No. 17 Mississippi State completes perfect weekend, 10-0 start with run-rule win over North Texas
Though rain was forecasted to be an issue for Mississippi State softball, the No. 17 Bulldogs got through a full weekend at The Snowman and remain unbeaten.
In the event that remembers the life and the fight of former player Alex Wilcox, State brought its own fight to the three teams it met. The Bulldogs swept two games each on Friday and Saturday and capped the fun weekend in Starkville by run ruling North Texas 10-2 in five innings on Sunday.
It was just the second game of the season where State went without a home run, but the Bulldog lineup found other ways to get the job done. Of the 10 hits on Sunday, State had four different players register multiple hits, but no one was hotter than Kinley Keller.
The freshman from New Braunfels, Texas, had a 3-for-3 afternoon with two doubles, two RBI, and three runs scored. Morgan Stiles, Anna Carder and Abby Grace Richardson all had two hits each with Richardson adding two doubles and Stiles driving in a couple of runs.
State scored in all four innings that it batted beginning with a sacrifice fly in the first inning that got things rolling. In the second frame, freshman Gabby Schaeffer would drive in a run to extend that league and a wild pitch on a walk scored another. Carder tacked on one more run with her RBI single with two outs and it was 4-0.
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Stiles singled home a run in the third before Nadia Barbary’s fielder’s choice got home another and then the Bulldogs would get the run rule in affect with some powerful offense. Two walks to lead off the fourth set the table for Richardson and Keller drive in runs on back-to-back doubles. With two outs, Stiles would add another to make it 10-0.
North Texas had its only runs of the game come on a two-run home run in the fifth, but three-straight outs followed to close the game out.
Despite the late homer, Chattanooga pitcher Peja Goold (5-0) continued her dominant start. Goold allowed just two hits and a walk and struck out seven batters to earn another win to start the season.
The Bulldogs are 10-0 for the first time since 2016 as Samantha Ricketts has her best start as Bulldog head coach. The team will play Memphis at home on Tuesday night at 4 p.m. while the Bulldog Invitational comes to Starkville this weekend. State will host Belmont and Samford for doubleheaders beginning at 12:30 p.m. on Friday. On Saturday, the Bulldogs play Belmont again at 12:30 p.m. with Delaware State to follow, and the team will close out against Delaware State on Sunday at 12:30.
