Michigan State University
Eastern Michigan
Eagles Shutdown Spartan Bats In Home Opener
3/28/2006 12:00:00 AM | Softball
March 28, 2006
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State (18-10) tallied just six hits in Tuesday's home opener against Eastern Michigan, falling 2-0 to the Eagles at Old College Field. Rachel Turney allowed four hits and two runs in her fifth loss of the season, while Gina Mondo and Dana Rosenblatt each managed two hits to pace the Spartan offense.
Turney walked the Eagle left fielder to open the top half of the third inning, with consecutive groundouts advancing the runner to third. An RBI single to right field plated Stephanie Sabo, as Eastern Michigan took the 1-0 lead.
Lesley Noel replaced Turney with one out in the top of the fifth, but she met a similar fate as Sabo scored her second run of the contest on a long double to the center field fence.
Trailing in the bottom of the sixth, Michigan State sent the heart of its lineup to the plate, but Eagle pitcher Aimee Woodrum forced consecutive flyouts to hold the Spartan bats to just four hits through the first six innings of play.
State threatened in the bottom half of the seventh, when Rosenblatt reached first on a two-out single to left field. Pinch hitter Kara Weigle was hit by the first pitch she faced, which put runners at first and second for left fielder Jessica LeFevre. LeFevre narrowly missed beating out an infield single as EMU's defense secured the final out and 2-0 victory.
Turney and Noel combined for four strikeouts for Michigan State, allowing six hits in the loss.
"I'm very concerned about the mental toughness of our team," Michigan State head coach Jacquie Joseph said. "We need to make the most out of our opportunities to play on our field, in front of our home crowd."
The Spartans travel to Fort Wayne, Ind. Wednesday afternoon to face IPFW in a non-conference doubleheader scheduled to begin at 3 p.m.
