Mississippi
Mississippi State’s Season Comes to an End at NCAA Regional Tournament
STANFORD, Calif. – A series of weird and unlucky events put an end to Mississippi State’s season late Saturday night at the hands of Cal State Fullerton.
Facing elimination after losing 2-1 to Stanford earlier Saturday, the Bulldogs had to wait until just before 10 p.m. in Starkville for their fight to stay alive in the Stanford Regional of the NCAA Softball Tournament. Unfortunately for their fans, the Bulldogs lost that fight against Cal State Fullerton 7-0 in a game that ended after midnight in Mississippi.
A little more than 24 hours before Saturday’s game, MSU defeated Cal State Fullerton 1-0 to open the NCAA Regional. It seemed the elimination game would be a repeat of that game. MSU’s Josey Marron and Cal State Fullerton’s Haley Rainey had allowed just five total hits and struck out eight batters prior to the bottom of the fifth inning.
That’s when Cal State Fullerton turned a series of lucky hits and a successful challenge into a seven-run inning.
KK Christie led off for Cal State Fullerton with a ground out to third base, but Megan Delgadillo slap-hit a blooper single to shallow left field, just out of reach of MSU shortstop Kylie Edwards and outfielder Brylie St. Clair.
The wind kept it in, but we’ve got a leadoff baserunner!
📺 https://t.co/RyfSTm3aYU#HailState🐶 pic.twitter.com/ZCx6ai2oVO
— Mississippi State Softball (@HailStateSB) May 19, 2024
The next batter, Bailey Wallace, appeared to reach base on bunt, but was called back to the batter’s box. On the very next pitch, Delgadillo was initially called out on a steal attempt, but a coach’s challenge overturned the call. After the challenge, Wallace was hit by a pitch, putting runners at first and second base.
Cal State Fullerton loaded the bases on a hard hit ground ball to Edwards and a scored the game’s first run on another hard hit ground ball to third baseman Nadia Barbary, who kept the ball in front of her but wasn’t able to record an out.
With the momentum fully on its side, Cal State Fullerton’s offense came to life. Peyton Toto drove in a pair of runs with a single through the left side of MSU’s defense. Aspen Wesley, who had pitched 10 innings in the Stanford Regional already, came in to relive Marron and gave up a single to her first batter, which loaded the bases once again.
Colby McClinton took full advantage of the situation for the Lady Titans and smashed a grand slam home run to left field that put her team up 7-0.
The Bulldogs had their own bases-loaded opportunity in the sixth inning, but it ended on Ella Wesolowski’s first-pitch double play ground out.
Cal State Fullerton advances to face Stanford in the NCAA Regional final at 4 p.m. Sunday.
Mississippi
An 1850s Parsonage in Natchez, Mississippi, Is Selling for the First Time in Over a Century
A 174-year-old brick parsonage house on a bluff above the Mississippi River is now for sale in Natchez, Mississippi, asking $1.985 million.
The home, completed in 1852, was built by architect James Hardie as a residence for Methodist ministers, according to historical records. The land was donated by Peter Little, a wealthy cotton broker and slave owner who built the city’s historic Rosalie mansion.
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The house was initially built as a one-story residence with an “English” basement and a carriage house; a two-story annex was added later, according to the listing with Douglas Adams of Crescent Sotheby’s International Realty, informed by the Historic Natchez Foundation.
“The location is what is superb because it is one of the highest points in Natchez overlooking the Mississippi River,” said Adams, who posted the listing Thursday.
In 1893, the Parsonage changed hands for the last time when it was purchased by James and Agnes Metcalfe, and has been in the Metcalfe family ever since.
Known as the Parsonage, the residence is considered a classic example of Greek Revival architecture from the pre-Civil War South, with a wide portico, raised porch and sash windows. It is located on South Broadway Street, in a commanding position that overlooks Bluff Park, the Mississippi and downtown Natchez. It spans 6,500 square feet with five bedrooms, two formal parlors flanking a central hall and richly detailed interiors that include original exposed-brick walls, fireplaces and stained-glass windows.
