All Bulldogs In Norman: Mississippi State Softball Pulls Off Major Upset in Game 3 Of The Super Regional To End Oklahoma's Run To The World Series

NORMAN, Okla.- After Oklahoma's Game 2 win on Saturday to tie the best-of-three series in the NCAA Norman Super Regional, it looked like Oklahoma would have all of the momentum heading into the winner-take-all match in Game 3. However, Mississippi State junior pitcher Delainey Everett had other plans when she made her first start of the season. Not only did she pitch all seven innings in the 6-0 upset win over Oklahoma, but she didn't take her foot off the gas once against the normally explosive Sooner offense. 

Everett allowed just three hits and recorded three strikeouts to stun the Oklahoma batting lineup. This was also a career high in innings pitched for Everett. The Bulldog's journey to the Women's College World Series is all thanks to Mississippi State Coach Samantha Ricketts who played for the Sooners under Patty Gasso from 2006-2009. 

Some of the most notable accomplishments for the Bulldogs under Ricketts include the first 40-win season since 2008, setting Mississippi State's home run record five times, two super regional appearances (the only two in program history), and reaching the Women's College World Series for the first time in Bulldog history. Before the super regional win against the Sooners, no team has ever defeated Oklahoma to reach its first world series. 

The Oklahoma loss ends the nine-year streak of the Sooners reaching the world series. With the Sooners getting shut out by the Bulldogs, it also ends their streak of 399 consecutive games without being shut out. The last time Oklahoma was shut out was in the 2019 world series when Alabama defeated the Sooners 1-0. In NCAA tournament history, Oklahoma has never come back from a deficit of five or more runs. This is also Gasso's sixth loss against former assistant coaches out of 74 games (now 9-2 against Ricketts). 

For the 2026 season, pitching was the issue, as Oklahoma's total ERA was 3.09. In the super regional finale, Guachino pitched three innings with four runs allowed, one home run allowed, and only one strikeout. Zache pitched one inning and gave up four walks. Lowry came in during the top of the fifth but gave up two runs with one of them being a solo shot by Morgan Bernardini. The other home run for the Bulldogs was from Paige Ernstes in the top of the fourth against Guachino. The three Bulldogs that piled up the stats were Stiles, Romero, and Keller. They batted a combined 6 for 12 against the Sooners in Game 3. 

The Sooners were never able to get the bats going. Besides the only three hits, Oklahoma drew just three walks. Two of the hits were from Minor and Emerling. The first one came from Ella Parker in the bottom of the first where she was tagged out at second attempting to advance during the play. 

UP NEXT: Mississippi State will be one of the eight teams in the Women's College World Series and will face off against the #11 seed Texas Tech Red Raiders.