NORMAN, Okla. – Mississippi State softball saw early leads slip away in both games of a doubleheader at No. 2 Oklahoma on Sunday. State opened both games with a four-run top of the first but ultimately lost both contests by scores of 6-5 and 9-6.
"I thought we did a much better job of staying on the attack and being aggressive and not missing our pitch," head coach Samantha Ricketts said. "It was a little bit more of what we expect from our offense to start both games."
In Game 1, the Sooners (39-5, 13-5 SEC) tied the ballgame back up at 4-4 in the third, but Nadia Barbary doubled home Sierra Sacco to take the lead in the fourth. Oklahoma came back to tie the game in the bottom of the fifth and plated the winning run in that frame on a wild pitch.
The nightcap again saw the Bulldogs (33-14, 9-9 SEC) lead, jumping out to a 5-2 advantage in the second inning before Oklahoma tied the game. A three-run Sooner homer in the fifth would prove the difference, and though both teams added another solo homer in the sixth, State never closed the gap to fewer than two runs.
Sacco finished 3-for-8 across the two games with a pair of homers. Morgan Bernardini and Jessie Blaine each drove in three runs on the day with Blaine highlighted by a two-run homer and Bernardini by a pair of doubles. Ella Wesolowski also added a homer and caught a runner stealing.
Quotables
Samantha Ricketts on takeaways from the series...
"We expect ourselves to play and compete with anyone, and we're disappointed because we didn't play our best. You can't give anyone extra outs, whether defensively or with freebies. We just didn't play clean for seven innings, which we needed to do."
Quick Hitters
Quick Start – Both teams homered on the first pitch of the game that they saw offensively in Game 1 … State scored four runs in the first inning of both games and homered in the first inning of both games … those stand as the highest-scoring first innings that Oklahoma has allowed this year.
Nadia Barbary – Turned in her 15th multi-hit game … plated a run with her 11th double of the year … boasts 28 doubles since the start of 2024 … scored twice … now has a hit in six consecutive contests.
Morgan Bernardini – Delivered her eighth double of the season and drove in a run … also walked in Game 1 … doubled home two runs in Game 2 for her seventh multi-RBI game of the year.
Jessie Blaine – Hit her third homer of the year in Game 2 … posted her seventh multi-RBI game of the season … also drew a walk.
Kylee Edwards – Singled, walked twice and scored … used an acrobatic slide into third to dodge a tag while advancing following fly out … turned her eighth double play of the year and now boasts 18 career double plays at shortstop, which ranks fourth in program history at the position … singled and scored in Game 2.
Sierra Sacco – Hit her ninth homer of the year … now has 26 extra-base hits this year alone after entering the season with just 27 for her career … turned in her 23rd multi-hit game … scored twice in Game 1 … hit her 10th homer in Game 2.
Morgan Stiles – Extended her career-long reached-base streak to nine games with a hit in Game 1 and a walk in Game 2 … made her first career start at first base.
Ella Wesolowski – Hit her second home of the season in Game 2 … also caught her fifth runner stealing this season on Sunday … has thrown out eight runners in total this year with three pickoffs.
Game 1 Soring Recap
Top 1
Sierra Sacco homered on the first pitch of the game. Nadia Barbary then singled to right field and advanced to second when the right fielder missed the ball. Barbary scored when Kylee Edwards singled off the pitcher's glove. Edwards advanced to second on Morgan Stiles' fly out to deep right field. Morgan Bernardini doubled inside the third base bag, scoring Edwards. Bernardini then scored on Jessie Blaine's single into shallow center.
No. 16 Mississippi State 4, No. 2 Oklahoma 0
Bottom 1
Kasidi Pickering homered on the first pitch of the inning. With one out, Ella Parker walked. With two outs, Parker scored on Cydney Sanders' double to left-center field. Sanders scored on Ailana Agbayani's base hit up the middle.
No. 16 Mississippi State 4, No. 2 Oklahoma 3
Bottom 3
With one out, Parker singled up the middle, and Gabbie Garcia beat out a single to the diving second baseman. Sanders hit a fly ball into deep right field that was dropped, loading the bases. Agbayani hit a sacrifice fly down the line in left to score Parker.
No. 16 Mississippi State 4, No. 2 Oklahoma 4
Top 4
With two outs, Sacco singled into right field. She scored from first on Barbary's double down the left-field line.
No. 16 Mississippi State 5, No. 2 Oklahoma 4
Bottom 5
Parker led off with a chopper over the first baseman's head. Garcia reached on a throwing error while trying to bunt Parker to second. Both runners advanced on a wild pitch before Sanders singled through the left side to score Parker. Chaney Helton entered to run for Sanders at first and stole second. Agbayani walked, and the ball got away from the catcher, allowing Garcia to score on the wild pitch.
No. 16 Mississippi State 5, No. 2 Oklahoma 6
Game 2 Soring Recap
Top 1
With two outs, Kylee Edwards singled off the third base bag, and Morgan Stiles walked. Morgan Bernardini drove in both runners with a double down the left-field line. Jessie Blaine then hit a two-run homer to left-center.
No. 16 Mississippi State 4, No. 2 Oklahoma 0
Bottom 1
Kasidi Pickering reached on a fielding error by the second baseman. She was retired at second for the second out on a fielder's choice that allowed Ella Parker to reach safely. Gabbie Garcia hit a two-run homer to right field.
No. 16 Mississippi State 4, No. 2 Oklahoma 2
Top 2
With two outs, Sierra Sacco hit a solo homer to right field.
No. 16 Mississippi State 5, No. 2 Oklahoma 2
Bottom 2
With two outs, Hannah Coor hit a solo home run. Pickering then doubled down the right field line before Nelly McEnroe-Marinas hit a two-run homer to right.
No. 16 Mississippi State 5, No. 2 Oklahoma 5
Bottom 5
Parker walked and advanced to second on a wild pitch before Garcia walked. With two outs, Isabela Emerling hit a three-run homer to right field.
No. 16 Mississippi State 5, No. 2 Oklahoma 8
Top 6
With one out, Ella Wesolowski hit a solo home run.
No. 16 Mississippi State 5, No. 2 Oklahoma 8
Next Up
State remains on the road next weekend and heads to Lexington, Kentucky. The No. 16 Bulldogs will face the Wildcats on April 25-27.
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