Mississippi State Softball Advances to First Super Regional in Program History

Mississippi State defeated Florida State by a score of 4-3 in Sunday afternoon's elimination game to advance to its first-ever Super Regional.

Mississippi State softball had a rough start in the Tallahassee regional but came storming back with a victory over No. 2 Florida State on Sunday afternoon to make history.

The Bulldogs won four elimination games in a little over one day to punch their ticket to their first-ever Super Regional appearance. They lost their opening game of the regional to South Florida by a score of 4-0 on Friday to fall into the loser's bracket early. On Saturday, they picked up a 6-3 victory over Howard and finally took down South Florida with a 6-0 win. MSU needed two consecutive victories in Sunday's doubleheader against Florida Start to win the regional...and it did just that. 

Mississippi State held FSU scoreless and picked up a momentum-building 5-0 victory in the first game of the day. The team handed the Seminoles their first non-conference loss since last season and held them scoreless for only the second time this season. 

With the victory, the Bulldogs forced a winner-take-all game. MSU fell behind by a score of 2-0 in the first inning thanks to a two-run home run, but that certainly didn't define the day for the team. A sacrifice fly by Matalasi Faapito cut the lead to 2-1 in the top of the second inning, but the Seminoles responded with another run in the bottom of the frame. 

Mississippi State finally picked up some momentum in the top of the fifth inning. The team loaded the bases with just one out, and Shea Moreno cut the deficit to just one with an RBI single to keep the bases loaded. Chloe Malau'ulu gave the Bulldogs their first lead of the game with a base hit that scored two and pushed the score to 4-3.

From there, pitcher Annie Willis dominated the mound. FSU threatened with two runners on base in the bottom of the fifth inning, but a huge strikeout killed all momentum. The Bulldogs held on in the final two innings to seal the 4-3 victory. 

This is the first time in history that Mississippi State has made it to the final elimination game of a regional, let alone past that round. Now, the Bulldogs are gearing up to host a huge super regional against Arizona. The three-game series will take place at Nusz Park in Starkville, but the official dates and times have not yet been announced.