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Sports | Softball

SOFTBALL

Complete shutouts

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.

SOFTBALL

Coach reaches milestone

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.

SOFTBALL

10 returning starters bolster Spartans as tourney kicks off season

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.

SOFTBALL

Team ends Big Ten 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.

SOFTBALL

WEB ONLY: Spartans complete doubleheader sweep

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.

SOFTBALL

Team drops 2nd game in split, 3-1

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.

SOFTBALL

MSU takes on winless Valparaiso

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.

SOFTBALL

'U' ends season in regionals with loss to Georgia

The MSU softball team ended its season at the NCAA Regional in Athens, Ga., with a 9-1 loss to host school, Georgia. The Spartans managed only one run and six hits for the entire game and were unable to muster up any offense. "I think it's putting together hits and we didn't do that," senior third baseman Brittney Green said.

SOFTBALL

MSU to face Texas A&M at Regionals

A broad smile formed on Jessica Beech's face as she couldn't contain her excitement after learning her team's destination for the NCAA Tournament. The senior pitcher clapped loudly with her teammates as cheers erupted throughout the Berkowitz Basketball Complex.

SOFTBALL

Beech works through delays, sets records

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.

SOFTBALL

'U' outlasts Eastern in 3-0 win

Jessica Beech pitched four perfect innings on the mound and chalked up three strikeouts as the MSU softball team defeated Eastern Michigan, 5-1, on Wednesday. Sophomore catcher Elizabeth Peterson knocked in two runs for the Spartans in this nonconference game.