Skip to main content
mississippi-state logo

State survives battle with Washington 11-10 to advance to softball Regional Final

3rupauk8_400x400by:Robbie Faulk•05/17/25•

RobbieFaulkOn3

jesse blaine2
Jessie Blaine delivered State's school-record 74th home run of the season in a win against Washington (Photo by Mississippi State Athletics)

With Mississippi State’s season on the line, the Bulldogs were pushed to the brink against the Washington Huskies.

Washington entered the weekend as one of the last four teams to make the tournament and the Huskies played like a team with nothing to lose. UW came back from a three-run deficit and nearly erased a five-run disadvantage late before the Bulldogs were able to survive and win the ball game 11-10.

The victory advanced State into the Regional Final against Lubbock Regional host Texas Tech. It’s the seventh Regional Final for State in school history and the third in Samantha Ricketts’ six years.

Bulldogs have to hold off relentless Washington offense

State led 3-0 in the ball game but fell behind at one point. Ace pitcher Raelin Chaffin surrendered five runs in the fourth including a grand slam home run by Alycia Flores that would give the Huskies a lead. A two-out double from Ava Carroll pushed that lead to 5-3 and State was on its heels.

Immediately, the Bulldog offense would battle back. State got an RBI single with one out from Jessie Blaine followed by a pinch-hit, two-run double from Paige Ernstes. An error followed and it was a four-run inning that would give the Bulldogs the lead again at 7-5.

After Washington closed the gap again on a solo home run in the bottom of the inning, the Bulldogs went back to swinging. State loaded up the bases with one out when Blaine delivered a huge bases-clearing double and Kylee Edwards hit an RBI single off the wall in right to make it 11-6.

It appeared that Chaffin had the insurance that she needed to put the game away, but the Huskies wouldn’t stop there. They battled back with a four-spot of their own and chased the starting pitcher out of the game. It was 11-10 heading to the final inning.

Delainey Everett would find a way to get the final three outs of the game after pitching against Texas Tech earlier in the day. Everett pitched the final 1.1 innings giving up a hit with no runs against her. Chaffin (23-9) labored after the first three innings and pitched 5.2 frames with over 130 pitches as Washington had 11 hits, 10 runs and three walks a day after Chaffin beat them.

State’s offense was the difference in the game. The Bulldogs had 15 hits led by Jessie Blaine’s 3-for-4 night with five RBI, a double and a home run. That home run had significance due to the fact it was a school-record 74th long ball of the year for the Bulldogs.

Sierra Sacco, Nadia Barbary, Morgan Stiles, Ella Wesolowski and Edwards all had two hits each in the win. Barbary scored three runs and had an RBI double.

Big Sunday challenge awaits

State (39-18) now has the most wins in a season since 2014 and getting that 40th is what’s most important to Ricketts and her team. The Bulldogs will try to replicate its magical Regional from 2022 when State came back and knocked off Florida State in consecutive games to advance to a Super Regional for the first time in school history.

The Bulldogs will have to beat a Texas Tech team that run ruled them 10-1 in the first meeting on Saturday. Game time is set for 2 p.m. with a decisive final game to follow if State can keep the season alive.

You may also like