s RBI in the top of the 5th sparked the comeback and Madisyn Kennedy delivered the decisive blow with a bases-clearing double.
And that helped Aspen Wesley earn the victory as she threw 109 pitches and struck out six opposing batters. And that resilient performance helped set the tone for this series.
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 20 Mississippi State | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 11 | 0 |
| No. 18 Arkansas | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 2 |
Game 2: Arkansas 3 – Mississippi State 0
This game was less good for the Bulldogs. MSU wasn’t able to plate any runs in this one and there was no valiant and exciting comeback to write home about. Josey Marron did well in the circle, but it just wasn’t good enough for the Bulldogs to claim the series on Saturday (though you can’t really blame her when no runs get scored). Arkansas bounced back and had a strong pitching performance from the likes of Hannah Camenzind and Morgan Leinstock, who combined to limit the MSU softball team to just two hits. And this 3-0 loss set the stage for a decisive rubber match between the two SEC rivals.
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 20 Mississippi State | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| No. 18 Arkansas | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | X | 3 | 6 | 0 |
Game 3 – Mississippi State 15 – Arkansas 7
All of the pitching talent between these two teams didn’t seem to matter on Sunday. In the pivotal series finale, Mississippi State’s offense erupted and the bats got hot at the right time, leading to a dominant 15-7 run-rule win over Arkansas in five innings.
That’s just about a football score (though it’d be a less-than-incredible football score). That’s just an impressive barrage of runs that happened to be scored here. The Bulldogs launched four home runs, including a grand slam by Ella Wesolowski and a three-run shot by Sierra Sacco, her first career homer. Mississippi State broke the game open with a nine-run fourth inning, all scored with two outs, showcasing their ability to deliver clutch hits.
And that helped deliver a resounding win as it secured the series for the Bulldogs at the same time. A great Sunday for everyone wearing Maroon and White.
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 20 Mississippi State | 2 | 4 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 15 | 13 | 2 |
| No. 18 Arkansas | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 11 | 1 |
High notes and Mississippi State softball highlights from series win over Arkansas Razorbacks
There’s a lot to be proud about from this weekend. A lot to write home about. We got a little bit of everything. Some pitching dominance. Some impressive power hitting. A grand slam. A bunch of strikeouts.
In the series opener, they demonstrated their resilience by overcoming a three-run deficit, scoring six unanswered runs to secure a 6-3 victory.
Some of it was a little lucky, but still, we’ll take it.
And of course, from that one, it’s clear that Madisyn Kennedy’s bases-clearing double in the seventh inning was the decisive blow. It put the Bulldogs ahead and gave them a really solid win to celebrate.
Mississippi State was absolutely unstoppable in the rubber match as they run-ruled Arkansas 15-7 in five innings. To help get that run-rule win? Well, Mississippi State launched a few home runs.
And some timely hitting
And more home runs
And a grand slam
And more home runs
Mississippi State showcased its power and depth. The nine-run 4th inning, where all of those runs were scored with two outs, exemplified the team’s clutch hitting and it was pretty clear the Miss. State softball team refused to give in or settle.
Low moments from the Miss. State softball series vs. Arkansas
Game two wasn’t great. Just not a ton of fun. Losing never really is. And this one was frustrating because it was sandwiched between such dynamic and exciting wins. For the most part this weekend, Mississippi State softball fans had plenty to cheer about as the Bulldogs battled the Razorbacks. But on Saturday, MSU was shut out 3-0 by the Razorbacks.
While they didn’t dominate in terms of strikeouts, it was pretty impressive to see how Arkansas pitchers Hannah Camenzind and Morgan Leinstock combined to limit Mississippi State to just a couple of hits, effectively silencing the Bulldogs’ typically potent offense.
And again, that severe lack of run production runs in stark contrast to the team’s impressive displays of scoring potential that we saw in games one and three.
Final Thoughts on Mississippi State softball’s series win over Arkansas
This was a good weekend. A really good weekend. After falling short against Texas A&M last weekend (just a heads up, TAMU is at the top of the SEC softball standings right now, the Aggies are absolutely rolling), getting a tough road series win over a team as talented and impressive as Arkansas is great to see.
Now the Bulldogs get to return home and have some fun in Starkville. Of course, Miss. State can’t overlook their next foe. The Florida Gators are talented and highly ranked. They could present a very legitimate problem for the Bulldogs.
But, well, it’s becoming clear that Samantha Ricketts and the MSU softball team is legit. I have no clue if they can keep this up, but they’ve won a couple of impressive SEC softball series and they challenged the Aggies. MSU is moving in the right direction right now and this team (if it can continue building on this momentum) could certainly be very dangerous and exciting to watch as the season continues on.
The Underdog Tribune 
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