Four Road Games On Tap For Softball This Week

Spartans (14-22, 3-6 B1G) at Central Michigan (16-18-1)
Spartans (14-22, 3-6 B1G) at 19/12 Minnesota (27-10, 8-1 B1G)

Dates/Location	Tuesday April 9 at Central Michigan \| Mt. Pleasant, Mich.; Margo Jonker Stadium
	April 12-14 at Minnesota \| Minneapolis, Minn.; J ane Sage Cowles Stadium \| Tickets \| Parking
Gameday Links
Central Michigan, Tuesday 4 pm ET	Live Stats Watch ($) Listen: SpartanSportsNetwork.com
Minnesota Game One: Friday, 7 pm ET	Live Stats Watch: B TN2Go ($) Listen: SpartanSportsNetwork.com
Minnesota Game Two: Saturday, 2 pm ET	Live Stats Watch: BTN2Go ($) Listen: SpartanSportsNetwork.com
Minnesota Game Three: Sunday, 1 pm ET	Live Stats Watch: BTN2Go ($) Listen: SpartanSportsNetwork.com
Big Ten Softball	Schedule/Results Standings Statistics
Game Notes	Michigan State \| Central Michigan \| Minnesota
MSU Softball Social Media	Facebook \| Twitter \| Instagram

THE WEEK IN A NUTSHELL

• Michigan State continues its four-game weeks in the month of April, beginning with a Tuesday non-conference showdown at Central Michigan. For the weekend, the Spartans head to Minneapolis to take on Minnesota in a three-game Big Ten series.

LOGISTICS
• Links for live statistics can be found on MSUSpartans.com on the Spartan schedule page.

• All of MSU's Big Ten games will have a webstream via BTN2Go. Links for all games can be found on the softball schedule page of MSUSpartans.com, or on the BTN2GO live events page at www.btn2go.com/schedule.

• Spartan Sports Network continues its coverage of Spartan softball in 2019. The broadcast of the remainder of MSU's games - both home and away - will be available exclusively at SpartanSportsNetwork.com and on the network's 24/7 app for mobile devices (available on iTunes and Google Play). Matt Tjapkes is back for his fifth season calling all the Spartan softball action.

THE MATCHUPS
• Tuesday will stand as the 91st meeting all-time between the two schools in the sport of softball. CMU owns a 29-59-2 overall mark in the all-time series, with the teams alternating wins in each of the last four seasons. Last year's meeting went to the Spartans when the teams met at Secchia Stadium, 8-1.

• Now in her 40th season as the head coach of the Chippewas, Margo Jonker is not only one of the longest-serving coaches in the game of fastpitch, but also one of the most respected. She has guided her team to a 16-18-1 record in 2019, and CMU stands with a 7-3-1 record in MAC play. The Chippewas won four of five last week, all against Conference opponents.

• Spartan head coach Jacquie Joseph both played for and coached with Jonker at Central Michigan. Joseph was a two-time All-MAC selection and was inducted into the school's Hall of Fame in the fall of 2013 as a member of the school's 1982 team which compiled a 42-9 regular-season record and advanced to the AIAW World Series.

• A 2012 Michigan State graduate Jessica Bracamonte is in her sixth season on Jonker's staff at CMU. Bracamonte was a four-year Spartan starter (2008-11) and served one season as a student assistant as a student assistant coach.

• MSU and Minnesota meet for the second straight season after a hiatus in 2016 and 2017. The series last season at Secchia Stadium was abbreviated due to weather, and the teams split a doubleheader (3-2 MSU, 6-2 Minnesota). The overall series goes to the Golden Gophers (57-36), including a 29-7 record when Minnesota plays on its home field. Over the last 10 games, the series is split 5-5.

• Jamie Trachsel is in her second season as the head coach of the Gophers, and guided Minnesota to a 41-17 season a year ago. Her squad is off to a 27-10 overall record and stands at 8-1 in the Big Ten through three weekends, including a 2-1 series win at Illinois last week. Minnesota holds the No. 19/12 ranking in last week's national polls.

TEAM NOTES
• The Spartans entered the 2019 campaign with five returning starters after losing six seniors to graduation at the conclusion of 2018. MSU carries 20 on its roster, including five returning starters: seniors 3B Kaitlyn Eveland and LF Ebonee Echols, junior Melanie Baccay, and sophomores RF Katie Quinlan and SS Caitie Ladd.

• MSU earned a 2-1 series win over Maryland last weekend at Secchia Stadium, and also won a midweek game over Oakland, 11-3 (5). The Terps took a big lead early in the first game and then held on for an 11-9 win, but the Spartans came back to earn a 8-7 victory in eight innings on Saturday and then an 11-3 win in five innings on Sunday.

