Mississippi State sweeps Southeast Missouri with historic no-hitter to open SEC play
STARKVILLE — No. 12 Mississippi State opened SEC softball play with a pair of shutout victories over Southeast Missouri on Tuesday. The Bulldogs improved to a program-best 26-2 record, entering conference play with their highest winning percentage ever, according to team statistics.
Leila Ammon pitched the first no-hitter of her career and the 27th in program history in Game 1, striking out seven over five innings. The Bulldogs won that game 9-0 in five innings. In Game 2, a staff effort saw Peja Goold start before Delainey Everett and Alyssa Faircloth finished. Faircloth recorded her fourth save of the season, striking out five of six batters faced.
Head coach Samantha Ricketts praised her pitching staff, noting the importance of having multiple reliable arms. “The pitchers have been a huge part of everything up to this part of the season,” Ricketts said. “Easing Delainey back into things will be big for us moving forward. Leila has looked really sharp lately, and with her, Peja and Alyssa, we can start any of them at any time this weekend.”
The Bulldogs scored seven runs in the first inning of Game 1, tying their season high for first-inning runs, and added two more in the second. Nadia Barbary hit her eighth home run of the year during the first game. In Game 2, Gabby Schaeffer opened the scoring with a solo homer, and Des Rivera added an RBI sacrifice fly in the third. Barbary added her third RBI of the day in the sixth.
Mississippi State has now won eight consecutive games and boasts 10 run-rule wins and eight shutouts this season. Ricketts commented on her team’s resilience after recent losses, emphasizing their veteran approach. “They just very much go about our business and do what we do best,” she said. “They don’t panic, and they’ve shown great maturity in their responses.”
Ammon reflected on her no-hitter, saying, “I was kind of freaking out, but I knew my defense had my back. I just pounded the zone and trusted they were going to get the outs.” She also joked about the pressure of the achievement, saying, “It’s kind of like a curse to say, ‘You know, you have a no-hitter,’ or a perfect game. I was glad nobody told me because I was already freaking out internally.”
Mississippi State will face No. 1 Tennessee in its SEC opener Friday at 6 p.m. at Nusz Park. The series continues Saturday and Sunday, with games scheduled for 2 p.m. and noon, respectively. All games will be broadcast on SEC Network+.
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