No. 20 MSU Softball Cruises to Midweek Win Against Alabama State
MONTGOMERY, Ala. – No. 20 Mississippi State’s midweek trip to Alabama State was perfectly timed. The Bulldogs made the three-hour drive to the reigning National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) National Player of the Week’s hometown.
However, the Bulldogs (22-6, 3-3 SEC) didn’t have to rely on Madisyn Kennedy’s hot bat as they cruised to a 10-2 victory.
Kennedy extended her reached-base streak to a career-high 15 games with a walk in the fifth inning. But it was Sierra Sacco who got the MSU offense going. Sacco hit a three-run triple in the second inning for the first runs of the game and Nadia Barbary hit a home run to center field on the first patch of her at-bat to give MSU a 5-0 lead.
Paige Cook extended the Bulldogs’ lead to 7-0 with a two-run home run in the fifth inning. Alabama State scored a pair of runs in the sixth inning and MSU answered in the next half inning with three runs, two of which were unearned runs, to account for the 10-2 final score.
"Definitely good to see [Paige and Nadia] getting comfortable," MSU coach Samantha Ricketts said. "They're ones at the top of our lineup that we need consistent, and we can always expect quality at-bats from them, picking up RBIs.
Delainey Everett (4-0) was credited with the win inside the circle for MSU. Everett pitched four innings and allowed two earned runs on two hits and a walk while striking out seven batters. Lexi Sosa started the game for MSU and allowed only one hit and struck out one batter.
"It was good to get Delainey some strong innings” Ricketts said. She seems to get better every outing. She's competitive. She wants the ball. I thought she attacked very well today early in at-bats, which was good to see. It was good to see her settle in."
Wednesday’s victory gives the Bulldogs a two-game win streak as they head into a weekend series against No. 18 Arkansas (23-6, 2-1 SEC). All three games will air on SEC Network+. Game times are set for 6 p.m. Friday, 2 p.m. Saturday and noon Sunday.
