Mississippi

Softball: Mississippi State falls twice Saturday, bows out of NCAA Tournament

Published

2 years ago

May 20, 2024

Softball: Mississippi State falls twice Saturday, bows out of NCAA Tournament

In the end, the bats never woke up.

A year after Mississippi State finished last in the Southeastern Conference in both batting average and on-base percentage, the Bulldogs boasted one of the SEC’s top offenses for much of 2024. But starting with a mid-April loss to South Alabama, MSU entered Saturday averaging a mere 1.5 runs per game over its last 10 contests.

The Bulldogs scored just one run, total, in a 2-1 loss to No. 8 Stanford and a 7-0 defeat to Cal State Fullerton on Saturday as their season came to a premature conclusion in the NCAA regionals.

“It’s always tough when you see a season come to an end,” head coach Samantha Ricketts said. “That’s not how we hoped this weekend would go, but overall, there’s a lot to be proud of with this group, particularly the senior class and what it took for us to get back to this point. The work really started a year ago when we didn’t hear our name last year. We knew that wasn’t up to our standard and what we’ve been working so hard to build.”

MSU (34-20) held the Cardinal to just two runs on six hits in the winners’ bracket game, but against the nation’s ERA leader in NiJaree Canady, those two runs were enough for Stanford. Center fielder Sierra Sacco touched up Canady for a solo home run on the first pitch of the fourth inning, just her second long ball of the year. Other than that, though, MSU managed just two singles in the game.

The Cardinal (46-14) opened the scoring in the second when Bulldogs third baseman Nadia Barbary made an errant throw to first base after fielding a bunt, putting the leadoff batter at second. Jade Berry followed with an RBI double to give her team the lead, and Ava Gall’s solo homer an inning later put Stanford ahead by two. Canady struck out 13 MSU hitters and issued just one walk to make sure the lead stood up.

“She’s a great pitcher. We knew there were going to be strikeouts,” Ricketts said. “We knew she was going to be tough. We can do a little bit better job of swinging within our game plan and our approach because you’re not going to get a whole lot of mistakes with a pitcher like that (in the circle).”

Cal State Fullerton, after losing to the Bulldogs on Friday, defeated Saint Mary’s in Saturday’s first elimination game, so MSU and the Titans met again Saturday night with a trip to the regional final on the line. Sophomore Josey Marron, making her first career postseason appearance, held Fullerton scoreless through four innings, but the Bulldogs likewise could not crack the scoreboard against Titans ace Haley Rainey.

Like Marron, Rainey relies on her drop ball to generate ground ball outs, giving MSU a different look after facing the flamethrowing, rise ball specialist Canady earlier in the day. Rainey issued five walks but surrendered just three hits in six shutout innings before Leanna Garcia closed out the Bulldogs’ season in the seventh. MSU was 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position.

Fullerton (39-19) put up a seven-spot in the bottom of the fifth to turn a scoreless game into a blowout. Hannah Becerra’s infield single drove in the game’s first run, Peyton Toto singled in two more and then Colby McClinton broke the game wide open with a grand slam off Aspen Wesley, who had relieved Marron following Toto’s hit.

An eight-member senior class — Wesley, Paige Cook, Brylie St. Clair, Madisyn Kennedy, Matalasi Faapito, Kat Wallace, Lexi Sosa and Aquana Brownlee — has played its final game with the Bulldogs. But MSU had three underclassmen starting in the infield this season, a freshman behind the plate and youngsters Marron and Delainey Everett as part of the pitching staff, so the foundation to build on this year’s success is there.

“We’re really excited about the future of this program, and we’ve brought in such great athletes the last couple of years,” Ricketts said. “You see the young talent, the freshmen up the middle that we’ve had and behind the plate mixed with those fifth-year seniors. It was just really special. They had a great chance to learn from those upperclassmen with a lot of experience, and they’ll be able to pass it on next year to another big recruiting class we have coming in.”

Mississippi State softball MSU

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Mississippi

How Mississippi State’s Tomas Valincius dominated third straight SEC team vs Ole Miss

Published

19 hours ago

March 28, 2026

Press Room

How Mississippi State’s Tomas Valincius dominated third straight SEC team vs Ole Miss

OXFORD — Tomas Valincius struck out top Ole Miss baseball batter Tristan Bissetta looking on his last pitch of the game.

There was no emotion from the Mississippi State starting pitcher as he walked back to the dugout after Bissetta was the fourth straight Ole Miss batter to strike out.

It was another instance of Valincius, the left-handed Virginia transfer, showing a trait that’s made him such a dominant pitcher for the No. 4 Bulldogs. The longer Valincius pitches, the better he gets.

The sophomore pitched another five shutout innings as MSU (23-4, 5-2 SEC) took down No. 18 Ole Miss, 6-1, at Swayze Field on March 28 to win the series.

“It’s all mental,” Valincius said. “Just going out there and just kind of trusting yourself and all the work you put in throughout the week. And even when you don’t have your stuff, it’s still a war between every battle in every inning. It’s kind of like finding a way to do what you can do with what you got.”

The win clinched the Bulldogs’ ninth series against the Rebels (19-9, 3-5) in the last 10 meetings. Another win March 29 (3 p.m., SEC Network) would make Brian O’Connor the third straight first-year MSU coach to sweep Ole Miss.

