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.”

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