TARKVILLE – No. 16 Mississippi State (6-1) stole seven bases on its way to a 10-2 victory in six innings against Mississippi Valley State on Wednesday night.

Montana Davidson led the way offensively, going 2-for-3 at the plate with an RBI triple and two stolen bases, including a swipe of home.

“She’s just really been consistent the last couple of weeks,” head coach Samantha Ricketts said of Davidson. “It’s good to see AK [Segars] driving the ball again, as well as Fa [Leilua]. I thought Mia [Davidson] put together some good at-bats too. And the short gamers, Christian Quinn and Brylie St. Clair, doing what they need to do causing some havoc in the infield and finding their way on base.”

Leilua was 2-for-3 with an RBI, a double and a walk. Segars went 2-for-4 at the plate and stole two bases, and St. Clair was 2-for-3 with a stolen base.

Aspen Wesley got the start in the circle, tossing 3.0 innings and getting eight of her nine outs via the strikeout, matching her career high set in her last appearance. She is now averaging 13.1 strikeouts per seven innings. Kenley Hawk earned the win in relief, throwing 3.0 innings with four strikeouts.

“I thought Aspen did a great job coming out and starting strong, really just dominating from the beginning,” Ricketts added. “It was good to get Kenley Hawk in there for some innings. She’s got to attack the zone a bit more, but it really brings a different look for us going hard and down in the zone.”

Quotables

Samantha Ricketts on the team’s stolen bases: 

“Coach [Tyler] Bratton does a great job with our hitters and really preaching the importance of being smart baserunners. Even if you’re not the fastest on the team, you can still take advantage of opportunities. You can see that with Fa Leilua having three stolen bases [this year]. Just really being opportunistic, reading down angles in the dirt for any chance we have to take an extra base and getting good jumps and its something that we put a lot of emphasis on with our baserunning.”

Montana Davidson on her triple: 

“I think it was more trying to stay within myself. I wasn’t trying to get too big because I know when we see pitches like that, we always try to get so big on ourselves. I just tried to stay within myself and get the RBI. It was more just get an RBI and have a team at-bat, and it just happened to fly. I saw Coach Bratton waving and I was like, ‘Oh, I’m actually running pretty fast,’ and then I got there.”

Montana Davidson on stealing home: 

“I’ve watched [Christian] Quinn do it in practice all the time, and I never got to do it. Right when it happened I was like, ‘What would Quinn do?’ and it worked. That was basically it.”

Quick Hitters

Let’s Run – MSU stole a season-high seven bases, their highest total in a single-game since swiping seven at Georgia Southern on Apr. 25, 2015 … The last time MSU stole eight bags came on Apr. 1, 2014 against the Devilettes … The Bulldogs have stolen 13 in their last two contests and are averaging 2.4 per game.

 

Streaks Continue – Anna Kate Segars has reached base safely in 14 straight games dating back to 2020 … Chloe Malau’ulu’s reached base streak was extended to a dozen games, dating back to last year … Both are career-long streaks.

Montana Davidson – Now leads the team with a .500 batting average (10-for-20) … Has tied her career-long hitting streak at five games … Stole her third career base … Hit her first career triple.

Addison Purvis – Picked up her first career hit on an RBI single to left and took second on an error.

Fa Leilua – Has now matched her career total for stolen bases entering the season (3), going 3-for-3 on the year.

Aspen Wesley – Matched her career high with eight strikeouts … Faced 12 batters and allowed zero hits.

Scoring Recap

Bottom 1

With one out, Mia Davidson doubled to left field then took third on a passed ball. Fa Leilua singled up the middle, scoring Davidson.

Mississippi Valley State 0, Mississippi State 1

 

Bottom 2

Montana Davidson singled to left field to open the inning. She then stole second base with one out. Brylie St. Clair laid down a bunt single to advance Montana Davidson to third. St. Clair stole second, and Chloe Malau’ulu was hit by a pitch to load the bases. A pair of wild pitches allowed Montana Davidson and St. Clair to score.

Mississippi Valley State 0, Mississippi State 4

 

Bottom 3

Leilua doubled down the right field line. She scored on a single to center field from Anna Kate Segars. Segars then stole second and advanced to third on the catcher’s throwing error. Montana Davidson hit a triple to center field allowing Segars to score. Montana Davidson then stole home.

Mississippi Valley State 0, Mississippi State 7

 

Top 4

Keisha White singled a hit to the pitcher. Demi Slater sent a single to second base and advanced to second when the throw went through to try to get White at third where she slid in safely. With one out, Shelby Carson walked to load the bases. A wild pitch allowed White to score. Sydney Wesley walked to load the bases again, and Jaylon Davis was hit by a pitch to force a second run home.

Mississippi Valley State 2, Mississippi State 7

 

Bottom 5

Segars singled to right field and stole second. Pinch hitting for Jackie McKenna with one out, Addison Purvis singled to left field. When the outfielder bobbled the ball, Segars scored and Purvis took second. Allison Florian came on to run for Purvis and scored when St. Clair singled through the right side.

Mississippi Valley State 2, Mississippi State 8

 

Bottom 6

Christian Quinn led off with a single to the pitcher. When Mia Davidson hit a grounder to third, the Devilettes attempted to retire Quinn at second, but the throw sailed into the outfield. Quinn scored and Mia Davidson ended up on second. With two outs, Anna Kate Segars hit a pop up behind third base that was dropped as Mia Davidson scored for a walk-off, run-rule victory.

Mississippi Valley State 2, Mississippi State 10

 

On Deck

The Bulldogs travel to Texas for the Lone Star Invitational this weekend. On Friday, MSU will play a double-header at Texas State. The following day, the Bulldogs meet No. 7 Texas and Houston in Austin. State plays at No. 21 Baylor to close the trip on Sunday.

 

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