Mississippi State Softball Team Goes 3-2 in the TaxAct Clearwater Invitational

The Bulldogs played Indiana, Arizona, Michigan, South Florida and UCF this past weekend.

The Mississippi State softball team continued the new season by going head-to-head against five talented teams this weekend in the TaxAct Clearwater Invitational.

The Bulldogs flexed their muscle on the first day, securing victories against the Indiana Hoosiers and the Arizona Wildcats.

Mississippi State opened with a dominating run-rule win over Indiana. Homeruns seemed to be the Bulldogs’ specialty as State launched a total of six homers against the Hoosiers.

Aquana Brownlee and Kiersten Landers contributed two long shots each, while Madisyn Kennedy and Macy Graf were not shy as both hit one over also. The game came to an end in the fifth inning due to the run rule. The score totaled 12-2 for a Mississippi State win.

The Bulldogs’ momentum ceased to drop as they went into their second game on Friday against No. 10 Arizona. MSU kicked it in gear early in the game and kept the Wildcats trailing. However, Arizona pried their way into getting points on the board that left the game tied at the end of the third.

Mississippi State was able to get back on safe grounds after scoring two runs in the fourth inning. Macy Graf hit a two-run homer in the seventh that secured the final score, 6-3.

Head coach Samantha Ricketts expressed her pride in the way her team came out to play on day one of the tournament.

“I’m just really proud of the way we came out and competed against a ranked team,” Ricketts said. “It’s fun to see the girls not be intimidated and not be scared and get after it and compete. That’s exactly what they did today.”

The second day was a bit shakier than the first for the Bulldogs. MSU battled No. 25 Michigan in a tightly contested game that eventually fell out of Mississippi State’s hand in the seventh inning.

From the jump, the Bulldogs scored three runs in the third inning which resulted in a hopeful start. However, errors from the field allowed Michigan to tie up the game in the fourth.

The matchup was close, but the Bulldogs let the win slide right through their gloves as Michigan came out on top, 5-4. Although the loss was tough, the Bulldogs still had a final full day of games ahead of them.

On the third and final day of the tournament, Mississippi State finished out with a 50% winning streak against South Florida and UCF.

The Bulldogs came out hot on Sunday with a shutout in their first game against the South Florida Bulls. Paige Cook was the first to help the Bulldogs get on the board with a three-run homer, followed by two more runs in the fourth inning.

MSU was able to stay sharp defensively to keep the Bulls scoreless the entire game. As the fifth inning rolled around, the Bulldogs stacked on two more runs that secured the Bulldog win, 8-0.

The Bulldogs’ victory status was short-lived after a tough loss against UCF to conclude the tournament.

The Bulldogs tried to keep up with the UCF Knights but just barely missed the mark. The two teams were tied 1-1 in the first inning, but UCF powered through to gain the advantage. As the game came to a close, MSU was only trailing by one.

Mississippi State failed to score any runs in the seventh inning, leaving the score 5-6 in the hands of the Knights.

Ricketts spoke on the team’s performance during such a close game.

“I thought it was a hard-fought game,” Head coach Ricketts said. “I liked our response and how we continued to fight. That’s another quality opponent that’s a Super Regional team [last year]. That’s exactly where we want to be, and we’ve got to figure out a way to clean things up.”

The Bulldogs now hold a 6-4 overall record in this young season, as they went 3-2 in the TaxAct Clearwater Invitational this past weekend.

Next, Mississippi State will compete in the South Alabama Invitational against Tulsa, South Alabama, Louisiana Tech and Furman in Mobile, Alabama this upcoming weekend.