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Mississippi State

Bulldog softball season comes to an end with 9-6 loss at Texas Tech

3rupauk8_400x400by: Robbie Faulk05/18/25RobbieFaulkOn3
raelin chaffin3
Raelin Chaffin (Photo by Mississippi State Athletics)

A great softball season came to an end for Mississippi State on Sunday afternoon in Lubbock, Texas.

The Bulldogs weren’t able to hold down a tough Texas Tech offense in the Regional Final as the Red Raiders took a 7-6 victory to advance to the Super Regional round. The Bulldogs had lost the first meeting on Saturday with a 10-1 loss in six innings. Prior to that, State knocked off Washington 6-3 in the first round and won a battle against the Huskies in an elimination game 11-10 on Saturday night.

State gets to All-American Canaday but Red Raider offense too much

The Bulldogs gave a massive effort at the plate in the final game of the season as the Bulldogs had to battle against one of the best pitchers in the country in NiJaree Canady. Facing the All-American hurler for the third time this season, State handed her a season-high in hits (8) and runs (6) as they would not go away offensively.

The offensive work started in the third inning after the Bulldogs had fallen behind 5-0. Sierra Sacco doubled home a run with one out and Morgan Stiles came through with her fourth hit against Canady in two days when she singled home two more to cut the lead to 5-3.

After Raelin Chaffin surrendered a run in each of the next two innings, the Bulldogs went back to work in the fifth. State got a leadoff double from Nadia Barbary and another from Jessie Blaine that would cut the lead to 7-4. Ella Wesolowski would then come through with a two-out, two-run single that would get it to 7-6.

Unfortunately for the Bulldogs, Chaffin wasn’t able to get the shutdown innings. Just like the fourth inning, nine-hole hitter Hailey Toney would leadoff the sixth with a solo home run that would get a run back to make it 8-6. The freshman Toney had just four home runs all season coming into the game and hadn’t hit a long ball since March.

The Bulldogs managed to chase Canady after a leadoff walk in the sixth inning but a double play erased that baserunner and State couldn’t threaten again.

Chaffin ended an All-SEC season with a couple of tough outings the last two games of the season. After surrendering 10 runs in the game against Washington on Saturday night, Chaffin gave up 13 hits, nine runs and two walks in 7.0 innings. She struck out just one batter and allowed at least one run in each of the first six innings.

MSU had eight hits as a team with Wesolowski going 2-for-3 with two RBI and Kiarra Sells 2-for-2 with a walk. Stiles finished with two RBI as well.

The Bulldogs (39-19) had a great season come to an end just shy of a Super Regional. It was the first time since 2014 that the Bulldogs had won 39 games and the first time since 2001 that MSU had a winning record in SEC play after finishing 13-11 and had five SEC series wins which was the most since 2007. The offense set the school record for runs, RBI and home runs.

Some key contributors will be headed out the door with Jessie Blaine, Chaffin and Sacco all graduating, but the Bulldogs have important pieces returning as well with players like Barbary, Kylee Edwards, Wesolowski, Delainey Everett and Stiles all back.

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