Mississippi State to face Texas Tech next in NCAA Regional

Mississippi State will take on Texas Tech at 1 p.m. on ESPN2.

Friday’s game saw the Huskies open up with a solo home run in the first inning, but Mississippi State responded in the next half inning with four runs of its own. The Bulldogs wouldn’t relinquish the lead again.

"It was huge,” Nadia Barbary said about the first inning. “It was our answer back to them. Just knowing like not to put any pressure on ourselves, so we know that we can come back and have Raelin's (Chaffin) back or any of our pitchers' backs. It's just showing that we're here to play."

Barbary extended the Bulldogs’ lead with a two-run home run giving them 73 total home runs this season, which ties the program’s single-season record. In the circle, Chaffin tossed her 18th complete game, striking out nine batters and allowing just six hits.

"You know I like the way that we came out ready to compete, and I think the team was really excited to play and get back on the field," head coach Samantha Ricketts said. "It feels like we've been here for a week already. I think scoring four in the first just kind of settled in a little bit and gave Raelin [Chaffin] a little bit of cushion. I thought she did a really good job responding after those early runs too, settling in and competing the way that we know that we can and have been doing all year long. Nadia came up with us some big runs for us late in the game, but we know it's going to be a team effort. We're going to have to continue to pitch it well, have some timely hitting and play defensive behind our pitchers. That was a good start for us, and we are excited for our opportunity to continue to play in the winners bracket tomorrow."

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