FAYETTEVILLE — Nine runs in the fourth inning lifted the No. 20 Mississippi State softball team to a series-clinching 15-7 run-rule victory over No. 17 Arkansas in 5 innings Sunday at Bogle Park.
It was the first series loss for the Razorbacks (24-8, 3-3 SEC) since the 2023 regular-season finale at Missouri.
Mississippi State (24-7, 5-4 SEC) defeated Arkansas in a three-game series for the first time since 2017. The Bulldogs scored all nine of their fourth-inning runs with two outs, highlighted by a grand slam from catcher Ella Wesolowski.
The Bulldogs led 6-2 entering the fourth inning and led 15-2 when it was over.
“We talk about that,” Mississippi State coach Samantha Ricketts said. “It's kind of one of our goals for every game is to get some key two-out RBI, because it's one of those things where from the other side when you're on defense and you give up two-out RBI, you're like, ‘Man, I was almost off the hook.
“It's something we really lock in on and we pride ourselves on. They just continued to pass the bat and I thought they did a really good job of having a team approach up and down the lineup the whole game.”
Arkansas, which was without pitchers Robyn Herron and Reis Beuerlein this weekend with day-to-day injuries, struggled in the circle.
Right-hander Morgan Leinstock (6-2) started and gave up 6 runs on 5 hits in 1 1/3 innings. Hannah Camenzind pitched 3 innings of relief and surrendered 6 runs on 4 hits, Nikki McGaffin did not record an out and gave up 3 runs on 2 hits, and freshman Kasey Wood pitched 2/3 of an inning and allowed 2 hits.
Mississippi State outhit the Razorbacks 13-11.
“We just weren't sharp in the circle,” Arkansas coach Courtney Deifel said. “We knew we were going to be thin getting through this weekend. We've been really good in the circle and we'll be really good in the circle moving forward. Today it was like, ‘OK, it just counts as one.’ We weren't sharp. We'll be sharp Tuesday [against Central Arkansas].”
Bulldogs first baseman Madisyn Kennedy hit a two-run home run in the first inning to put Mississippi State ahead 2-0. The lead grew to 6-0 after the second inning when Aquana Brownlee hit an RBI single and Sierra Sacco blasted a three-run home run.
Arkansas chipped away at the lead in the bottom of the second. The Razorbacks got within 6-2 on a base hit by Cylie Halvorson that was coupled with a throwing error on the Bulldogs, along with an RBI groundout by Lauren Camenzind.
It appeared momentum had swung in Arkansas’ favor in the bottom of the third inning when Kennedy Miller crushed what would have been a two-run home run to left field, but umpires ruled Nia Carter left first base before the pitch. It negated the home run and gave the Razorbacks a second out.
Between the homer wiped off in the bottom of the third and the nine-run fourth for the Bulldogs, it was an 11-run swing of momentum in Mississippi State’s favor.
Mississippi State got its first baserunner in the fourth inning on a fielding error. Along with Wesolowski’s grand slam, the Bulldogs scored on a bases-loaded walk, a two-run homer by Salen Hawkins and RBI doubles by Sacco and Nadia Barbary.
“They have the second-best offense in our conference, and so we knew that it was going to be a tough challenge,” Deifel said. “Any team at this point, if you don't have your best stuff or you're a little gassed, you're going to get punished for it. They did that today.
“It's just one of those things where we got through the weekend and it still counts as one [loss], whether we lose by one or lose by eight, it still counts as one. We just have to make sure we leave today here, and we focus on Tuesday.”
Deifel said she anticipates getting Beuerlein and Herron back soon.
“We're hoping to get them back this week,” Deifel said. “We knew that this weekend we were going to be extremely thin, and we were committed to that to make sure [we were looking at] the big picture. We should hopefully get them back this week.”