No. 20 Mississippi State Softball Proving Preseason Predictions Wrong

Bulldogs are off and running in 2024 with four-straight wins against ranked opponents.

STARKVILLE, Miss. – Back in January, the SEC released the preseason coaches’ poll for the 2024 softball season. The coaches predicted either Tennessee or Georgia to finish atop the conference standings and at the opposite end was Mississippi State, predicted to finish last in the SEC.

Nine games into the season, the Bulldogs are proving those predictions wrong.

Mississippi State started the season with eight consecutive wins, including four-straight against opponents ranked in the ESPN.COM/USA Softball Top 25 Poll. The Bulldogs have since climbed to No. 20 in the rankings and No. 25 in NFCA Division I Top 25 Coaches Poll.

Pitcher Aspen Wesley was named the NCAA Softball Pitcher of the Week and SEC Co-Pitcher of the Week for her complete game performances against then-No. 23 Louisiana and then-No. 5 Clemson. Wesley pitched 13 innings in the two games and allowed only one run while striking out 12 batters.

This week’s Pitcher of the Week is @aspen_wes of @HailStateSB!@michellachester breaks down her Pitcher of the Week from Week 2. Who is yours? 🤔#NCAASoftball pic.twitter.com/gnayCkHbCa

— NCAA Softball (@NCAASoftball) February 20, 2024

Wesley’s win against Louisiana started the Bulldogs’ streak of beating ranked opponents. The Bulldogs swept the double header against Louisiana and then defeated Clemson and then-No. 13 Utah at the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge in Mexico. Both Louisiana and Utah have since fallen out of the top 25, while Clemson dropped one spot to No. 9.

Wesley (3-0, 0.41 ERA) isn’t the only Bulldog pitcher contributing to the team’s success. Josey Marron (3-0, 0.86 ERA) and Matalasi Faapito (1-1, 0.60 ERA) threw back-to-back no hitters against IUPUI earlier this month at The Snowman: Alex Wilcox Memorial Tournament in Starkville. They were the first no hitters for MSU since 2021.

MSU’s defense has helped their pitchers succeed, too. The Bulldogs boast a .956 fielding percentage and have allowed only 11 runs this season and didn’t allow any runs in the first three games of the season, a streak that included Marron’s and Faapito’s no hitters.

Offensively, the Bulldogs have been just as hot with 63 runs in nine games and a .377 team batting average, including four players with a .400 batter average or better. Junior Jessie Blaine leads MSU at the plate with a .462 batting average, 11 RBI and two home runs. Aquana Brownlee (.421), Paige Cook (.421) and Madisyn Kennedy (.412) are the others.

The Bulldogs will be presented with another opportunity to prove the preseason predictions with a slate of five games in Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic, at Cathedral City, Calif. (just outside of Palm Springs). One of those games will pit MSU against the winner of the last three NCAA national championships, Oklahoma (9-0).

The Lady Sooners travel to California riding the longest win streak in NCAA softball history. Putting an end to that win streak would further prove the inaccuracy of the preseason predictions.

The following is MSU’s full schedule for the weekend:

Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic

Thursday's games 

Central Florida (6-2), 1 p.m.

• Rankings: NFCA Coaches – NR | USA Softball – NR | D1Softball – NR | Softball America – NR
• Head Coach: Cindy Ball-Malone | Record at UCF: 191-82-8 (6th Year) | Career Record: 290-198-2 (10th Year)
• Batting Average: .362 | Runs Per Game: 7.8 | Hits Per Game: 10.0 | Slugging Pct: .534
• ERA: 3.08 | K/7: 5.88 | K/BB Ratio: 1.91 | Opp. Batting Avg: .259
• Series History: 1-1 | Home: 0-0 | Away: 0-0 | Neutral: 1-1 | Current Streak: Lost 1
• Last Meeting: Feb. 19, 2023, in Clearwater, Fla. (MSU 5, UCF 6)

Notre Dame (6-2), 4 p.m.

• Rankings: NFCA Coaches – NR | USA Softball – NR | D1Softball – NR | Softball America – NR
• Head Coach: Deanna Gumpf | Record at ND: 861-369-2 (23rd Year) | Career Record: Same
• Batting Average: .313 | Runs Per Game: 4.9 | Hits Per Game: 8.3 | Slugging Pct: .408
• ERA: 3.04 | K/7: 4.75 | K/BB Ratio: 3.27 | Opp. Batting Avg: .259
• Series History: 1-1 | Home: 0-0 | Away: 0-0 | Neutral: 1-1 | Current Streak: Won 1
• Last Meeting: March 1, 2015, in Orlando, Fla. (MSU 6, ND 1)

Friday's game

No. 1 Oklahoma (9-0), 7:30 p.m.

• Rankings: NFCA Coaches – 1 | USA Softball – 1 | D1Softball – 1 | Softball America – 1
• Head Coach: Patty Gasso | Record at OU: 1,465-345-2 (30th Year) | Career Record: Same
• Batting Average: .346 | Runs Per Game: 7.4 | Hits Per Game: 9.0 | Slugging Pct: .581
• ERA: 0.50 | K/7: 7.00 | K/BB Ratio: 3.73 | Opp. Batting Avg: .151
• Series History: 0-7 | Home: 0-2 | Away: 0-1 | Neutral: 0-4 | Current Streak: Lost 7
• Last Meeting: March 10-11, 2023, OU swept series in Starkville, Miss. (G1: OU, 7-0 | G2: OU, 9-3)

Saturday's Games

Cal State Fullerton (6-3), 4:30 p.m.

• Rankings: NFCA Coaches – NR | USA Softball – NR | D1Softball – NR | Softball America – NR
• Head Coach: Kelly Ford | Record at CSUF: 377-224-1 (12th Year) | Career Record: Same
• Batting Average: .343 | Runs Per Game: 5.1 | Hits Per Game: 9.0 | Slugging Pct: .470
• ERA: 2.16 | K/7: 6.48 | K/BB Ratio: 4.50 | Opp. Batting Avg: .213
• Series History: 1-6 | Home: 0-0 | Away: 0-0 | Neutral: 1-6 | Current Streak: Lost 4
• Last Meeting: Feb. 24, 2018, in Cathedral City, Calif. (MSU 1, CSUF 4)

Fresno State (6-4), 9:30 p.m.

• Rankings: NFCA Coaches – NR | USA Softball – NR | D1Softball – NR | Softball America – NR
• Head Coach: Stacy May-Johnson | Record at FRES: 48-71 (3rd Year) | Career Record: 84-106 (5th Year)
• Batting Average: .332 | Runs Per Game: 4.6 | Hits Per Game: 9.2 | Slugging Pct: .458
• ERA: 4.90 | K/7: 4.12 | K/BB Ratio: 1.11 | Opp. Batting Avg: .255
• Series History: 1-3 | Home: 0-0 | Away: 0-1 | Neutral: 1-2 | Current Streak: Won 1
• Last Meeting: Feb. 16, 2017, in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico (MSU 4, FRES 1)

Where Mississippi State Softball Ranks After Week 2