If you needed a Cinderella story to pay attention to in the NCAA softball tournament this year, what Samantha Ricketts and the Mississippi State Bulldogs are accomplishing this season has no precedent in program history.
The Bulldogs (43-19 overall, 9-15 SEC) have definitely demonstrated that they’re going to be a team that can’t be overlooked. Just ask Patty Gasso and the Oklahoma Sooners, who were shutout for the first time in years in Game 3 of the Norman Super Regional. This Mississippi State team is looking to continue their thrilling run through the postseason.
How far will the Bulldogs be able to go?
Mississippi State softball pulled off a shocking upset to reach the Women’s College World Series
This is the first time that Mississippi State has been able to make it to the Women’s College World Series and they did it after winning just their second ever Super Regional. That said, don’t sleep on this Mississippi State team.
The Bulldogs made it through the Eugene Regional by beating Saint Mary’s in extra innings, taking down the Oregon Ducks, and then beating Saint Mary’s again to move on to Norman. And once there, Mississippi State managed to win a wild Super Regional.
The Bulldogs won Game 1 in a slugfest that featured 20 runs scored between the two teams, but MSU lost Game 2 by a score of 7-1. Instead of shutting down and giving up, the Bulldogs bounced back and beat Oklahoma 6-0 in Game 3.
Now State is in the Women’s College World Series. They’re not looking to slow down any time soon.
Mississippi State’s bats haven’t been consistently impressive up to this point in the season
Of all the teams to make it to the Women’s College World Series this year, the Mississippi State Bulldogs might be the worst at the plate. And that’s because they just haven’t been consistently impressive. In the NCAA softball tournament so far, Mississippi State is averaging just five runs per game.
As a team, Mississippi State has a batting average of .275. They’re slugging with a .462 percentage. So far, MSU has just 66 home runs and has scored 292 runs across 62 games. At the plate, Nadia Barbary leads the way for MSU with a .330 batting average and 14 home runs along with 41 RBI. Kiarra Sells isn’t too far behind with her .329 batting average and 14 home runs of her own. But generally speaking, this team doesn’t do a ton at the plate.
Unless the Bulldogs can get consistently great pitching, that’s not going to win them a lot of games.
The Bulldogs arrive at the Women’s College World Series with some dangerous pitching
That said, the pitching has been really impressive lately. Mississippi State has a team ERA of 2.29 and there’s a handful of really reliable, consistently impressive pitchers on this staff.
Peja Goold has managed to put together a 2.36 ERA and she’s struck out 181 opposing batters across 151.1 innings pitched. Then there’s Alyssa Faircloth, who has a 2.47 ERA and 264 strikeouts in 175.2 innings pitched. And now it looks like Delainey Everett is fully available despite injury issues. She shut out Oklahoma and has a 0.69 ERA through 20.1 innings pitched.
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