Cowbell Corner

No. 16 MSU Shocks No. 4 Tennessee With Run-Rule Victory

Bulldogs win first-ever run-rule game against top-five opponent

Taylor Hodges

Mississippi State Athletics

STARKVILLE – Mississippi State has already faced the best team in the nation and came up short against No. 1 Oklahoma in February. But against the highest-ranked SEC team, the Bulldogs produced a drastically different result.

No. 16 Mississippi State defeated No. 4 Tennessee, 9-1, in only five innings. It’s the first time in program history a Bulldog team has beaten a top-five ranked team via the run rule. It also sets a new season-high record of run-rule victories ,14, surpassing the previous record set in 2008.

“I thought they were ready for the challenge knowing what was coming to town,” MSU coach Samantha Ricketts said.

What came to Starkville was Tennessee with a 30-6 record and 10-2 in SEC play and one of the best pitching staffs in the nation. The Lady Vols led the nation with a 1.26 team ERA and 15 shutouts.

“The players did a really good job of locking in and preparing all week long. Just a complete game – our offense, our defense, our pitching,” Ricketts added.

MSU’s SEC-best offense scored a run in every inning and finished with nine total hits, including four doubles, against Tennessee’s Karlyn Pickens (15-4), whose 0.81 ERA was second best in the nation before Friday’s game. The Bulldogs forced Pickens from the game after just two innings with a 4-0 lead.

Nadia Barbary started MSU’s scoring with a double in the first. In the next inning, Sierra Sacco drove in a run and Brylie St. Clair scored on a wild pitch. Madisyn Kennedy drove in Sacco with a sacrifice fly to build a 4-0 lead headed into the third inning. Kylee Edwards drove in a pair of runs in the third inning on a double to left center field and later scored on a throwing error.

Edwards recorded her third RBI of the game in the fourth with sacrifice fly to right field. St. Clair ended the game in the fifth inning when she scored MSU’s ninth run on a passed ball.

Aspen Wesley (11-3) held the Lady Vols to only two hits in Friday night’s game. She pitched the entire game and finished with four strikeouts and four walks. She was helped out by a MSU defense that didn’t make any errors and recorded eight groundouts and three fly outs.

"They were just so good all night long. It's what we see in practice,” Ricketts said. “Sometimes people bring up our fielding percentage, we don't worry about the stats of that at all because we know how good we are defensively. Athlete after athlete all around that field, it's really fun to see them all have their moment and go out and do everything they can to make a play for their pitcher on the mound.”

MSU and Tennessee will return to action Saturday at 2:30 p.m. The game will air on SEC Network.

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. Taylor has covered all levels of sports, from small high schools in the Mississippi Delta to NFL games. Follow Taylor on Twitter and Facebook.