Mississippi State rallied from a four-run deficit to beat No. 2 Oklahoma 11-9 in the super regional opener on Friday, the schools reported. The victory was the Bulldogs’ first-ever win in a super regional, Mississippi State said.
The No. 20 Bulldogs (42-18) trailed 6-2 entering the sixth before scoring nine runs over the final two innings, according to a game summary provided by the teams.
Mississippi State opened the scoring in the third when Tatum Silva drove in a run with a single. Oklahoma pushed ahead to 5-1 before Des Rivera hit a solo home run in the fourth to make it 5-2. Mississippi State produced a run in the sixth when Nadia Barbary delivered an RBI single and a subsequent error and passed ball allowed two more runs. Morgan Bernardini’s single tied the game at 6.
Oklahoma’s Kendall Wells hit a three-run homer in the bottom of the sixth to give the Sooners a temporary 9-6 lead. The Bulldogs answered with five runs in the seventh. Abby Richardson doubled in a run, Xiane Romero added an RBI single, Bernardini drew a bases-loaded walk to tie it, and Silva followed with a two-run single to put Mississippi State ahead 11-9, the game summary said.
Reliever Delainey Everett (2-1) retired the side in the seventh to earn the win. Audrey Lowry (22-4) took the loss for Oklahoma. Game two is scheduled for Saturday at noon CT, with Sunday reserved as an if-needed game; Mississippi State would advance to the Women’s College World Series with a second win, the schools said.
Jon Ross Myers is the executive editor and publisher of the Mississippi News Network, Mississippi's largest digital only media company. He can be reached at editor@tippahnews.com
