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Mississippi College softball wins first game in first hosted NCAA Regional

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Mississippi College softball wins first game in first hosted NCAA Regional


CLINTON, Miss. (WLBT) – Mississippi College took on West Alabama (34-18) in game one of their very first home NCAA Regional Thursday night.

The Choctaws started scoring early, with senior catcher McCall Lee sending her first at-bat over the wall and giving MC their first lead of the game, 2-0. West Alabama found their way around the bases at the top of the 4th inning to make it 2-1, but the Choctaws responded well over the next three innings.

Mississippi College didn’t allow another run for the rest of the ball game as senior pitcher Camryn Bailey finished the day with eight strikeouts.

The Choctaws scored four more runs by the bottom of the seventh inning, winning the contest 6-1.

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After coming up short in the Gulf South Conference Championship game last week, the team was determined to get back to their winning ways in NCAA Regional play.

“After the tournament, we all just decided that we need to take things and play our game with it,” Lee said. “Not play anyone else’s game but do what we do. I think today we really showed that. We stayed calm and did exactly what Mississippi College softball does, and if we continue to do that I think this regional will work out in our favor.”

“We played really good today,” Bailey added. ” We had fun today compared to the last game we played. We all played as a team. We all played as one and today was a good start to the tournament.”

“We just played relaxed,” head coach Brooke O’Hair said about the team’s performance in game one. “We had fun with each other and we kept encouraging each other and just did our jobs.”

Mississippi College will take on Tampa in Round 2 of the Clinton Regional on Friday at 12 p.m.

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Mississippi leaders catch TDS because of Bennie Thompson

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Mississippi leaders catch TDS because of Bennie Thompson


Mississippi politicians have been afflicted with TDS, or Thompson Derangement Syndrome. Many Republicans seem obsessed with 2nd District U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson, the lone Democrat and only Black person in Mississippi’s congressional delegation.



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Game Time Set for Oklahoma and Mississippi State’s Super Regional Finale

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Game Time Set for Oklahoma and Mississippi State’s Super Regional Finale


NORMAN — The schedule for Sunday’s winner-take-all Game 3 in the Norman Super Regional is set. 

Oklahoma will battle Mississippi State at 1:30 p.m. at Love’s Field, and the game will be broadcast on ESPN.

The Bulldogs roared back in Friday’s series-opener to notch an 11-9 victory over 3-seeded OU to put Patty Gasso’s team on the brink of elimination. 

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But the Sooners responded emphatically on Saturday. 

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Oklahoma plated seven runs in the top of the third inning to get a foothold in the series, and Audrey Lowry was excellent in the circle to bring home a 7-1 win. 


How to Watch Game 3 of the Norman Super Regional

  • When: Sunday, May 24
  • Where: Love’s Field
  • Time: 1:30 p.m.
  • Channel: ESPN


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The winner of Sunday’s contest will advance to the 2026 Women’s College World Series, where they will play either 6-seeded Florida or 11-seeded Texas Tech next Thursday, as the Gators and the Red Raiders will also clash in a Game 3 in the Gainesville Super Regional on Sunday. 

Friday’s defeat was Oklahoma’s first in a Super Regional since 2015, and it snapped a 31-game NCAA Tournament winning streak at home. It was also the first NCAA Tournament game that the Sooners had lost at Love’s Field. 

A victory on Sunday would see OU get back to the WCWS in Oklahoma City for the 10th-straight tournament. The last time the Sooners were not in the WCWS field was 2015.

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Friday was Mississippi State’s first Super Regional win in program history. The Bulldogs’ only other trip to a Super Regional came in 2022, where Mississippi State lost both games to Arizona.

Former OU star and current Mississippi State head coach Samantha Ricketts is looking to take the Bulldogs to their first WCWS in program history with a win on Sunday. 

Both coaching staffs will have big pitching decisions to make on Sunday. 

Lowry only needed 87 pitches to notch the victory on Saturday, but Mississippi State did score five runs on six hits in 1 1/3 innings of work by Lowry on Friday. 

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The Bulldogs also saw OU right-hander Miali Guachino and senior Sydney Berzon on Friday. 

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Conversely, Oklahoma’s hitters have gotten good looks at each of Mississippi State’s key pitchers. 

Alyssa Faircloth started on Friday for the Bulldogs, and she allowed five runs on five hits and issued three walks in 2 1/3 innings. Peja Goold, the other top starter for Mississippi State, gave up a monster home run to Kendall Wells on Friday and threw just 17 pitches. 

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Saturday was worse for Mississippi State. 

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Goold started and lasted 2 2/3 innings. She gave up most of the damage in the third, finishing with five runs and five walks allowed while OU posted three hits. Goold threw 66 pitches on Saturday before Ricketts went to Faircloth. 

Faircloth pitched 4 1/3 innings, allowing two runs and a walk on three hits, but she threw 72 pitches in the loss. 

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Why Samantha Ricketts said Mississippi State beat OU for first super regional win

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Why Samantha Ricketts said Mississippi State beat OU for first super regional win


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  • Mississippi State softball defeated No. 3 seed Oklahoma 11-9 in its first-ever super regional win.
  • The Bulldogs scored nine runs in the final two innings to overcome multiple deficits.
  • This was Mississippi State’s first victory against Oklahoma in program history.

Considering Mississippi State softball was playing in just its third NCAA Tournament super regional game, few outside of Starkville were optimistic about the Bulldogs’ chances against national power Oklahoma.

However, despite facing the No. 3 seed Sooners (51-9), who have made the Women’s College World Series every time since 2016, the Bulldogs (42-18) managed to pick up their first super regional win. The Bulldogs took down the Sooners 11-9 at Love’s Field in Norman, Oklahoma on May 22.

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“Just really love the fight they showed,” said Mississippi State coach Samantha Ricketts, who was an All-American at Oklahoma. “It was just up and down the lineup. People who started in the lineup, who entered it later in the game, and that’s really been kind of the M.O. for this group all year long. They embrace their roles. They’re ready to come out and attack.”

Mississippi State had to fight back from several multi-run deficits to win. The Bulldogs trailed by four entering the sixth inning and by three entering the seventh. They scored nine runs in the final two innings to earn the win.

“A lot of times this season, our pitchers have had our back, and I thought this time, the offense did a really good job having the pitchers’ backs,” Ricketts said.

It’s the first time Mississippi State has beaten Oklahoma after being 0-11 against the Sooners entering the series. The victory also puts the Bulldogs just one win away from making it to the Women’s College World Series for the first time in program history.

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“Just really proud of this team for the fight, the grit they showed, and just knowing that this is what we’ve really worked hard for, and they really, truly believed that we’d come out here to compete,” Ricketts said.

Unlike the previous three seasons, Mississippi State did not face Oklahoma in the regular season. This was the first time the two teams had met in the postseason.

Still, Ricketts believes that a tough SEC schedule that resulted in a 9-15 conference record and a 10th-place finish helped prepare the Bulldogs for the series.

“We talk all the time that in the SEC, in our conference, every weekend’s like a super regional,” Ricketts said. “So, we felt like our schedule this season had really prepared us for this weekend.”

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Game 2 of the series will be played May 23 (noon CT, ESPN).

Tia Reid covers Jackson State sports for the Clarion Ledger. Email her at treid@usatodayco.com and follow her on X @tiareid65.



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