Michigan State University
Georgia
Spartans' Seventh-Inning Comeback Not Enough Against UGA
3/1/2008 12:00:00 AM | Softball
March 1, 2008
ATHENS, Ga. - Michigan State softball (4-7) started on top then regained lost ground before ultimately dropping a 3-2 decision to No. 17 Georgia on Saturday afternoon at UGA's Soccer/Softball Complex in Athens, Ga. The Spartans and Bulldogs traded leads and ties throughout the game, but UGA's clutch performance in the bottom of the seventh ultimately captured the UGA win. MSU will continue Georgia Classic action at 10 a.m. Sunday against Butler, before facing Georgia in a 2 p.m. rematch to close out the weekend.
For the first time in six games, Michigan State scored first, and took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning. Kristen Aidem walked when the Spartans had two outs, bringing Bianca Mejia to the plate with a runner on. Mejia - who tallied both of the Spartans' RBIs in the noon game against Longwood - ripped a ball to the center field wall on a 1-2 count and drove Aidem home for a 1-0 advantage. The RBI was Mejia's 10th of the season.
The Bulldogs retaliated in the bottom of the second and tacked up a run on their own triple by Kristen Schnake to right center, allowing Brianna Hesson to cross home. Hassen previously got on base singling up the middle as the lead-off batter. The Spartans halted the offensive drive after the one run for Georgia, and kept the scored tied, 1-1.
But a Melissa Wood homerun in the bottom of the fourth would take the Bulldogs ahead 2-1, and spark a drive at the plate. Hesson came up with a solid shot to right center, but Jessica Bracamonte nearly robbed Georgia of a double as she dove and had a moment's possession of the ball before it popped out as she hit the grass. Christina Reed then singled to pitcher Lesley Noel's right, but Kristen Aidem caught the next fly ball to right field to give MSU it's first out of the fourth. On a short grounder to third, Traci Niccosia tossed the ball to Mejia for the forced out at third. Georgia followed with a fly ball that dropped in shallow left field, but no runners scored to load the bases. With two outs, Mejia stopped Taylor Schlopy's grounder to short and got the ball to Gina Mondo in time to get the out at second, halting the Bulldogs' effort.
In the fifth, after a foul fly out to right field, Kara Weigle recorded a base hit to left center, and Heidi Purtzer followed with a smart at bat, taking a base on balls, to give MSU an offensive spark. Bracamonte dished a single up the middle to load the bases for Nikki Nicosia, who approached the plate with team-leading .429 batting average. The high-risk situation forced Georgia to change pitchers, as Kate Gaskill took the mound, relieving Sarah McCloud; MSU made a lineup change, putting fresh wheels on third as Jessica LeFevre pinch ran for Purtzer. But the pitching change proved to be fruitful for Georgia, as Nicosia and subsequentially Aidem struck out to close the inning.
Holding Georgia scoreless in the bottom of the fifth, Michigan State looked to even the score in the sixth. Mejia lead off with a single to third base, Karen Fox came in to run, then Mahoney popped up to mid-infield, but confusion among the Bulldogs allowed the ball to drop, yielding a base hit to Mahoney. Mondo loaded the bases with another single to the pitcher, and Abby Lincoln came in to pinch run for Mahoney on second. But for the second time tonight, the Spartans failed to convert a bases-loaded situation into runs, when Kara Weigle lined out to third base, and Fox was caught trying to retun to third base.
Michigan State's defense held strong to close out the sixth with no runs against, so again the Spartans approached the plate with a come-back mentality, needing one run to force Georgia to bat at the bottom of the inning. After a strike out, Bracamonte reached second base on a dropped fly ball in left field. Another strike out put two outs on the board, but Aidem stepped up big at the plate with the game-tying RBI single, knocking Bracamonte home. Mahoney popped out to close the inning, but MSU's crucial run brought the Bulldogs back to the plate.
Unfortunately, UGA's Schlopy lead off Georgia's ultimately successful scoring drive with a triple to right center, and Megan Wiggins stunted MSU's comeback hopes when she followed Schlopy with a single to center field to bring in the winning run.
