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Spartan softball back in tournament after absence

May 15, 2003

After a three-year absence, the MSU softball team is back in the NCAA Tournament.

Today, the No. 3-seeded Spartans (37-17) will make their first tournament appearance since 1999 against No. 6 seed North Carolina (39-20-1). It will be the third time MSU has been in the tournament.

"This is what we've been working for," said junior pitcher Jessica Beech."We know we belong here and deserve to be here."

On Tuesday, the team left for Fresno, Calif., where the regional round of the tournament will take place through Sunday. The winner will move on to the College World Series in Oklahoma City on May 22-26.

"I like our chances," said head coach Jacquie Joseph, who was named Big Ten Coach of the Year last week. "We have high expectations."

Joseph is the Spartans' all-time winning softball coach with a 312-261 record in 10 seasons. She coached the team during its other tournament appearances in 1997 and 1999.

Joseph said she has high expectations for the tournament, and the players will have to step up if they don't want to come home early.

"Our goal is to win it," she said. "I'll be disappointed if we went out there and didn't make it to the semi-finals."

This season the Spartans finished 13-6 in the Big Ten, a stark improvement from last season's 4-15 record. Six players - Beech, senior right fielder Tiffany Wallace, senior center fielder Sandy Lewis, junior first base Natalie Furrow, freshman designated player Elizabeth Peterson and senior shortstop Margaret Schick - received All-Big Ten recognition this year, the most in school history.

"The Big Ten teams were unbelievable this year," Joseph said. "But I thought we had a great team."

Wallace said the team had to struggle before getting to where they are now.

"We were horrible coming in," she said. "The past three years were our worst ever."

Junior third base Brittney Green said the team has done a complete turnaround since she first started and is excited to have made it to the tournament.

"There's no feeling to describe it," Green said. "We set the bar at what we can achieve."

Eight players are from California, including Green and Wallace, which the team hopes will bring in huge fan support.

"I'm happy to enjoy the experience of all of this," said Wallace. "What a sweet feeling to go out there in front of your family."

But Joseph said she isn't sure how it will affect the players from the area.

"They'll either play inspired because they're at home, or they'll freak out," she said.

The tournament will be held at Fresno State's Bulldog Stadium. The stadium holds more than 5,000 spectators - a number the players aren't used to playing in front of, Joseph said.

But venue size aside, Beech said making the tournament alone has given the team confidence.

"We know we can compete against anybody," she said. "I expect us to play our best ball."

The region's top competitor expects to be the No. 1 seed UCLA, but Wallace said they'll also be watching out for sleeper teams like No. 7 seed Georgia and No. 4 seed Fresno State.

The tournament will be the last time Wallace will play for MSU, but she wants those returning next season to "keep fighting" and continue the team's legacy.

Green, who will return for one more season, said she's excited by the opportunity the NCAA Tournament offers.

"I'm glad I got to do it this year so I can do it next year too," she said. "It's also a great opportunity for under classmen."

Joseph was looking more toward the future.

"I see this as a jumping off point for the first time since I've been here," she said. "I think we have a chance to win next year.

"There won't be any riots after we win."

Sarah McEvilly can be reached at mcevilly@msu.edu.

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