• The Spartans hit .375 in the Maryland series, with a .688 team slugging percentage and .485 on-base percentage. MSU had 18 walks and 13 extra-base hits among the 30 base knocks. The Spartans accounted for six doubles, two triples, and five homers in the series. MSU's team ERA was 3.15 on the weekend.

• MSU's schedule has been challenging, with eight games throughout the non-conference schedule vs. power-five opponents. The Spartan schedule strength has an overall rank of 45th nationally, which includes three games vs. non-conference top-25 opponents (No. 5 Alabama (L, 2-1) and two vs No. 19 Auburn, (L, 5-0, L, 3-2), all on the road. Five of MSU's eight Big Ten conference series come against Top-25 or receiving votes opponents, with 14 of the next 15 Spartan games against that level of competition.

• MSU has had several players miss games - or long stretches - with injury. No player has appeared in all 32 games - Kaitlyn Eveland and Katie Quinlan have each played and started 31. Riley Paxson is now done for the season due to a leg injury , and Joanna Bartz is rehabbing from an injury that had limited her role to pinch hitting until last weekend vs. Maryland.

• The Spartans have drawn a total of 140 walks this season, good for the second most in the Big Ten behind Northwestern (146).

• MSU's ranks among the top half of the league in several offensive categories. The Spartans rank in a tie for third in triples (9), sixth in on-base percentage (.444), and seventh in batting average (.283) and RBI (169).

• MSU is 38-of-46 on stolen base attempts, and went the first 10 games of the season without a runner being caught stealing. MSU's 38 stolen bases has surpassed both its 2017 (35) and 2018 (36) totals. The 2016 team swiped 47 bases.

• MSU's 81 walks allowed by its pitching staff this season is the sixth-fewest in the Conference. MSU's 11 hit batters is also the third-lowest in the league; Penn State pitchers have hit just eight, and Indiana's nine.

• The Spartan pitching staff surrendered just nine earned runs in the Maryland series, and issued just eight walks over the three games.

• Michigan State head coach Jacquie Joseph is in her 26th season at the helm of the Spartan softball program, and is the longest-tenured coach in program history, along with being the second-longest-tenured head coach in MSU's athletics department. She earned her 700th victory as the Spartan mentor on March 8 vs. Mercer, and she owns 841 wins overall.

• Joseph is the third-longest tenured head coach in the Big Ten Conference, behind Carol Hutchins (Michigan, 35th season) and Rhonda Revelle (Nebraska, 27th.)

• Joseph's staff consists of pitching coach Ben Sorden, hitting coach Corrie Hill, and volunteer Bruce Lenington. Sorden begins his second season with the Spartan pitchers, while Hill and Lenington joined the staff in the fall of 2018.

PLAYER NOTES - PITCHERS
• MSU's returning pitchers threw just 66.1 of 336 innings a year ago. The staff makeup is intriguing, however, as it features junior Jordan Watson, sophomore McKenna Gregory, redshirt freshman Leah Shipp, and JUCO transfer sophomore Alli Walker.

• McKenna Gregory threw 7.0 innings over the weekend, including a tying her career best with a combined six innings in a Saturday start / relief appearance where she picked up her fourth win of the season.

• Twenty-three of Gregory's 25 appearances this season have come in relief. She leads the league in relief appearances - Kylee Lingenfelter of Penn State ranks second with 16. Her 25 appearances overall is tied for seventh in the Big Ten.

• Walker started three of four games last week, including the Friday/Sunday games against Maryland. She threw a combined seven innings against the Terps, and scattered 13 hits in earning a 1-1 record. On the season, she ranks sixth in the Big Ten in appearances (26) and ranks fourth in starts (21). She leads the pitching staff with 86.1 innings and 51 strikeouts, tossing two complete games and recording two shutouts.

• Jordan Watson saw one outing against Maryland, allowing just one hit in two relief innings in the Sunday matchup. On the year, she has thrown 46.2 innings, striking out 16 in 18 appearances, including seven starts. She owns a 4.50 ERA.

• Leah Shipp also made two relief appearances vs. Maryland, striking out three and allowing just two earned runs. Hindered by a lingering injury this season, she has made just 13 appearances (32.1 innings), starting six ballgames.

PLAYER NOTES - FIELD PLAYERS
• While five starters returned to the 2019 lineup, the Spartans are still a youthful bunch with just two seniors among those five: LF Ebonee Echols and 3B Kaitlyn Eveland.

