The frustration was building as the rain delay continued and Jessica Beech began walking around the Oosterbaan Fieldhouse, at the University of Michigan, to kill time before game one of the Big Ten tournament.
For Beech, a senior pitcher, this was to be her last Big Ten tournament and maybe her last game if the Spartans couldn't beat the top seed U-M on its home field. The hour and twenty minute delay wasn't helping her to get ready either.
"Thursday was real frustrating for me," Beech said. "As a pitcher I had to keep warming up like five times throughout the hour delay."
The delay didn't seem to affect her performance as Beech pitched a stellar game striking out five batters, allowing one run on seven hits and tying the MSU record for career victories, with 68. Nothing unusual for the senior star from Okemos, who has become known for placing herself at the top of the MSU record books.
The game against U-M was just the beginning of a great weekend for Beech as she pitched three complete games for the eight seeded Spartans, carrying the team to its first Big Ten title in school history. Beech managed to do this despite numerous delays including a postponement of the second game from Friday until Saturday.
"I was really looking forward to pitching on three separate days," Beech said. "It's a lot easier to have breaks between games but when you get delays like that you just have to regroup."
Head coach Jacquie Joseph raved about Beech's performance this weekend especially pitching two complete games on Sunday afternoon.
"Her performance was clearly unparalleled," Joseph said. "She found a way to get it done."
Beech pitched great during the Northwestern game, according to Joseph, and even when she was running out of steam against Illinois, her teammates rallied behind her.
"The team put on a great hitting show in the Illinois game," Joseph said. "But whenever the team needed her, Jessica kept answering the bell."
Beech (27-14) has been the Spartans' main arm this season, pitching over three times as many innings as any other pitcher on the roster. Knowing Beech would be the only pitcher for the weekend, her teammates never questioned whether she could handle the task of pitching all three games.
"Jessica did a great job," third baseman senior Brittney Green said. "Once the second game was postponed we knew it would be a tough day for her to pitch two straight games but we knew she could do it."
After this weekend's victories over U-M, Northwestern and Illinois, Beech now holds the career victories record alone, with 70 wins. In her time at MSU, the 2004 first-team All-Big Ten selection has set numerous records including the season record for strikeouts.
With so many accomplishments in her career, one that won't soon be forgotten is Beech's dominance over the Wolverines. The victory over U-M on Thursday brought Beech's career mark against U-M to 5-1, ending the Wolverine's previous reign over the Spartans.
"For eight or nine years before Jessica got here, Michigan had our number," Joseph said. "They are going to be very happy to see her graduate."
