The MSU softball team's cinderella season came to a close this weekend following a 5-0 loss to No. 2 UCLA on Sunday.
The loss ended the last page of a storybook season, as the Spartans advanced deeper than any previous team in the school's history. MSU's three postseason wins is the most in its history. The team only had made the tournament twice before - 1997 and 1999.
The Spartans advanced to the final game by stringing together three impressive wins during the NCAA Regional Tournament.
"I was as surprised as anybody that (MSU) just kept playing at a really high level," head coach Jacquie Joseph said. "But we had a really nice run and I think we gained a lot of respect. I felt like had we been in a different region, our chances would have been even better to go to the championship."
MSU (40-19) found itself battling the Bruins (49-6) on Sunday in Fresno, Calif., for the second time in as many days, with a trip to the College World Series on the line.
But the top-seeded Bruins proved too much for the No. 3-seeded Spartans, jumping to a 3-0 lead in the first inning thanks to a three-run shot off the bat of center fielder Stephanie Ramos.
UCLA added two more insurance runs in the third before Spartan junior pitcher Jessica Beech was relieved.
Beech, who compiled a 27-11 record this season, was tagged for six hits and five earned runs in three innings of work.
The Bruin pitching staff stymied the MSU offense as junior first base Natalie Furrow and senior shortstop Margaret Schick connected just once each for the Spartans' only hits of the game.
"Not knowing what to expect coming in was kind of hard," Beech said. "Everything is so intense and there are so many emotions."
The Spartans had advanced to Sunday's final with a 2-0 shutout over tourney-host Fresno State (36-22) on Saturday.
MSU sophomore pitcher Stephanie Christner (11-5) earned the win, tossing a two-hit complete game after holding the Bulldog bats silent through 6 1/3 innings.
UCLA handed MSU its first loss in the tournament on Saturday, defeating the Spartans 6-2 with a four-run seventh after being knotted at two through six innings of play.
On Friday, MSU eked out a dramatic 4-3 win over No. 2 seeded Georgia.
MSU was trailing 2-1 with two outs and one on base in the bottom of the seventh when junior third base Brittney Green then drove a 1-2 pitch over the wall for a walk-off home run and a Spartan win.
MSU opened the tournament with a 9-1 blowout win over No. 6 seed North Carolina in which Beech scattered just three hits and one run for the victory.
"We came in this year knowing we were going to be a good team," senior center fielder Sandy Lewis said. "Just being as competitive as we are, we're never satisfied with losing. It was a bittersweet end but we lost to a really good team."
By eliminating the Spartans on Sunday, UCLA moved on to its 19th College World Series appearance in 22 years.
