A beautiful day for softball produced even prettier results for the MSU softball team, as it defeated Purdue 8-3 Sunday at Old College Field.
After falling behind 3-0 after three innings, the Spartan bats came alive with timely hits in the middle innings.
The Spartans pushed across two runs in the fourth thanks to an RBI sacrifice fly by senior Shealee Dunavan, who plays first base, and an RBI single by sophomore outfielder Tiffany Wallace.
In the fifth inning, after junior Amanda Melton, who plays second base, singled home the tying run, she later scored on a Purdue throwing error to put MSU ahead 4-3. Sloppiness was a theme for the Boilermakers all game, as they committed six errors.
Freshman Natalie Furrow, who plays first base, then came through with a key two-out single that drove in two runs to give MSU a 6-3 lead. Furrow went 3-4 with three RBIs in the game.
With runners on second and third in the sixth inning, MSU tallied its final runs of the game on freshman outfielder Angel Merren’s RBI single and yet another Purdue throwing error.
MSU is now 15-26 overall and 2-4 in the Big Ten.
MSU head coach Jacquie Joseph said Sunday’s game was a stark contrast to Saturday’s game between the teams, where the Spartans couldn’t generate any offense in a 5-1 loss.
“Today we played well and just crushed the ball,” she said. “We went through three of their pitchers and I was really proud of the way the kids battled back from yesterday. In the end, 13 hits is 13 hits, so I was really happy with our adjustments.”
The Spartans will travel next to Eastern Michigan for a 4 p.m. game Wednesday.
Men’s gymnastics
In their last-ever meet and its first NCAA Championship meet since 1966, the MSU men’s gymnastics team finished sixth at the NCAA meet held in Columbus, Ohio, during the weekend, according to MSU Sports Information.
Junior Jonathan Plante and sophomore Brad Golden also earned All-American honors at the meet.
Plante finished fifth in the pommel horse with a score of 8.825. Golden took second in the vault with a season-high score of 9.375 and third in the floor exercise with a score of 9.287.
Head coach Rick Atkinson said he was proud of his team for making it to the NCAA meet.
“They gave every single thing they had for every routine, every dismount and every skill they performed,” he said.
Since the athletics department is pulling the plug on the program after this year, the Spartans were competing for the final time in men’s gymnastics.
After garnering their best finish in his 13-year coaching tenure, the timing couldn’t be worse for Atkinson.
“Boy, you could have come back and said it would have been good for recruiting and good for the future,” he said. “It was going to be a good base for a while, but it’s the way it is.”
Women’s gymnastics
Three members of the MSU women’s gymnastics team competed at the NCAA Regional Championships on Saturday in Tuscaloosa, Ala., but failed to qualify for the NCAA Championships.
Senior Melissa Green was 15th on the uneven bars with a score of 9.8, junior Jane McIntosh was 21st on the balance beam with a score of 9.725 and sophomore Christy Linder finished 11th in the all-around competition with a final score of 38.35.
Women’s tennis
The MSU women’s tennis team fell to Ohio State 6-1 Sunday in Columbus.
Sophomore Mollie Hood got the Spartans’ only victory in singles competition, defeating Ohio State’s Erica Fisk 6-4, 6-4.
MSU will next play against Iowa at 10 a.m. Saturday at home. The match will be held at the MSU outdoor tennis courts.
Men’s tennis
MSU, which was at Penn State on Sunday, lost to Ohio State 7-0 on Saturday in Columbus. No Spartan was able to win a match in either singles or doubles competition.
MSU will next face archrival Michigan at 6 p.m. Wednesday at home.
