Mississippi State lost its series finale against No. 20 LSU by a score of 5-3 on Sunday, April 26. The game ended the Bulldogs’ hopes for their first sweep of the year.
The matchup saw LSU take an early lead with a two-run home run in the first inning, but Mississippi State’s Nadia Barbary answered with a two-run homer to tie the game. The Tigers added another run in the third inning before being held off at home plate, and Mississippi State tied it again in the fifth with an RBI ground out from Kinley Keller. However, LSU secured victory with a two-run homer in the sixth inning.
Head coach Samantha Ricketts said, “I think we saw a lot of good things, a lot that we’d really been intentional about the last few weeks at practice and hasn’t turned out our way in the games. I think if we can continue to commit to staying hungry and attacking the way we do each and every day, we’re going to continue to see a lot of good things happen for this program. I think we’re definitely on the right track. We have a lot of faith in our pitching staff, what we’ve got in the circle, and our offense. We have to stay hungry. You can’t get complacent. We can’t just settle after two wins. We want three. Credit to them, they’re a great team and they’re going to take advantage when we have some mistakes out there, and it’s always going to be a battle in this conference.”
Paige Ernstes and Xiane Romero had strong performances during the series for Mississippi State; Romero went four-for-eight with one home run while Ernstes was four-for-nine with two homers over three games.
Ricketts also commented on her pitching staff: “I think the second time going through a lineup like that, you knew it was going to be a staff day and just trying to minimize as best we can. A couple mistakes here and there hurt us, but our pitchers have carried us all season long… I’m looking forward to seeing how we come back and bounce back next weekend at Ole Miss.” Nadia Barbary reflected on her own performance: “After Friday night when I hit the top of the wall, I was not too confident that the ball was going over… It’s great to win the series.”
The Bulldogs will close their regular season next weekend at Ole Miss starting Thursday evening.
