Mississippi State Sweeps in Waco, Opens Season With Authority

Mississippi State completed a perfect opening weekend in Waco with an 8-1 win over New Mexico, showing poise, power, and pitching dominance from the first swing.

Mississippi State Head Coach Samantha Ricketts, Mississippi State Infielder Nadia Barbary (#10), Mississippi State infielder Kylee Edwards (#67), Mississippi State Catcher/Infielder Riley Hull (#4), Mississippi State Infielder Morgan Stiles (#24) and Mississippi State Pitcher/Infielder Delainey Everett (#48) during the SEC Tournament second round game against LSU at Jack Turner Softball Stadium in Athens, GA. | Mississippi State Athletics

Mississippi State didn’t waste a single morning in Waco.

Four games, four wins, and a closing statement that looked every bit like a team ready to carry last year’s late-season surge straight into 2026.

The Bulldogs’ 8-1 win over New Mexico on Saturday wasn’t dramatic, and that’s exactly what made it so telling. They seized control on the first swing of the game and never loosened their grip. When you’re trying to set the tone for a season, there’s real value in looking inevitable.

That tone-setter was Morgan Stiles, who has turned the leadoff spot into a launching pad. She jumped on the third pitch she saw and sent it over the right-field wall, extending her hitting streak to eight games and continuing a blistering stretch in which she’s hitting .556.

Mo wasted no time@MorganStiles1 | #HailState pic.twitter.com/f6y0pHrUhX

— Mississippi State Softball (@HailStateSB) February 7, 2026

The rest of the inning felt like a continuation rather than a spark. Nadia Barbary doubled on the next pitch. Walks piled up. Anna Carder lifted a sacrifice fly. Morgan Bernardini punched a two-run single up the middle.

Before New Mexico even picked up a bat, the Bulldogs led 4-0 and had sent nine hitters to the plate. Opening weekends are supposed to be messy, uneven, a little jittery. Mississippi State looked like a team already in midseason rhythm.

And then came the part that made the morning feel even more complete: Alyssa Faircloth delivered the kind of performance that can anchor an entire weekend. Fourteen strikeouts (fourth-most in program history) and almost no hard contact. New Mexico didn’t have an answer for her rise ball, her changeup, or her pace. The Lobos’ only run came on a sacrifice fly in the sixth, long after the outcome had been decided.

Faircloth’s dominance gave the Bulldogs room to keep stacking runs without urgency, just steady pressure. A run in the second on Carder’s groundout. Another in the fourth when Kiarra Sells doubled and later scored on a wild pitch. One more in the fifth on Gabby Schaeffer’s first career RBI. And in the sixth, Des Rivera added a sacrifice fly to push the lead to 8-0 before New Mexico finally broke through.

It wasn’t one of those explosive, highlight-heavy games Mississippi State has shown it can produce. It was something different—something coaches love even more.

It was clean. It was controlled. It was the kind of win that shows a team knows how to handle business when it’s supposed to.

Four games in, Mississippi State looks like a team that didn’t just show up ready—it showed up certain. Certain of who it wants to be, certain of the pieces it can rely on, certain that last year’s momentum wasn’t a blip.

The Bulldogs finally head home now, opening a 12-game homestand Tuesday against Southern Miss. If opening weekend was any indication, they’re bringing something with them: a sense that this season might be built on more than just a hot start.