Mississippi State softball to play Washington in NCAA tournament

STARKVILLE — Mississippi State softball is in the NCAA tournament for the second straight season.

The Bulldogs (37-17) will play Washington (34-17) on May 16 (7 p.m., ESPN2) in the Lubbock Regional.

Texas Tech (45-12) is the top seed of the regional and will face Brown (33-15).

MSU is experiencing an historic season under sixth-year coach Samantha Ricketts. It finished above .500 in conference play for the first time since 2001. Its five SEC series wins are the most since 2007. The 37 wins are tied for the most since 2018.

The Bulldogs are led by pitcher Raelin Chaffin and outfielder Sierra Sacco, both of whom were AUSL College Draft picks on May 3. MSU is one of only two teams in college softball to have two draft picks. Sacco bats .461 with 11 home runs and 48 RBIs. Chaffin has made 27 starts and boasts a 2.65 ERA with a 21-9 record.

MSU lost to LSU 5-0 in the second round of the SEC tournament on May 7.

Mississippi State has made one super regional, which it hosted but lost to Arizona in 2022.

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Sam Sklar is the Mississippi State beat reporter for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at ssklar@gannett.com and follow him on X @sklarsam_.