They got 'em on. They just couldn't bring 'em home. The MSU softball team stranded 12 runners on base during Wednesday's nonconference matchup with Central Michigan, and it cost them dearly.
Wednesday's doubleheader against Indiana-Purdue-Fort Wayne was just what the doctor ordered for the MSU softball team. The Spartans, on a four game losing streak, jumped on the Mastadons from start to finish, sweeping the twin bill 12-0 in four and a half innings and 8-0 at Old College Field. "I'm thrilled that we played and I'm thrilled that we got to play at home," MSU head coach Jacquie Joseph said.
Jacquie Joseph has never seen weather like this in her time as MSU softball head coach. The snow storm that hit East Lansing on Wednesday canceled the Spartans' game against Central Michigan, marking the fifth game MSU has lost in the last week due to weather. "I can tell you in my 14 years here that this has never happened," Joseph said.
The MSU softball team hosts Ohio State at 4 p.m. today in hopes of earning its first conference win.
The MSU softball team opened its Big Ten regular season Sunday, looking to make amends for an embarrassing 11-1 home loss Wednesday against Bowling Green with a road doubleheader at Northwestern. The Spartans fell, 11-3, in the opener, and the finale was still underway at press.
MSU softball head coach Jacquie Joseph was hoping for a little more in her team's home opener Wednesday afternoon at Old College Field. Instead, what she got was a lackluster performance in an 11-1 six-inning loss to Bowling Green. The Spartans (18-14) struggled mightily with the top of Bowling Green's lineup, as the top five hitters went 13-for-17 with 10 RBIs and 11 runs scored. Joseph said she "could only hope" that it was just an off game. The Falcons (15-4) got off to a hot start, scoring three runs in the top of the first inning, while adding two more in the top of the second inning. But the big blow came in the top of the fourth, when Bowling Green's Allison Vallas drilled a three-run home run over the right field fence to give the Falcons a commanding 8-0 lead. MSU would get its lone run in the bottom of the inning off a RBI double from senior shortstop Meghan Darhower. Bowling Green tacked on three more runs for good measure in the top of the sixth inning, including a towering home run from Jeanine Baca.
The MSU softball team played at the Miami (Ohio) Invitational over the weekend, splitting Saturday's day one by defeating Youngstown State, 14-0, and falling to Purdue, 7-3.
The MSU softball team is taking its six-game winning streak on the road for a five-game, three-state weekend that begins at 4 p.m.
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.
The MSU softball team begins a four-game weekend at 4 p.m. today against Purdue at Old College Field. The Spartans (23-11 overall, 2-0 Big Ten) face the Boilermakers (22-18, 2-2) again at home at 1 p.m.
The MSU softball team's series sweep gave head coach Jacquie Joseph 400 career wins at MSU. The Flint native and Central Michigan graduate is in her 13th season as MSU head coach. "I am very proud to be the head softball coach at Michigan State, and I look forward to 400 more," she said. The Spartans showed they can win games in a variety of ways by opening Big Ten play this weekend with victories against Minnesota. In the first game, which was postponed Friday and finished Saturday because of weather, the Spartans used a complete game two-hitter from sophomore Lesley Noel to record a 3-1 victory. But in game two, MSU's pitching and defense put the team in an early 5-2 hole. Junior pitcher Rachel Turney gave up six hits and five runs in less than three innings of work.
The MSU softball team opens its home season at Old College Field against Eastern Michigan at 3 p.m. today. This past weekend, MSU went 3-1 in the IU Softball Classic.
By Becky Johns For The State News As the MSU softball team prepares for a new season, players and coaches are keeping one objective in mind: "Play the game, not the jersey." MSU head coach Jacquie Joseph said the philosophy of focusing on its own game, not the opponent's, is what keeps the players working toward a common goal.
The MSU softball team won the Big Ten Tournament as the No. 8 seed last season but were unable to duplicate that result again this season.
Coming off a sweep of a doubleheader against IPFW on Wednesday, the MSU softball team will head into the weekend with four big games to close out the Big Ten portion of its schedule, with two games against No.
The MSU softball team recorded 4-0 and 5-0 victories at Oakland on Tuesday, its first doubleheader sweep against the same opponent since the 2002 season. Sophomore Rachel Turney and Freshman Lesley Noel each pitched the complete-game shutouts in the doubleheader sweep. Turney's shutout was the second time in her last three starts that she has blanked an opponent.
Once again, the offense ran dry for the MSU softball team. After partaking in the fifth-longest game in MSU softball history, a 2-1, 13-inning win in the first game of the doubleheader, the Spartans left seven runners on base in the second game as they fell to Penn State, 3-1, Sunday afternoon at Old College Field. "That first game was really a doubleheader in itself," MSU head coach Jacquie Joseph said.
The MSU softball team has had time to rest and prepare for its away game against Valparaiso today, after its first home games were canceled last weekend. The Spartans were originally scheduled to play Central Michigan last Thursday and Loyola-Chicago on Saturday.
After finishing up an extended road trip with a loss to No. 12 Texas A&M, the MSU softball team prepares to take on Valparaiso on Thursday.
The MSU softball team heads to Florida for the Florida Atlantic Tournament starting today. The Spartans (4-14-1) will have at least four contests, with a possible championship game.