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Mississippi State Softball NCAA Tournament Preview: Eugene Regional Breakdown

The Bulldogs head west for the NCAA Tournament, where Peja Goold, Alyssa Faircloth and a veteran postseason core give Mississippi State a real chance.
Taylor Hodges|
Mississippi State Pitcher Alyssa Faircloth (#4) during the game between the South Alabama Jaguars and the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Jaguar Field in Mobile, AL.
Mississippi State Pitcher Alyssa Faircloth (#4) during the game between the South Alabama Jaguars and the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Jaguar Field in Mobile, AL. | Mississippi State Athletics

Mississippi State is back in the NCAA Tournament, and the Bulldogs are heading west again.

They open the Eugene Regional on Friday night against Saint Mary’s, a matchup that hasn’t happened since 1997 and has never happened in the postseason. It’s a fresh draw, a long trip, and the kind of regional where State’s strengths actually line up pretty well.

The Bulldogs enter at 38-18 after navigating the SEC grind, and they’ll see a Saint Mary’s team that won 40 games and dominated the WCC. The Gaels can pitch and defend, but Mississippi State has seen plenty of that in league play.

The bigger question is how the Bulldogs settle in on the road. They’ve been to Eugene before, but not since 2012, and they didn’t face Oregon that year. Idaho State is also in the field, though the only meeting between the programs came back in 1982.

If you’re looking for reasons to feel good about Mississippi State’s chances, start with the awards haul. Five Bulldogs earned NFCA All-Region honors on Thursday, and the headliners are in the circle.

Peja Goold and Alyssa Faircloth have been one of the best one-two punches in the country, and both were named SEC Newcomer of the Year by different outlets. Faircloth enters the weekend sixth nationally in strikeouts and already owns the school record for strikeouts looking.

Goold, meanwhile, was drafted by the Oklahoma City Spark, giving pitching coach Taryne Mowatt-McKinney a third straight season with a pro arm.

Offensively, Mississippi State has a postseason core that has been here before. Kiarra Sells, Nadia Barbary, and Morgan Stiles all earned All-Region nods, and Barbary and Stiles in particular have been two of the most productive postseason hitters in program history.

Barbary is one hit away from joining the 200-hit club and is closing in on the school’s NCAA Tournament scoring record. Stiles already owns the top active marks in tournament average, slugging, and hits.

There’s also a timely spark in the lineup. Over the last 10 games, Xiane Romero has been the team’s hottest hitter, leading State in average, slugging, and on-base percentage during that stretch. Half of her RBI total has come in those games, which is exactly the kind of late-season surge that can swing a regional.

The path won’t be easy. Oregon is the host and the national seed, and Saint Mary’s has the kind of record that suggests it won’t be intimidated by anyone. But Mississippi State has the pitching to control games, the postseason experience to stay steady, and a lineup that’s starting to round into form at the right time.

Once you’re in the tournament, the margins get thin and the opportunities get big.

Mississippi State has the pieces to make this weekend interesting. Now it’s about stringing together the right innings at the right moments and seeing how far that carries them in Eugene.

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Taylor Hodges
TAYLOR HODGES

Award-winning sports editor, writer, columnist, and photographer with 15 years’ experience offering his opinion and insight about the sports world in Mississippi and Texas, but he was taken to Razorback pep rallies at Billy Bob's Texas in Fort Worth before he could walk. Taylor has covered all levels of sports, from small high schools in the Mississippi Delta to NFL games. Follow Taylor on Twitter and Facebook.

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