Ricketts Earns 100th Career Win After Big Second Inning

Friday, February 10

Boca Raton, Fla.

3:30 PM

Mississippi State

3-0

Bethune-Cookman

0-2

Bethune-Cookman

Mississippi State

Ricketts Earns 100th Career Win After Big Second Inning

February 10, 2023 | Softball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Photo Gallery

By: Brian Ogden, Associate Director/Communications

BOCA RATON, Fla. – A five-run second inning gave No. 23 Mississippi State control of the ballgame as the Bulldogs went on to defeat Bethune-Cookman, 9-2, on Friday night.

The Bulldogs strung together six consecutive singles in the bottom of the second, four of them with the bases loaded. It turned a 2-1 deficit into a 6-2 lead that State would never surrender.

It was a milestone victory for head coach Samantha Ricketts. She became the fastest MSU softball coach to win 100 games and the second-fastest head coach in any of State's women's sports to reach that mark.

"It wasn't something I was thinking about in the moment, but I knew it was close," head coach Samantha Ricketts said. "I was definitely surprised. I didn't know the direction that postgame meeting was going. It's always fun. A big credit to all the players, coaches and staff that have been a part of all 100. It's definitely been a team effort. I'm just really proud for this program."

A pair of freshmen starred for State. Josey Marron tossed 5.0 innings, striking out nine and allowing just two hits. Meanwhile, at the plate Macy Graf went 3-for-4 out of the leadoff slot, driving in a run and scoring three. She also stole two bases.

Following their rally, the Bulldogs added one run in the fourth when Graf scored on a throwing error while Kiersten Landers was stealing second. In the fifth, MSU pushed across two more when Aquana Brownlee scored on a Chloe Malau'ulu single, and Brylie St. Clair came home on a wild pitch.

Quotables

Samantha Ricketts on Macy Graf and Josey Marron…
"We've got a really strong veteran group and a lot of young talent coming in with our freshmen and our future recruits. I think it's an exciting time for Mississippi State softball. We know we're deep. We've got talent. We've got athleticism. We're trying to get everybody in and give them some chances to be successful. It's fun to see them succeed and be out there to do what they know how to do and what they came here for."

Samantha Ricketts on the day's earlier game against Loyola Chicago…
"We didn't play probably our cleanest games today. It's early. I think it definitely showed some things we can work on. I was proud of them for regrouping and finding ways to continue to fight and battle and not be stressed when we lose the lead or things aren't going our way."

Quick Hitters

Win 100 For Ricketts – Tonight marked the 100th win of head coach Samantha Ricketts' career … she is the fastest MSU softball head coach to reach 100 wins, doing so in just 155 games, which is seven games faster than the previous record holder … only seven MSU head coaches in any sport have reached the mark sooner than she has, and only one in a women's sport.

Dawg Debuts – Freshmen Josey Marron started in her first appearance in the circle … freshmen Nadia Barbary and Morgan Bernardini came on as pinch hitters in their first career games … senior Kat Wallace walked in her first career plate appearance.

Matalasi Faapito – Drove in three runs, matching the most RBIs in a game by a Bulldog this season … delivered two with a base hit and one on a sacrifice fly …

Macy Graf – Went 3-for-4 out of the leadoff spot … singled in the first five at-bats of her career before being retired … scored three times … stole two bases … added an RBI.

Kiersten Landers – Singled home a run and was hit by a pitch … stole a base.

Josey Marron – Struck out six batters in 4.0 innings … struck out the side in both the third and fourth innings.

Anna Kate Segars – Saw her first game action since the middle of the 2021 season … was hit by a pitch in her lone plate appearance before being lifted for a pinch runner.

Scoring Recap

Top 1
Haley Parks walked to open the ballgame then stole second. She advanced to third on a passed ball. Kallie Earlington drew a one-out walk to put runners on the corners then stole second. Desirae Martinez singled off the diving third baseman's glove to score both runners.
Bethune-Cookman 2, No. 23 Mississippi State 0

Bottom 1
Macy Graf led off with a base hit into center field. She stole second before Chloe Malau'ulu walked. Kiersten Landers flied out to right field, but both runners advanced a base on the play. Matalasi Faapito then hit a sacrifice fly to right field that scored Graf from third.
Bethune-Cookman 2, No. 23 Mississippi State 1

Bottom 2
With one out, Riley Hull drew a walk. Aquana Brownlee then singled down the right field line, kicking off six consecutive base hits for the Bulldogs. Brylie St. Clair beat out a bunt to load the bases. Graf, Malau'ulu and Landers all brought home one runner with their bases-loaded singles. Matalasi Faapito then singled into right field scoring Graf from third and bringing home Malau'ulu.
Bethune-Cookman 2, No. 23 Mississippi State 6

Bottom 4
Graf hit a leadoff single then stole second base. She advanced to third on Malau'ulu's ground out. Landers was then hit by a pitch. She stole second, but the throw went to third to attempt to catch Graf. It skipped up the third base line, and Graf came home to score.
Bethune-Cookman 2, No. 23 Mississippi State 7

Bottom 5
Hull drew a leadoff walk, but was retired when Brownlee reached on a fielder's choice to the shortstop. St. Clair beat out her second bunt single of the night to put runners on first and second. With two outs, Malau'ulu singled through the left side to score Brownlee and bring St. Clair to third. St. Clair then scored on a wild pitch.
Bethune-Cookman 2, No. 23 Mississippi State 9

On Deck

Mississippi State will close the Paradise Classic with two games on Saturday morning, both available to stream on FloSports.com. The Bulldogs will meet Iowa at 8 a.m. CT before immediately playing Stony Brook at approximately 10:30 a.m.

Follow the Bulldogs

For more information on the Bulldog softball program, follow on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram by searching "HailStateSB."