What is delayed cannot be denied.
From the day she led the Orange softball team to the 2017 3A State Softball Championship, power has been the theme of Mia Davidson’s career. She still owns the all-time North Carolina record with 53 home runs.
When she started her career at Mississippi State in 2018, Davidson homered on her first day as a college player, an 8-0 win again Omaha at Nusz Park in Starkville. It was her second game as a Bulldog.
Through a pandemic, a head coaching change and an injury to her most prized teammate (her older sister), last week Davidson cemented her name in the Southeastern Conference record book for years to come. She hit her 70th career home run against Southern Illinois on February 18, breaking the all-time SEC record previously held by Lauren Haeger of Florida.
Davidson needed 214 games to break the record. Haeger achieved 70 home runs over the course of 261 games.
“It’s a great achievement,” Davidson, clearly emotional, said after the doubleheader during the Bulldog Classic. “I’m going to cry, oh my goodness. just being here for five years and doing something, especially in one of the best conferences in the country. It’s something amazing. It’s nice. It felt amazing. I was jumping around the bases the whole time.”
Davidson’s 70th dinger was a solo blast in the sixth inning that drew the Bulldogs to within one run of the Salukis, who held on to beat MSU 4-3. Later in the day, Mississippi State defeated Central Arkansas 11-3. In that game, Davidson had a two-run homer in the 2nd inning. It was an emotional moment for an emotional player that has aimed to make the Mississippi State program a better one as she prepares to end her softball career this summer.
“It was nice,” Davidson said. “They (her teammates) all came and gave me a hug. I think some of us starting crying together. It was an amazing feeling. I think just having a strong team and family especially with having my sister there. It was really nice.”
In 2018, Davidson was named the SEC Freshman of the Year after leading the conference with 18 home runs, but it wasn’t an easy transition from Hillsborough. Her older sister, Montana, was sidelined with a knee injury and was forced to take a medical redshirt.
Montana Davidson, who graduated from Orange in 2016, returned the following season, where she and Mia played at Duke Softball Stadium against the college team they grew up rooting for. The year away from Montana wasn’t just a period to recover from a painful injury. It robbed her of precious time to play alongside her sister that neither one of them could get back.
“It was indescribable,” Montana said after an extra innings win over Duke in 2019. “It hit me pretty hard when I couldn’t even travel (with the team due to being hurt).”
While Montana was out, she guided Mia through her first year away from Hillsborough.
“She was pretty much everything for me,” Mia said in 2019. “She would listen when I vented. She would tell me when to calm down and stuff. It was a different experience when she was there.”
Over this past weekend, Mia continued her torrent pace for her senior season. During five games in the Alex Wlcox Memorial at Nusz Park, Davidson hit five home runs. She went 7-for-13 while being walked five times. This season, Davidson has eight homers and 17 RBIs. She is now one RBI away from tying the school record.
On Friday alone, Davidson had four home runs over the course of two games. Against Longwood and Belmont, Davidson went 5-for-6 with eight RBIs. She reached base safely in seven of her eight plate appearances. The only time she was retired all day came when she struck out after her contact lens fell out on the previous pitch.
Against the Lancers, Davidson had a career-high six RBIs while going 4-for-4, including a grand slam. The six RBIs was the third-most in a single-game in school history. The grand slam was the third of her career.
In Sunday’s win over South Alabama, Davidson launched a solo blast to centerfield as the Bulldogs prevailed 5-0.
Mississippi State is 9-7 overall and will continue the season against Mississippi Valley State on Wednesday.