Samantha Ricketts praises early hitting, pitching performances against Georgia

No. 19 Mississippi State took a 2-0 lead early during Saturday afternoon’s game against No. 12 Georgia thanks to a big-time at-bat from Matalasi Faapito, going deep to left field for a two-run home run in the first inning.

Mississippi State head coach Samantha Ricketts sang her fifth-year senior’s praises, who had the day off pitching in favor of being the Bulldogs’ designated hitter.

“Just such a great job by Matalasi [Faapito] she’s really been having great at-bats and seeing it well over the last few weeks for us,” Ricketts told the SEC Network before the fourth inning. “To get her in there and for her to just battle through that count and come up to put us on the board first was huge.”

Faaptio’s two-run homer would end up being the difference in the game as the Bulldogs ultimately bested Georgia 2-1. Faapito finished the game 1-3 at the plate.

Instead, RHP Aspen Wesley was sent to the mound for Sunday’s start. After three innings, she had pitched a shutout through that point and only allowed one runner on base until that point. Her dominance continued into the fourth and fifth innings until the Bulldogs scored their first run on a blooper to left field.

“Just her focus,” Ricketts said of her pitcher’s strong performance. “You can just see the resolve in her face. She’s just determined to go out there and give us the best outing she can and keep competing. And I think she’s really stepped up for us especially lately, really all year long, and just continuing to have just quality pitches and continue to keep us in the game.”

Wesley was masterful on the mound. She finished the game pitching a complete game on 102 pitches. 70 of those were called strikes, and she ultimately finished the game allowing four hits, allowing one earned run but managed to strike out eight Georgia batters.

The 2-1 victory earned Mississippi State a big-time SEC series win over a ranked Georgia team. After losing Saturday’s game 5-0, getting on the board early was an emphasis heading into Sunday — and Mississippi State delivered in a big way at the plate and followed it with a strong performance from Wesley on the mound.

Now, it’s postseason time for the Bulldogs, who finished the regular season 32-17 (12-12, SEC) heading into the SEC Tournament on Tuesday. The SEC Tournament will be held in Auburn, Alabama from May 7 through May 11.