Michigan State University
Eastern Michigan
Softball Posts 4-2 Comeback Win Over Eastern Michigan
4/2/2008 12:00:00 AM | Softball
April 2, 2008
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Nikki Nicosia's two-run shot over the right-field fence erased Eastern Michigan's early lead on Wednesday afternoon at Old College Field, but Abby Lincoln tallied the Spartans' winning run, after a bad pitch on a suicide squeeze forced Lincoln to out-manuever the Eagles to cross home. Michigan State (17-15, 2-2) ultimately defeated EMU 4-2, as MSU pitcher Lesley Noel earned her ninth win of the season.
"You can't take anything negative away from a come-from-behind win," said head coach Jacquie Joseph. "It's just a great win. And that kind of confidence builds and will hopefully carry into the weekend."
Nicosia put MSU on the board in the bottom of the fifth, when the senior crushed the ball out of the park on a 2-0 count. Nicosia drove in Jessica LeFevre, who had singled, and the two-run homer evened the score at 2-2. The home run is Nicosia's fifth of the season, and fourth in the last three games.
In the bottom of the sixth, Lincoln was on third base, pinch-running for Caitlin Mahoney who singled to center field, and Gina Mondo was on second, after singling then advancing on Heidi Purtzer's sacrifice bunt. With two outs, Jessica Bracamonte got the suicide squeeze bunt signal from Coach Joseph, but a bad pitch left Lincoln stranded between third base and home plate. The senior shuffled back-and-forth down the line before EMU's shortstop Stacie Skodinski muffed a throw. Lincoln dashed for home, scoring the winning run, and Mondo advanced to third.
"I immediately told myself to stay calm, to just stay calm," said Lincoln when asked about her thoughts when she realized she was stuck. "I kept thinking that we practice this all the time, so just be calm and be smart."
"Abby did exactly what she should do in that situation," explained Joseph. "The squeeze didn't work out, so she needed to stay alive and hope the defense made a mistake. That's exactly what happened, and she scored."
Bracamonte continued her at bat, grounding out to the second baseman, but putting the ball in play to the right side of the field allowed Mondo to score an insurance run for the Spartans, who then led 4-2.
When MSU was down 2-0 in the third, Joseph made a pitching change and brought in Noel to replace Shae Bass. With the bases loaded and two outs, Noel retired the inning - and ultimately the Eagles' offense - as she struck out Lauren Delapaz looking.
Noel finished the game with three strikeouts, and gave up a single hit in 4.1 innings, improving to a 9-9 record this season. Bass pitched 2.2 innings, giving up four hits and both EMU runs.
Michigan State returns to Big Ten action with a Friday-Saturday series at Ohio State on April 4-5. MSU tangles with the Buckeyes at 6 p.m. on Friday and 1 p.m. on Saturday.
