Skip to main content
Cowbell Corner

Mississippi State Must Regroup After Walk-Off Loss to Ole Miss

Ole Miss used two Kennedy Bunker home runs, including a seventh-inning walk-off, to hand Mississippi State a 3-2 rivalry loss.
Taylor Hodges|
Mississippi State Infielder Nadia Barbary (#10) during the game between the LSU Tigers and the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Nusz Park in Starkville, MS.
Mississippi State Infielder Nadia Barbary (#10) during the game between the LSU Tigers and the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Nusz Park in Starkville, MS. | Mississippi State Athletics

Walk‑off losses already sit in a category of their own. They hit fast, they hit hard, and they don’t give you any time to process what just happened.

When it comes from your rival, in their park, with their crowd losing its mind, it stings a little more. Mississippi State felt all of that Friday night in Oxford.

Ole Miss didn’t overwhelm Mississippi State. The Rebels didn’t string together some big crooked number. They just got two swings from Kennedy Bunker, one to start the night and one to end it, and that was enough to hand the Bulldogs a 3-2 loss in the second game of the series.

"I think just the too many opportunities early on wasted," Mississippi State coach Samantha Ricketts said. "I always like the fight at the end, but 10 left on base and not taking advantage of the pitchers early in the game, I think is where we lost that game."

Mississippi State spent most of the night trying to climb out of those moments. The Bulldogs tied it in the fourth loading the bases without recording a hit, drawing four walks and scoring a run to score Ally Supan and tie the game at 1-1.

The Bulldogs tied it again in the seventh when Xiane Romero jumped on a pitch and sent it out to right. For a minute, it looked like the game might tilt their way.

But walk‑offs don’t care about momentum or anyone’s feelings.

Mississippi State got the first out in the bottom of the seventh, then watched Bunker turn on another pitch and end it. Five hits for each side, a clean defensive night again for the Bulldogs, and still nothing to show for it.

There were bright spots. Romero’s swing continues to look dangerous. Des Rivera finally got another extra‑base hit. Nadia Barbary is closing in on 200 career hits and even turned an unassisted double play to keep things steady. The pitching and defense did enough to win.

It just didn’t matter on a night when the final swing belonged to the other dugout.

The series now comes down to Saturday. The Bulldogs (37-16-16, 9-14 SEC) have handled plenty of tough moments this season, but losing on a walk‑off to Ole Miss (31-23, 5-18 SEC) is its own kind of test.

How they answer it will say a lot about where this group is headed in May.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Loading recommendations... Please wait while we load personalized content recommendations

Published
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.

Home/All Things State