Valincius (6-0) hasn’t allowed an earned run in 19 SEC innings and his season ERA dropped to 0.91.

Against the Rebels, one game after striking out a career-high 14 batters against Vanderbilt, Valincius recorded nine strikeouts with three hits, two walks and one hit by pitch in 90 pitches.

“He buckled down when runners were in scoring position,” O’Connor said. “He’s always best in his middle innings. You see him just rise his game up.”

Why Tomas Valincius could’ve done even better against Ole Miss

While the Ole Miss game was Valincius’ third SEC start without allowing an earned run, it was his shortest outing of the three. The other two against Arkansas and Vanderbilt both lasted seven innings.

Valincius stranded six Ole Miss batters on base in his five innings.

“Early on, I didn’t really feel like I had anything going,” Valincius said. “I was kind of just finding a way to win. That was kind of my whole approach throughout the whole game. I couldn’t really figure out the slider and fastball command. It wasn’t working a lot. I just found a way to win.”

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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Mississippi

Mother, her 2 daughters among 5 killed in collision between train and van

Published

1 day ago

March 28, 2026

Press Room

Mother, her 2 daughters among 5 killed in collision between train and van

STONE COUNTY, Miss. (WLOX/Gray News) — Multiple people were killed in a crash between a train and a van on Friday afternoon in Mississippi.

Stone County Sheriff Todd Stewart said the crash happened around 1 p.m. on Pump Branch Road. First responders had to cut through the woods to get to the wreckage.

There were six people in the van at the time of the crash, Stewart said. Stone County Coroner Wayne Flurry confirmed five of them died in the crash.

Multiple people are dead after a crash between a train and a van in Mississippi. (WLOX)

The sixth person was airlifted to New Orleans.

The five victims were identified as 26-year-old Ryan C. Peterson, who was a corrections officer with the Harrison County Sheriff’s Department, 23-year-old Demarcus Perkins, 45-year-old Kristina Carver, and Carver’s two daughters, 22-year-old Emley Chamblee and 20-year-old Sarabeth Chamblee.

Nearby resident Pam Olson has been sounding the alarm on the Pump Branch Road railroad crossing for some time. She was tending to her garden with her husband when the sound of screeching brakes made them jolt.

“We heard it,” explained Olson. “My husband and I were in the yard working on our flowerbeds. I told my husband a train hit another vehicle. My husband ran up there and said, ‘Pam, it’s bad.’”

A recent report from the Stone County Enterprise outlines another wreck in the same spot, which resulted in the driver of a pickup truck being airlifted. Stewart also pointed out a fatal train accident in Stone County happened at the location in 2023, claiming the life of a Wiggins woman.

“This’d be the second incident in the last four to five weeks involving fatalities and the third incident in the last year, all involving fatalities,” explained Stewart. “To date, we’ve lost seven folks within the last year.”

The crossing does not have crossing arms or lights. Stone County District 1 Supervisor Jimmy Springs said he previously reached out to Mississippi Department of Transportation railroad engineers and was told crossing arms are on the way for two crossings, including the one at Pump Branch Road. However, it could take a year for them to be installed.

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Mississippi

CLASH Endurance triathlon begins on Mississippi Gulf Coast

Published

2 days ago

March 27, 2026

Press Room

CLASH Endurance triathlon begins on Mississippi Gulf Coast

GULFPORT, Miss. (WLOX) — The CLASH Endurance triathlon officially started along the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

Maya Reilly placed first in the collegiate female draft-legal division.

“I placed first, so I’m pretty stoked about that,” Reilly said.

Winning a triathlon means beating competitors from across the country and around the world in swimming, biking and running.

“Definitely a lot of hours goes into the sport, but the actual race was tough. It was like full gas, swim, bike, and run, so over an hour. And I’m excited to be able to be done and take home the win,” Reilly said.

Maya Reilly placed first in the collegiate female draft-legal division.(WLOX)

Athletes praise Gulf Coast hospitality

It’s CLASH Endurance’s first year on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, and athletes say the experience is just as memorable as the competition.

“I have had such a great time down here in the south. It’s, like, the nicest people I’ve ever met. The culture is amazing. The music’s great. The food’s great. Honestly, nothing but positive for me. It’s awesome,” said Annette Zavala of the UC Davis Triathlon Team.

“I really like this course. It was really cool to see them swim in the marina. The course was very accessible to view, which I really appreciated,” said Sophia Najera of the UC Davis Triathlon Team.

It’s CLASH Endurance’s first year on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, and athletes say the... — It’s CLASH Endurance’s first year on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, and athletes say the experience is just as memorable as the competition.(WLOX)

More than 28 countries and all 50 states are represented, bringing a boost to the coastal economy.

“All of the athletes who are visiting coastal Mississippi, they’re staying in the hotels, they’re visiting the restaurants, they’re shopping, and they’re not just staying for a night or two. Some of them are staying and playing,” said Blair Lahaye, CLASH Endurance vice president of communications.

Athletes say it’s the support from the crowd and each other that pushes them across the finish line.

“You might have the worst mindset out there, but just hearing someone believe in you, like, that’s sometimes all you need to move forward,” Zavala said.

“I could not have gone through half the races I did, half the trainings I did, without the support of my teammates. We’re really excited to come race tomorrow, and we were super glad to get to be able to cheer on our teammates today,” Najera said.