Mississippi

Softball: Mississippi State sweeps doubleheader from No. 23 Louisiana

Published

2 years ago

February 14, 2024

Softball: Mississippi State sweeps doubleheader from No. 23 Louisiana

STARKVILLE — It’s never too early to start building that NCAA Tournament resume. Especially for a team that narrowly missed out on the postseason a year ago.

Mississippi State picked up a pair of wins Tuesday that are likely to age well over the next three months, sweeping a doubleheader from No. 23 Louisiana — the nine-time reigning Sun Belt Conference champions and a program that advanced to the Super Regionals last spring.

Aspen Wesley and Josey Marron each allowed just one run on five hits in complete-game victories as the Bulldogs run-ruled the Ragin’ Cajuns 9-1 in six innings in the first game and edged Louisiana 2-1 in the nightcap.

“It’s really what we’ve been working for since the end of last year,” MSU head coach Samantha Ricketts said. “I don’t think it’s really been a surprise for us. We’ve worked really hard and our goal is to go out there and prove ourselves right, knowing that we’ve put in the work to be here and to compete with these teams.”

The Bulldogs (6-0) jumped on Ragin’ Cajuns ace Sam Landry in the first inning of the opener. They loaded the bases on three straight one-out singles and eventually brought all three runners home when Aquana Brownlee was hit by a pitch, Paige Cook beat the throw to the plate on Ella Wesolowski’s grounder to third and Madisyn Kennedy hit a sacrifice fly.

Louisiana (4-3) then went to the bullpen to save Landry for the second game, and MSU’s offensive onslaught continued. Nadia Barbary, who had three hits in Game 1, laced an RBI double in the second, and run-scoring hits in the fourth from Jessie Blaine and Brownlee further padded the Bulldogs’ lead.

“I made sure to get extra work in before this game,” Barbary said. “Just allowing the hard work that I put in to do what I did in the game today.”

Meanwhile, Wesley kept the Ragin’ Cajuns off balance, with the visitors’ only run coming in the third inning on a passed ball. Louisiana had plenty of opportunities but was just 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position.

MSU failed to score after loading the bases with nobody out in the fifth with a chance to end the game early, but the Bulldogs opened the sixth with four consecutive hits, the last one by Brylie St. Clair to drive in Wesolowski and invoke the run rule.

After pitching just one inning in the first game, Landry started Game 2 as well, and MSU again got to her right away. Sierra Sacco bunted for a hit to lead off the first inning, Barbary singled to left, and after a double steal moved the runners to second and third, Blaine doubled to bring them both home. Landry settled down after that and held the Bulldogs scoreless the rest of the way, but Marron made sure the early runs stood up.

The Ragin’ Cajuns put two runners in scoring position with one out in the fourth before Marron got a strikeout and a fly ball to left to escape the jam. In the same situation two innings later, Marron got the second out on a ground ball that brought home Louisiana’s first run, but she then struck out pinch-hitter Denali Loecker to strand the tying run on third. She proceeded to close out the victory with a perfect seventh.

“I’ve been catching Josey for a long time, and every moment that we have to play on this big stage, the chemistry comes in handy,” said Blaine, a transfer from Auburn who was a travel ball teammate of Marron’s. “It’s really full circle for my career.”

MSU heads south of the border to Mexico this weekend for the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge, where the Bulldogs will play UC Davis and UC San Diego on Friday before facing No. 13 Utah and No. 8 Clemson on Saturday. The Utes reached the Women’s College World Series in 2023, while the Tigers pushed eventual national champion Oklahoma in the Super Regionals and have the reigning USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year in Valerie Cagle.

Ricketts said MSU will be staying at an all-inclusive resort across the street from the field, and the Bulldogs will also help run a softball camp for kids in the area on Saturday.

“You get to feel the culture a little bit. The games, they announce you in English and Spanish, they’re playing the music, and the whole town comes out to support,” Ricketts said. “We definitely try to let them enjoy it, especially a trip like this when probably at least half our team has never been out of the country. So let them have some fun, but then knowing we’ve got another four really good games and solid opponents coming up this week too.”

Mississippi State softball MSU

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Mississippi

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

Published

13 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.