Michigan State University
17-33, 0
Indiana
17-34, 0
MSU Falls to IU in Series Finale
4/26/2015 12:00:00 AM | Softball
East Lansing, Mich. - Six runs over the final two innings allowed the Indiana Hoosiers to blow open a tie game and record a 10-4 win over Michigan State in the rubber match of the three-game series between the teams. The Spartans posted 13 hits, but fell behind early, rallying to knot the score at 4-4, but saw the home team pull away in the late innings.
Michigan State has five games on tap in the coming week to complete it's 2015 season - at home on Tuesday vs. Notre Dame, a Wednesday date at Central Michigan, and a three-game series against Maryland next weekend at Secchia Stadum. MSU (17-33, 2-18 Big Ten) has been eliminated from Big Ten Tournament contention, four games behind Indiana (16-34, 6-11) in 12th place with three games to go. The top 12 teams in the Conference will compete in the Tournament, which begins in two weeks in Columbus.
Bridgette Rainey earned the start and also came in to finish the game; she , her second of the series; she went a combined five innings, allowing five runs on a seven hits, walking three and striking out two. Dani Goranson relieved Rainey with one on and none out in the fifth, and went one inning with a pair of runs on four hits. Kristina Zalewski allowed three runs without recording an out. Kassidy Kujawa, Stephanie Sanders, and McKenzie Long each had a pair of MSU's 11 hits, but three errors plagued the Spartans on the afternoon as well.
Lora Olson started for IU for the third time in the series, going 6.1 innings and scattering 11 hits before Miranda Tamayo came in to record the final two outs. Erin Lehman had three hits for the Hoosiers on the day, who had 13 as a team, including a pair of first-inning home runs.
The Spartans took a 1-0 lead out of the chute, on a McKenzie Long hit one-out sacrifice fly to right to plate Kassidy Kujawa. The home team countered with a four-run first, as Shannon Cawley smacked a three-run homer over the wall in left and Kelsey Dotson came up next and hit one to right. MSU got out of the inning on a double play, as Alyssa McBride caught Rachel O'Malley's shot to right, and gunned down punch runner Alyssa Rosati at the plate as she tried to tack on a fifth run.
MSU countered with a big third inning to knot the score at 4-4. Sanders started the rally with a one-out single to center, her second of the day. After Gutknecht flew out for the second out of the inning, Long delivered an RBI single, her second of the game, to bring home Sanders to cut into the lead, 4-2. Jordan Davis singled to left to leave runners at the corners, and Destinee Luna's single to center brought home Long. Luna looked to extend the play and tried to take second, and Davis used the opportunity to score from first as the throw went to second; Davis crossed the plate before the ball got to the second baseman to nab Luna, allowing the Spartans to knot the game at 4-4.
The Hoosiers regained the lead with a rally in the bottom of the fifth. Rainey was replaced by Goranson after issuing a leadoff walk to Dotson, and Caramia Tsirigos flied out to right for the first out of the inning. Michelle Huber doubled to leave a pair in scoring position for pinch hitter Brianna Meyer, who delivered an RBI single that gave IU a 5-4 lead. Goranson got a second straight pinch hitter, Mena Fulton, to go down looking at a called third strike, but O'Malley singled to center to bring home Huber for a 6-4 lead. Pinch hitter Caitlyn Conenna grounded out to Luna to end the inning.
Pinch hitter Shanin Thomas came up with a single to left to start off the sixth, but that was all that MSU could muster offensively as IU turned its second double play of the afternoon to make it a fairly quick inning. After Goranson gave up a leadoff double to Lehman in the home half of the frame, Zalewski relieved her in the circle. Cawley reached on an error, and Dotson followed with a double, bringing home Lehman to add to the lead. Tsirigos singled to left to bring home the second run of the inning, and an infield error plated the third run of the frame to push the home-team lead to 9-4 without an out. Rainey came back into the game at that point, and got Taylor Udon to strike out swinging with the bases loaded. O'Malley reached on a fielder's choice, bringing across Tsirigos for the fourth run of the inning and a 10-4 advantage.
Olson got the first out of the seventh, retiring Kujawa; she was relieved by Tamayo, who got both Sanders and Gutknect to end the game.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Olson, L. (11-24)
L: Rainey, Bridgette (1-13)
Batting:
RBI: Long, McKenzie 2 ; Luna, Destinee 1
SF: Long, McKenzie 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Kujawa, Kassidy 1 ; Sanders, Stephanie 1 ; Long, McKenzie 1 ; Davis, Jordan 1
HBP: Foerster, Lea 1
Batting:
2B: Lehman 1 ; Dotson 1 ; Huber 1
HR: Cawley 1 ; Dotson 1
RBI: Cawley 3 ; Dotson 2 ; Tsirigos 1 ; Huber 1 ; Meyer, B. 1 ; O'Malley 2
SH: Meyer, B. 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Blitz 1 ; Lehman 2 ; Cawley 2 ; Dotson 3 ; Tsirigos 1 ; Huber 1
SB: Blitz 1
HBP: Lehman 1 ; Tsirigos 1
