Michigan State University
14-10
College of Charleston
13-10
Zalewski, Foerster Power Spartans to Win over College of Charleston
3/13/2016 12:00:00 AM | Softball
SPARTAN SYNOPSIS
Michigan State wrapped up the Holy City Showdown at the College of Charleston with a 4-1 victory against the host Cougars (13-10) in the tournament finale.
Lea Foerster had a pair of doubles, a triple, walked once and accounted for all four RBI to improve her team-best batting average to .451 on the season. In the circle, Kristina Zalewski (6-6) tossed her second consecutive complete game, striking out three without walking a batter, scattering six hits.
Michigan State (14-10) concludes the pre-Big Ten portion of its schedule next weekend with four games at the Hoosier Classic in Bloomington.
QUOTABLE
"We talked this morning about finishing the tournament strong, and we got extraordinary performances from both Kristina Zalewski and Lea Foerster today to carry us. I obviously dont like the four errors, but we minimized the damage there and didn't allow the College of Charleston to capitalize on the mistakes we made. We had been playing excellent defensive ball, so that was a disappointment. However, the overall takeaway from a weekend where we went 4-1 is that we're continuing to improve - and that's what we want to do every time we take the field.
- Head Coach Jacquie Joseph
TOP PERFORMERS
- Kristina Zalewski scattered six hits and struck out three, walking just one.
- Lea Foerster went 3-for-3, with a double, triple, and all four RBI.
- Lexi White had her first career base hit, going 1-for-3.
- Celeste Wood, McKenzie Long, and Lindsey Besson all had singles on the afternoon as well, contributing to MSU's seven hits.
STATS AND STORYLINES
- Lea Foerster looked to start off the game strong, dropping a standup double to the wall in left field - but MSU got popped up twice and had a fly ball to center that stranded her at second. In the home half of the first, Zalewski got the first two batters before Rebecca Mueller smacked a double to right, but she got a popout to end the inning.
- Back-to-back two-out singles by McKenzie Long and Lindsey Besson put runners at the corners, and Destinee Luna was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Foerster came to the plate looking for her second hit of the day, and she tripled to deep center to bring three runs across for a 3-0 lead.
- Foerster brought home another run in the top of the fourth, bringing McKenzie Long home after a leadoff walk with her second double and fourth RBI of the day, all with two outs.
- A leadoff bunt single by Mueller, her second hit of the game, started a mini-rally for the Cougars, as she advanced to second on a wild pitch to move into scoring position. With two outs, MSU's fourth error of the day allowed her to score when Garcia reached on a routine ground ball. Zalewski came back with a strikeout to end the inning after the unearned run, stranding Charleston's ninth runner on the basepaths.
- Lexi White, who missed most of the early part of the season with an injury, got her first career hit in the top of the fifth inning, a single through the left side.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Zalewski, Kristina (6-6)
L: Samantha Martin (7-4)
Batting:
2B: Foerster, Lea 2
3B: Foerster, Lea 1
RBI: Foerster, Lea 4
SH: Echols, Ebonee 1 ; Luna, Destinee 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Long, McKenzie 2 ; Besson, Lindsey 1 ; Luna, Destinee 1
HBP: White, Lexi 1 ; Luna, Destinee 1
Batting:
2B: Rebecca Mueller 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Rebecca Mueller 1
HBP: Katie Padilla 1
