Saturday, May 18
Stanford, Calif.
4:00 PM
Mississippi State
1
at
2
#8 Stanford
Sacco Homers As State Falls, 2-1, To Stanford
May 18, 2024 | Softball
STANFORD, Calif. – No. 18 Mississippi State fell in a pitchers' duel to No. 8 Stanford on Saturday afternoon, losing a one-run ballgame 2-1.
Sierra Sacco hit a solo homer for State's lone run, and Matalasi Faapito and Nadia Barbary added singles against 2023 national freshman of the year and 2024 Pac-12 Pitcher of the Year NiJaree Canady who struck out 13.
"She's a great pitcher. We knew there were going to be strikeouts. We knew she was going to be tough," head coach Samantha Ricketts said. "I think we can do a little bit better job of swinging within our gameplan and our approach because you're not going to get a whole lot of mistakes with a pitcher like that on the mound. I thought Sierra, Mata had good at-bats and took advantage of some pitches. We just need that a little more consistently up and down the lineup."
Aspen Wesley drew the start, allowing both runs over three innings, though one run was unearned after reaching base on an error. Freshman Delainey Everett closed out the ballgame, matching Canady down the stretch with 3.0 scoreless innings. She struck out one.
"I think Delainey's a great matchup for them, and it's great to get her this postseason experience. I had full confidence that she could keep us in the game and give our offense a chance to fight back. I thought she was calm, attacking, and really did a good job of getting us back in the dugout."
Matalasi Faapito – Extended her hitting streak to four games and her reached-base streak to five games … now batting .368 (7-for-19) in her NCAA Tournament career.
Sierra Sacco – Hit her second home run of the season … extended her hitting streak to five games … batting .385 (5-for-13) during the streak.
Ella Wesolowski – Picked a runner off second base … second throw-out in as many games after catching a runner stealing on Friday.
Kyra Chan laid down a bunt and reached safely on a throwing error by the third baseman that allowed her to reach second. She scored on Jade Berry's double to center field.
No. 18 Mississippi State 0, No. 8 Stanford 1
Bottom 3
Ava Gall homered down the right field line with two outs.
No. 18 Mississippi State 0, No. 8 Stanford 2
Top 4
Sierra Sacco hit a solo homer to straightaway center field.
No. 18 Mississippi State 1, No. 8 Stanford 2
For more information on the Bulldog softball program, follow on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook and Instagram by searching "HailStateSB."
Sierra Sacco hit a solo homer for State's lone run, and Matalasi Faapito and Nadia Barbary added singles against 2023 national freshman of the year and 2024 Pac-12 Pitcher of the Year NiJaree Canady who struck out 13.
"She's a great pitcher. We knew there were going to be strikeouts. We knew she was going to be tough," head coach Samantha Ricketts said. "I think we can do a little bit better job of swinging within our gameplan and our approach because you're not going to get a whole lot of mistakes with a pitcher like that on the mound. I thought Sierra, Mata had good at-bats and took advantage of some pitches. We just need that a little more consistently up and down the lineup."
Aspen Wesley drew the start, allowing both runs over three innings, though one run was unearned after reaching base on an error. Freshman Delainey Everett closed out the ballgame, matching Canady down the stretch with 3.0 scoreless innings. She struck out one.
Quotables
Samantha Ricketts on Delainey Everett's NCAA Tournament debut…"I think Delainey's a great matchup for them, and it's great to get her this postseason experience. I had full confidence that she could keep us in the game and give our offense a chance to fight back. I thought she was calm, attacking, and really did a good job of getting us back in the dugout."
Quick Hitters
Delainey Everett – Made her NCAA Tournament debut in her home state … tossed 3.0 scoreless innings in relief … recorded one strikeout.Matalasi Faapito – Extended her hitting streak to four games and her reached-base streak to five games … now batting .368 (7-for-19) in her NCAA Tournament career.
Sierra Sacco – Hit her second home run of the season … extended her hitting streak to five games … batting .385 (5-for-13) during the streak.
Ella Wesolowski – Picked a runner off second base … second throw-out in as many games after catching a runner stealing on Friday.
Scoring Recap
Bottom 2Kyra Chan laid down a bunt and reached safely on a throwing error by the third baseman that allowed her to reach second. She scored on Jade Berry's double to center field.
No. 18 Mississippi State 0, No. 8 Stanford 1
Bottom 3
Ava Gall homered down the right field line with two outs.
No. 18 Mississippi State 0, No. 8 Stanford 2
Top 4
Sierra Sacco hit a solo homer to straightaway center field.
No. 18 Mississippi State 1, No. 8 Stanford 2
Next Up
Mississippi State will play the winner of the Saint Mary's and Cal State Fullerton elimination game at approximately 9 p.m. CT. The game will officially begin 35 minutes following the conclusion of that contest.For more information on the Bulldog softball program, follow on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook and Instagram by searching "HailStateSB."