Photo courtesy of Hailstate.com
June 13, 2013.
The date just rolled off Mia Davidson’s tongue during her final postgame press conference as a Mississippi State softball player. That was the date she committed to play softball in Starkville.
That brief moment exemplified Mia and Montana Davidson’s approach to softball, and life in general, that they learned from their father Eddie Davidson when he coached them during tee ball games in Hillsborough and eventually at Orange High.
You did things right or your didn’t do them at all.
On Saturday, Mia and Montana ended their careers at Mississippi State after Arizona defeated the Bulldogs 7-1 to sweep its best-of-three Super Regional Series at Nusz Park in Starkville.
For two players who spent their softball careers taking teams they played on to new heights, a trip to the Women’s College World Series would have been the perfect way to end their careers. Mississippi State has never been to Oklahoma City in the 40-year history of the program.
While they fell short of Oklahoma City, the Davidsons still took Mississippi State softball to another level in their final days with the program.
On Saturday, Arizona defeated the Bulldogs in front of 2,299 fans at Nusz Park, a school-record. The previous record of 2,209 was set the day before in the opening game of the series, one where Mia Davidson game the home crowd one last thrill.
Mia broke open a scoreless game in the bottom-of-the-fifth inning with a solo homer to dead centerfield that banged off a motorized scaffold, sending an ESPN cameraman ducking for cover. It was the 92nd and final home run of her Mississippi State career, leaving her tied for third in NCAA history. It was her school-record fifth home run in the NCAA Tournament and her last hit as a Bulldog.
She could have easily had another home run earlier. In the first inning, Davidson sent a deep drive to centerfield, where Arizona’s Janelle Meono reached over the wall and brought the ball back into the park.
Mississippi State led 2-1 going into the seventh inning before Arizona rallied and evened the game in the top-of-the-seventh. The Wildcats took the lead in the eighth inning off a home run by Izzo Pacho.
In game two on Saturday, Arizona dominated behind pitcher Devyn Netz, who limited the Bulldogs to five hits in a 7-1 Wildcats win. Arizona scored five unearned runs.
Afterwards, an emotional Mia Davidson delivered remarks that went viral almost immediately.
“From the get-go, this is what I set out to do,” Mia said. “I wanted to come to a program and make something off it and leave it better than I found it. I wanted to make sure we had a team that was we over me and make sure that everybody knew that role and had their part. I just know that I gave my all, my heart and my soul since June 13, 2013 when I committed. And I just know that Mississippi State will always have my heart and will always be a home, no matter what. Thank you Coach (Samantha) Ricketts for the opportunity to live out my dream. As a little girl from Hillsborough, North Carolina, I couldn’t ask for anything else from this program, from the school. From John Cohen (Mississippi State Athletic Director), from everybody. All the time, effort, and everything you did to put Mississippi State on the map. I appreciate every single person in this room.”
After Saturday’s game, before they left the field together, Mia and Montana placed their cleats at home plate at Nusz Park and waved goodbye to the fans.
Montana Davidson took to Facebook over the weekend to share her final thoughts.
“Softball was my first love and this sport has given me so much,” Montana said. “That’s why saying goodbye to it is probably one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do, but I can step away knowing that I gave my full heart to this game.”
Montana Davidson graduated from Orange in 2016. She was a career .438 hitter for the Lady Panthers with 26 home runs. In her freshman season, Orange went undefeated in the Carolina 6 Conference.
Mia Davidson graduated in 2017 and led Orange to the 3A State Championship her senior year. Before starting softball season, Mia was a starting center for B.J. Condron’s women’s basketball team, which opened the year with a school-record 21 straight wins. Orange would go on to win the Big 8 Conference regular season and tournament championships.
In a memorable softball season, the Lady Panthers became the first female team in the history of Hillsborough high school athletics to win a state championship.
Davidson set a North Carolina High School Athletic Association career record with 53 career home runs. She was limited to 12 her senior year, mainly because her reputation as a power hitter carried on from coast-to-coast to near comical proportions. In the second round of the 3A State Playoffs, Orange trailed Topsail 2-1 in the bottom of the eighth inning. Davidson stepped up to plate with the bases loaded, where Topsail’s head coach intentionally walked her, willfully surrounding the lead. Kristina Givens drove in Alysann Lloyd for the game-winning run in the next at-bat as Orange won 3-2.
The Pirates didn’t win, but at least Davidson didn’t beat them. Two weeks later, the Piedmont Panthers wouldn’t be as fortunate. In the opening game of the 3A State Championship series at N.C. State, Orange trailed 2-1. With Abby Hamlett at first, Piedmont’s pitcher was instructed not to give Mia anything close to the plate. It didn’t work. Davidson took a fastball and parked it over the centerfield wall to put Orange ahead for good on that night. The following morning, Orange didn’t trail and defeated Piedmont 4-1 to sweep the series.
Mia leaves Mississippi State having set 12 school records. She is the most prolific home run hitter in Southeastern Conference history with 92. She also is the all-time Mississippi State leader in games played, games started, slugging percentage (.775), runs scored (219), RBIs (220), total bases (610), hit-by-pitches (57), runners picked off (13), defensive chances (1753), putouts (1555), and runners thrown out (47).
In the end, the most rewarding thing for Mia was that she got to play with, and leave her cleats at home plate, alongside her best friend.