Another pivotal weekend in the Big Ten awaits the MSU softball team as it heads out on a four-game road trip to Penn State and Ohio State.
The Spartans (27-11 overall, 6-3 Big Ten) hope to improve on their fourth-place position in the conference. Head coach Jacquie Joseph said she knows how important this upcoming set of games is.
"This is a critical weekend for us," she said. "In order to win the Big Ten, we have to win every Big Ten game that we play."
MSU will rely on what it has all season: pitching and solid defense.
Junior pitcher Jessica Beech is having a phenomenal season. Beech is 20-4, with an impressive 0.76 ERA. She has also gone the distance in her 19 starts, recording 19 complete games.
Outstanding defense continues to be a staple for the Spartans. MSU leads the conference with a .975 fielding percentage. Senior outfielder Sandy Lewis leads the Spartans' offense with a .363 batting average. Lewis also sits atop the team leaderboard in hits (41), runs (27) and on-base percentage (.446).
Both of the Spartans' weekend opponents inhabit the bottom half of the Big Ten standings.
However, the Nittany Lions (22-15, 4-4) are riding a three-game winning streak and have won six of their last 10 contests. Penn State has four batters hitting .300 or higher, led by outfielder Gina Bianchini, who is hitting at a .347 clip. She also leads the team with a .409 on-base percentage.
Penn State's pitching staff is anchored by right-hander Marisa Hanson, who has a 1.31 ERA along with 90 strikeouts in 123 1/3 innings of work.
The Buckeyes (21-16, 2-4) are ninth in the conference, but still receive votes in both the USA Today and ESPN.com Top 25 softball polls, due in part to a difficult schedule. Ohio State is going in the opposite direction of the Nittany Lions. The Buckeyes have lost six of their last 10 outings.
Ohio State boasts a speedy lineup, tallying 46 stolen bases in 62 attempts. As a team, the Buckeyes are batting a solid .275, with rightfielder Karisa Evans leading the team with a .368 batting average.
MSU will be facing yet another solid pitching staff as Ohio State has a respectable 1.33 team ERA. Buckeye ace Kristi DeVries leads the three-pitcher staff with a 1.22 ERA and 100 strikeouts.
The Big Ten is traditionally one of the nation's top conferences. And although the Spartans are on a three-game winning streak of their own, sophomore second base Janette Hurtado knows how difficult winning on the road can be.
"It feels good to win three straight games, especially going into this weekend," she said. "We'll be looking to get as many wins as possible on the road."
Ohio State is 2-7 against teams receiving votes in both polls, while the Spartans are 4-2.
And even with MSU performing well, the Spartans are getting no love from pollsters. But Joseph is not concerned with what she calls a "popularity contest."
"Those polls have nothing to do with the NCAA," she said. "While it's nice to get exposure, it doesn't mean anything. But I'm sure if we continue to play as well as we have, we'll be in the popularity poll."
