The MSU softball team used two complete game shutouts from its starting pitchers to sweep a home doubleheader Sunday against Indiana.
In the first game, junior Rachel Turney went the distance for the Spartans (27-11 overall, 6-0 Big Ten) and pushed her record to 12-5. She gave up five hits and struck out seven en route to the 1-0 win.
In game two of the doubleheader, sophomore Lesley Noel shut down the Hoosiers' bats with a four-hit, two-strikeout performance to improve her record to 8-3.
Indiana (18-17-1, 3-5) put runners on base in every inning except the sixth but weren't able to tally a run in the first game.
"(Turney) pitched out of a lot of jams, and that's the sign of maturity because last year, she would have probably given into the hitter, and that would have been runs," MSU head coach Jacquie Joseph said. "This year she's more relaxed about it."
A sixth-inning run was all the Spartans needed to defeat Indiana and its starting pitcher Mariangee Bogado. Bogado gave up just three hits, but MSU was able to manufacture a run with positional hitting and sloppy fielding.
MSU freshman Gina Mondo got hit by a pitch to lead off the inning and moved to second after a single by junior Meghan Darhower.
A wild pitch moved the runners to second and third, and a sacrifice groundout by junior Dayna Feenstra pushed Mondo across the plate for the only run of the game.
"We found a way to win that game, and I was very pleased with that effort," Joseph said.
Indiana again used Bogado for the second game of the doubleheader and, like game one, the Spartans offense did all their damage in just one inning — this time the fourth — to secure the victory.
A walk to sophomore Caitlin Mahoney followed by a sacrifice bunt and wild pitch put a runner on third with two outs. A clutch hit by Mondo drove in sophomore Abby Lincoln and junior Dana Rosenblatt added another hit to drive in Mondo for the second run of the inning.
"There's only so many at-bats you can see the same hitter, and our hitters made good adjustments to (Bogado)," Joseph said about facing the same pitcher in both games.
"(In game two) we made a lot of outs where we hit the ball and put the ball in play, where in the first game she just struck us all out. I think she had gotten just a little bit tired."
Mondo, who went 0-for-2 in the first game before breaking through in the second game with a hit and an RBI, agreed that seeing the same pitcher twice helped.
"The first game we all struggled a little bit but everyone had a lot of at bats off her so it definitely helped in the second game," she said.
Sunday's doubleheader sweep improved the Spartans' weekend record to 4-0. MSU defeated Purdue 1-0 Saturday and 8-2 Friday.
"I am very pleased with the way we played," Joseph said. "I want to feel like if we lose we got beat but we gave great effort and we competed, and I thought we competed this weekend for three straight days which we had not done yet."
MSU has now won nine of its last 10 games and is still undefeated in Big Ten play.
The Spartans' next game is against Bowling Green at 4 p.m. Tuesday at Old College Field.