In addition to a front porch, the property includes several outdoor terraces and balconies, including a second-floor wraparound deck and a balustraded rooftop—which has the best vantage point from which to see the wide views.
The home was occupied for many years by the late Albert and Gay Metcalfe, who married at the Parsonage in 1959, and would host events for friends. “It became something of a social hub,” Adams said. “They’d host families to celebrate someone’s life; there may have been some weddings that occurred there.”
Gay Metcalfe died in 2023 and the heirs are her three children, Adams said. The family couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.
Hardie, the architect, was a Scottish immigrant who built several other notable buildings in Natchez, including most prominently St. Mary Basilica, a Gothic Revival structure on the National Register of Historic Places, and the Homewood plantation, a Greek Revival mansion.
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According to local lore, the Parsonage was commissioned by Little because his wife, Eliza’s religious devotion led her to welcome every passing minister into their home, according to “Natchez,” a 1940s history of the city. Displeased with the “long siege of such guests,” Little decided to build a separate home for his wife’s visitors.
Little’s own mansion at Rosalie still stands today near the site of the 1729 massacre of the Natchez Native Americans, from whom the city takes its name.
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Measuring Mississippi State baseball’s concern level after sweep by Georgia at home
STARKVILLE — Mississippi State baseball swept its previous two SEC opponents but fell on the other end against Georgia.
No. 4 MSU (25-7, 7-5 SEC) was swept by No. 5 Georgia (27-6, 10-2) at Dudy Noble Field. It was the first time MSU was swept under first-year coach Brian O’Connor.
Mississippi State lost 10-9 on April 2, 3-1 on April 3 and 8-5 in 10 innings on April 4.
The three straight losses created the longest losing streak of the season. Georgia’s last sweep of MSU at Dudy Noble Field was in 2004.
“I’m not concerned,” O’Connor said. “Listen, you see it all over the place in this league. People get swept and things like that. When I talk to the team, I talk about taking each game like its own individual game.
“… There were certainty plenty of bright spots, but just not enough. I believe we got away from what got us to this point for whatever reason. We have to own that; we have to stand up as men and acknowledge what happened and make the adjustments to get back on the right track and play winning Mississippi State baseball.”
Star third baseman Ace Reese launched a shot that looked like it was going to win Game 3 in the ninth inning, but it was caught at the warning track.
“It’s not concerning at all,” Reese said. “We’re a great ball club. I know what we can do. It was just unfortunate. We didn’t play good enough. We didn’t hit in situations well enough, and we didn’t pitch at the right time well enough.”
What Brian O’Connor wants more of from Mississippi State baseball
O’Connor said he agreed with a reporter’s observation that there was negative body language from Mississippi State players throughout the series.
“Words matter, and I met with the team before the stretch this morning and talked to them specifically about that and what a winner’s mentality looks like,” O’Connor said. “We just have to be better from that standpoint. We have to grow in that area. We showed some immaturity this weekend, and Georgia exposed that.”
Mississippi State fell behind 10-2 in Game 1 in the fifth inning after a poor start from Charlie Foster and relief appearance by Jack Gleason. MSU scored seven unanswered runs after that but failed to drive in the tying run in the ninth inning.
MSU got another outstanding pitching start from Tomas Valincius in Game 2, but never scored after the first inning. Game 3 was tied at 5-5 through six innings until Michael O’Shaughnessy hit a three-run home run in the 10th inning.
Mississippi State left 32 batters on base throughout the series and batted 1-for-22 in the final two games with runners in scoring position.
Georgia also scored numerous runs throughout the series because of passed balls and wild pitches.
“Just overall a tough weekend,” O’Connor said. “That can happen in this league. It’s no excuse. We don’t accept it. We just have to learn from it and play be a little bit more tough-minded and approach the game the right way.”
Sam Sklar is the Mississippi State beat reporter for The Clarion Ledger. Email him at ssklar@usatodayco.com and follow him on X @sklarsam_.
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