For a brief moment it looked like the ghosts of Mississippi State’s past had come back to haunt the Bulldogs.

Missouri, who hadn’t won an SEC game until last weekend, trailed Mississippi State 12-0 headed into the bottom of the sixth inning. Then, like several other Mississippi State opponents have done this season, the Tigers started a comeback.

The Tigers scored seven unanswered runs, avoiding a run-rule defeat and putting them within striking distance (12-7) of a win. That must’ve woken the Bulldogs back up because what happened next wasn’t pretty.

Mississippi State scored three runs in the eighth inning to rebuild its lead and then went on to score 10 more runs in the ninth inning (in such a fashion to make one wonder, can we just offer mercy and be done?) and finish with a season-high 25 runs scored.

The Bulldogs set the single-game school record by slugging eight home runs in a 25-7 nine-inning victory over the Tigers at Taylor Stadium.

Reed Stallman, Ace Reese and Hunter Hines all hit two home runs with Hines’ second blast tying him with Rafael Palmeiro (1982-85) for the most career homers in MSU history at 67. Noah Sullivan and Joe Powell also went deep for the Bulldogs in their season-high 23-hit attack.

Sullivan finished the night 3-for-5 with homer and two RBIs while Reese, Hines and Bryce Chance were 3-for-6. Reese and Hines both added doubles to their two-homer games with Reese driving in four and Hines three. Chance provided three singles and had two RBIs. Stallman went 2-for-3 with two homers and three RBIs, Gatlin Sanders went 2-for-4 wtih two singles and an RBI while Sawyer Reeves was 2-for-5 with two singles and drove in one.

Steven Spalitta added a pinch hit two-run triple and Gehrig Frei doubled as State improved to 32-20 overall and 13-15 in conference play.

Stone Simmons picked up the win in 1 1/3 innings of relief to up his record to 4-2 on the year. Nate Williams earned his first save as a Bulldog after working the final three frames.

State continues the series with Missouri on Friday at 6 p.m. and Saturday at 2 p.m. with both games streamed on SEC Network+.

NATCHEZ – A record high number of Mississippi third-graders passed the state reading assessment on the first attempt this spring, prompting praise from statewide education leaders.

“These results are outstanding. The MDE applauds all educators and families across the state that make literacy a priority,” said Dr. Lance Evans, state superintendent of education. “With a continued emphasis on the science of reading as well as implementation of high-quality instructional materials, we believe Mississippi students will continue to make progress.”

A total of 32,839 third graders took the assessment. In 2023-24, 75.7% of third graders passed the initial administration of the reading assessment. After the final retests in 2023-24, 84% of third graders passed the test.

In accordance with the Literacy-Based Promotion Act (LBPA), third graders who do not pass the initial administration of the reading test are given up to two attempts to retest. Students who did not pass the initial reading assessment retested in early May. The second retest window is June 16 – 27.

Area district performance included:

Natchez-Adams County School District

McLaurin Elementary School, 74.2% pass rate

Amite County School District

Amite County Elementary, 61.5% pass rate

Claiborne County School District

A.W. Watson Elementary, 64.4% pass rate

Franklin County School District

Franklin County Lower Elementary, 82.2% pass rate

Jefferson County School District

Jefferson County Elementary, 84%

Wilkinson County School District

Wilkinson County Elementary, 45% pass rate

The LBPA became law in 2013 to improve reading skills of kindergarten through third-grade students in public schools so every student completing the third grade is able to read at or above grade level. The LBPA requires Mississippi third graders to pass a reading assessment to qualify for promotion to fourth grade. Some students may qualify for good cause exemptions to be promoted to fourth grade.

An amendment to the law in 2016 raised reading-level expectations starting in the 2018-19 school year, requiring third graders to score at level three or higher on the reading portion of the Mississippi Academic Assessment Program (MAAP) English Language Arts (ELA) assessment.

Click here to see the district- and school-level initial pass rate report for 2024-25.

Final district-level pass rates will be published this fall in the Literacy-Based Promotion Act Annual Report of Performance and Student Retention for the 2024-25 school year.

HATTIESBURG — The Mississippi high school softball championships are underway at the Southern Miss Softball Complex for the MHSAA playoffs.

Games began May 13 and run through May 17.

Here is a recap of some of the games.

Mississippi high school softball championship roundup 2025

East Central claims MHSAA 5A title after sweeping Lafayette

East Central’s championship drought finally ended.

After its forth state final appearance in the last five years, East Central (30-7) swept Lafayette (25-9) in the MHSAA Class 5A state final on May 14 with a 10-6 victory.

East Central defeated Lafayette 10-3 in Game 1 on May 13.

The Lady Hornets won their first title since 2009 and fifth overall.

“I mean, it’s unbelievable. I don’t know even if it’s kicked in,” East Central coach Gerald Edmonson said. “We’ve been here four out of the past five years. … We’ve been really close for the past five years, and to finally get over that hump. It’s just, it’s unbelievable.”

Junior Abigail Danis won series MVP after going 4-for-9 with four RBIs, pitching 10 innings with five strikeouts, and allowing four earned runs through two games.

Danis entered the fifth inning of Game 2 and allowed three hits and one run while breaking the game open in the fourth inning at the plate with a three-run home run to left field for a 9-5 lead.

“It couldn’t have happened to a better individual,” Edmonson said of Danis. “I know a lot of people say that, and that’s kind of cliche, but it’s really the truth. … She has been phenomenal all year.”

Edmonson credited the Lady Hornets for battling against MHSAA 5A Miss Softball Mabry Eason in both games.

MHSAA SOFTBALL PLAYOFFS: Mississippi high school softball championships 2025: MHSAA brackets, scores

“When you’re able to get to the 5A player of the year, not once, but twice, that speaks volumes about our approach and how locked in our girls were yesterday and today,” he said.

Michael Chavez covers high school sports for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at mchavez@gannett.com or reach out to him on X, formerly Twitter @MikeSChavez.