Mississippi State Opens NCAA Softball Tournament at Eugene Regional

The Mississippi State softball team will begin the NCAA Tournament on Friday, May 15, at the Eugene Regional, facing Saint Mary’s of California at 6:30 p.m. Central Time. The game will be streamed on ESPN+.

The Bulldogs, ranked No. 20, enter the tournament with a 38-18 record, including a 9-15 mark in Southeastern Conference play. They will face Saint Mary’s, which holds a 40-14 record and finished 15-3 in the West Coast Conference, for the first time in the NCAA Tournament and last met in 1997. Both teams were in the 2024 Palo Alto Regional but did not play each other that year. Mississippi State previously competed in Eugene in 2012 but did not face Oregon. Their only other recorded meeting was against Idaho State in 1982.

Mississippi State saw five players honored on the NFCA All-Region teams Thursday. Leading the team are First Team pick Peja Goold and Second Team selection Alyssa Faircloth, both of whom earned SEC Newcomer of the Year honors from different outlets. Offensively, the Bulldogs’ top hitters—Kiarra Sells, Nadia Barbary, and Morgan Stiles—also received regional recognition. Barbary tied the program record for runs scored in a single NCAA Tournament last year and is two hits shy of 200 career NCAA Tournament hits. Stiles is the active program leader in NCAA Tournament hits, batting average, and slugging percentage.

Other key players include Kinley Keller, who batted .750 during the SEC Tournament, and Xiane Romero, who leads the team with a .346 batting average over the last 10 games. Mississippi State’s pitching staff has tied the program’s single-season record with 468 strikeouts and set a school SEC record with 179 strikeouts in conference play. The Bulldogs aim for their first 40-win season since 2008 and are close to their season-high of 39 wins.

Following the tournament opener, the regional continues with games involving Idaho State and Oregon, with the winners and losers facing off in subsequent matches. The regional champion will advance to the NCAA Super Regionals. Mississippi State’s historical NCAA tournament record is 25-39, with their last appearance in 2024. The Bulldogs have yet to win in Eugene, having gone 0-2 in 2012.

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