Delainey Everett fought back tears and was at a loss for words immediately after her dominant pitching performance in Mississippi State softball’s stunning upset of Oklahoma in the NCAA Tournament super regionals.
The junior from Oakdale, California, hadn’t made a start all season yet pitched a shutout in Game 3 in a 6-0 win for MSU over the No. 3 seed Sooners at Love’s Field on May 24.
It put the Bulldogs (43-19) into the Women’s College World Series for the first time in program history. It was also the first time Oklahoma was shut out since 2019.
“I have no idea,” Everett said in a TV interview from the field. “This is insane. This is literally everything that we have worked for. If you listen to (coach Samantha) Ricketts in her press conferences, we are priming the pump. We were getting ready for May. This team is built for May. We’ve got all the weapons we need and we’re just rolling right now.”
Everett also revealed in the interview that the game took place on her parents’ anniversary. She said the game was dedicated to them after her father, Brandan, died in January 2025.
“This was for them,” she said while fighting back tears.
Everett threw 96 pitches, allowing only three hits and three walks with three strikeouts. It was the longest she’s pitched in her career. She made 16 starts last season but has been a reliever this season after a shoulder injury.
The Bulldogs will play No. 11 Texas Tech in its first game of the WCWS on May 28 in Oklahoma City.
“An underdog is still a frickin dog,” Everett said. “We knew it. We were on the bus. Oh my gosh. Everything that we worked for came through today and we ain’t done yet.
Sam Sklar is the Mississippi State beat reporter for The Clarion Ledger. Email him at ssklar@usatodayco.com and follow him on X @sklarsam_.
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Delainey Everett emotional after Mississippi State softball stuns OU