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Cowbell Corner

Mississippi State Keeps Finding Ways, Beats No. 20 LSU

Mississippi State rode Alyssa Faircloth’s dominant outing and Paige Ernstes’ three-run homer to a 5-3 win over No. 20 LSU to open the series.
Taylor Hodges|
Mississippi State Catcher Paige Ernstes (#12) during the game between the LSU Tigers and the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Nusz Park in Starkville, MS.
Mississippi State Catcher Paige Ernstes (#12) during the game between the LSU Tigers and the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Nusz Park in Starkville, MS. | Mississippi State Athletics

Mississippi State didn’t need style points Friday night. It just needed a win, and Alyssa Faircloth made sure the Bulldogs got one.

The junior right-hander snapped No. 20 LSU’s four-game streak with another steady, workmanlike outing that has basically become her norm. Eleven strikeouts, only a handful of stressful moments, and a 5-3 win that Mississippi State will take every time.

The offense didn’t exactly explode, but it didn’t have to. Paige Ernstes handled most of the heavy lifting with a three-run homer in the third.

It came with two outs, which feels fitting because every run Mississippi State has scored lately seems to come with two outs. Fourteen straight, if you’re counting.

"We have a lot of trust in Paige and feel like she's had some hard luck on some well-hit balls, especially the last few weeks,” Mississippi State coach Samantha Ricketts said. “She's a mature hitter. She comes through, and we trusted her in that moment. She just put a great swing on it to get us going there early.”

That inning started quietly enough. Two outs, nobody on, then Nadia Barbary ripped a double and Kiarra Sells worked a walk. Ernstes didn’t waste the chance. One swing, three runs, and suddenly the Bulldogs were in control.

They added two more in the sixth thanks to a little chaos. Gretta Grassel came off the bench and punched a single through the left side to score a run.

LSU then kicked the ball around long enough for Xiane Romero to sprint home from third. Not the prettiest sequence, but it counted all the same.

Faircloth handled the rest. After LSU pushed across a run in the third, she settled in and struck out six over her final 4.1 innings.

"Alyssa, she was competing. She was doing everything she could to give us a chance," Ricketts said. "I love her fire, the way that she continues to go out there and just, you know, make big pitches in big moments for us."

Even when the Tigers made things interesting in the seventh, she stayed steady. A wild pitch brought in one run, and a walk loaded the bases, but Leila Ammon came in and closed the door for her first save of the year.

Faircloth’s season-long trend continued too. She entered the year with one career double-digit strikeout game. She now has seven in 2026. She also crossed the 200-strikeout mark, becoming just the sixth Bulldog to do it.

Mississippi State and LSU are back at it Saturday at 2 p.m. Senior Day ceremonies start about 20 minutes before first pitch.

The Bulldogs will try to take the series and keep building some late-season momentum.

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Taylor Hodges
TAYLOR HODGES

Award-winning sports editor, writer, columnist, and photographer with 15 years’ experience offering his opinion and insight about the sports world in Mississippi and Texas, but he was taken to Razorback pep rallies at Billy Bob's Texas in Fort Worth before he could walk. Taylor has covered all levels of sports, from small high schools in the Mississippi Delta to NFL games. Follow Taylor on Twitter and Facebook.

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