MSU Softball Starts Season Strong With NFCA Leadoff Classic Win

CLEARWATER, Fla. (MSU Athletics) – Mississippi State’s first four batters set the tone for a dominant day at the plate as the Bulldogs (4-0) claimed a 9-0 run-rule victory in five innings against NC State (2-3) on Sunday.

State won the NFCA Leadoff Classic with a perfect record through four games and earned the title based on average run differential (+5.5). MSU led the tournament with .343 average and smacked seven doubles, driving in 26 runs.

The Bulldog pitching staff threw two shutouts and allowed just two earned runs for a tournament-leading 0.52 ERA. Grace Fagan, Annie Willis and Emily Williams combined for 36 strikeouts over four games and held opponents to a .160 batting average.

“I saw a lot of really good things from our team this weekend,” head coach Samantha Ricketts said. “I really like what our pitching staff did. I thought Coach Josh [Johnson] and them have really been working hard. He called a great game, and they’ve really bought in and were mixing speeds and locations.”

From the very first inning, MSU took control of the contest on Sunday. After Fagan retired the Wolfpack in order, State’s first three hitters all reached. Chloe Malau’ulu then kicked off the offensive fireworks with a grand slam to center field. It was the Bulldogs’ second grand slam in as many days, and two of Malau’ulu’s three hits on the weekend left the yard.

Fagan then settled into a rhythm, retiring the next five batters in order while registering four of her eight strikeouts. The Bulldogs pushed another run across in the bottom of the fourth inning when Candace Denis hit a sacrifice fly.

When the Wolfpack managed their only threat of the day in the top of the fifth, Jackie McKenna picked off two runners to erase Fagan’s walk and a hit by pitch. Segars doubled home a run in the bottom half of the inning before Denis hit a three-run homer for a walk-off, run-rule victory.

“I think it was a really good weekend,” “It was good for our confidence. We’re trying to get them to understand that we’re going to perform like an elite team, and that’s what we want to do. Teams are going to come at us with their best effort. I want them to be confident in themselves and each other when they’re out there and play like it.”

State now returns to Starkville for its home opener on Wednesday before hosting the Bulldog Kickoff Classic on the weekend.