Michigan State University
Wisconsin
Spartans Defeat Wisconsin In Big Ten Home Opener
4/27/2007 12:00:00 AM | Softball
April 27, 2007
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Behind three hits and four RBI from senior first baseman Dayna Feenstra, the Michigan State Softball team improved to 27-24, 3-8 Big Ten with an 8-5 victory in its 2007 Big Ten home opener against visiting Wisconsin on Friday afternoon at Old College Field. The Badgers fall to 26-16, with a 5-8 mark against league opponents in the loss.
Junior hurler Lesley Noel made her 10th consecutive start for the Spartans in the circle. She allowed nine hits and five earned runs in the complete-game effort to improve to 7-7 for the year.
Eden Brock suffered the loss for the Badgers. She allowed nine hits and three earned runs in three innings of work, falling to 14-10. Leah Vanevenhoven allowed five hits and five earned runs in three innings of relief.
Feenstra led the Spartans with three hits, including one double and a two-run long ball at the plate. Senior right fielder Nicole Mercado also contributed three hits and two RBI, while Gina Mondo delivered three hits, one run and one RBI.
Feenstra delivered a two-out RBI single in the first, and Wisconsin scored two runs in the top of the third on consecutive one-run singles by Ricci Robben and Alexis Garcia. Feenstra added an RBI double in the bottom half of the frame, and pinch runner Erin Harvey scored on a single by Mondo for a 3-2 Spartan advantage.
MSU used a three-run fifth inning to put the game out of reach for the Badgers. With the bases full of Spartans, UW earned a force out at home plate for the first out of the frame, but Mercado followed with a two-run single to right field to push the lead to 5-2. She scored the final run of the inning on an RBI groundout by Nikki Nicosia for a 6-2 MSU advantage.
Feenstra added two more Spartan runs to the scoreboard in the sixth with her seventh home run of the season. She hit a ball far beyond the left field fence to extend the lead to 8-2. With the game seemingly out of reach, Wisconsin rallied for three runs in the top of the seventh, but Noel tallied her sixth strikeout of the contest for the final out of the frame to hold the 8-5 conference victory.
MSU scored eight runs on 14 hits, while Wisconsin managed five runs on nine hits in the loss. Each team committed one miscue in the field.
Game two of the series between the Spartans and Badgers will be played on Saturday at Old College Field. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m.