• Both Eveland and Ebonee Echols are among MSU's top-10 all-time in several career categories. Eveland ranks fourth with a .340 career batting average, behind school recordholder Patti Raduenz (.372, 1993-96) and 2018 graduate Lea Foerster (.368, 2015-18); Echols ranks 10th (.324). The duo ranks fifth (Echols, 121) and seventh (Eveland, 117) on MSU's all-time RBI list.

• Ebonee Echols is MSU's and the Big Ten record holder with 25 career triples. She also shares the Big Ten single-season record of 11, set in 2017. She has amassed 188 base hits in her career, good for 112th on MSU's all-time list, ranks third with 130 career runs scored, sixth in extra-base hits (67) and seventh in stolen bases (40).

• Ebonee Echols ranks second on the team with a .354 batting average on the season, and is also second in RBI (27), triples (2; T-11th,B1G) and in sac flies (3; T-second, B1G). She is also 5-of-5 in stolen bases.

• Over the last 10 games, Ebonee Echols is hitting .370 with 10 base hits, a .630 slugging percentage, and .500 on-base percentage. She has eight RBI in this stretch, the second-most on the team.

• Ebonee Echols smacked two homers in the finale of the Maryland series, and tied the school record for home runs in a game (2). Echols two shots is the 26th time in program history - it had been accomplished earlier in the season by Caitie Ladd (vs. Indiana, March 29). Among current players, Kelly Zackrison (April 28, 2018 vs. Rutgers), Lexi White (May 8, 2017 vs. Indiana) and Kaitlyn Eveland (April 8, 2017) have also accomplished the feat.

• With four walks in the Maryland series, Kaitlyn Eveland now ranks third all-time at MSU in career free passes (88). Brittney Green (2001-04) is the all-time career leader with 104, with Patti Raduenz (95) in second place. She moved into seventh place in the MSU career record book with her 21st career homer against Penn State. She is three hits shy of joining MSU's all-time top 25, as she has 155.

• With 26 free passes this season, Kaitlyn Eveland leads the team, ranks third in the B1G, and 28th nationally. She has drawn 28 walks in each of the last two seasons, which ranks in a tie for eighth in a single-season at MSU; the school record is held by Patti Raduenz, who had 37 in 1996.

• Eveland had a double, a homer, and four walks in the Maryland series, and on the season is batting .309 with 20 RBI. She also is 9-for-9 on stolen base attempts, which ranks 10th in the Big Ten.

• Sophomore shortstop Caitie Ladd hit .600 in a 3-1 week for the Spartans, with a 1.200 slugging percentage, and .600 on-base percentage. She had multiple hits in three of the four games, including a 3-for-4 performance in a midweek vs. Oakland. She had two hits (including a double) with three RBI in the opening game vs. Maryland, was 3-for-4 and just missed the cycle in game two with a double, triple, and homer, and then was 1-for-2 with a double in the finale. She had eight RBI on the week.

• Ladd has pushed her batting average to a career-best .300, and boasts a .680 slugging percentage (12th, Big Ten). In the B1G rankings, she is third in triples (3), 12th in home runs (7), 13th in both RBI (29) and total bases (68). Her 21 extra-base hits this season is four shy of a top-10 performance in a single season at MSU.

• Ladd has already surpassed her freshman year totals in runs (16/26), doubles (7/11), triples (0/3), homers (3/7), and RBI (16/29).

• Over the last 10 games, Ladd's offense has led the Spartans with a .467 average, with 10 of her 14 hits in that frame going for extra bases (five doubles, one triple, four homers, 16 RBI). She's also drawn five walks.

• Charla Echols leads the team with a .360 batting average, ranks second in the Big Ten in runners caught stealing (10), is eighth in on-base percentage (.471), and is ranked 13th in the Big Ten in doubles (10). She is second on the team in walks (18), and is thir on the squad in slugging percentage (.550).

• In last Wednesday's game against Oakland, Charla Echols was a perfect 4-for-4 at the plate, and had a double and a home run, and four RBI. Her four hits in the game was the second-most in a single game in school history, as Nikki Nicosia and Gayle Barrons share the record with five. Melanie Baccay also had four hits in a game this season, at Miami.

• Center fielder Katie Quinlan is third on the team with a .337 batting average and is also third in base hits (33), and has drawn 11 walks. She has also swiped a team-best 12 stolen bases, which ranks sixth in the Big Ten.

• Melanie Baccay played all four games last week at second after starting 14 of the previous 16 at first base. She is currently hitting a .282, contributing two doubles, two triples, a homer, and a career-best 13 RBI.

• Mackenzie Meech ranks third on the team in RBI (24), and is batting .292, with seven doubles and four homers. She has seen time both at 1B and in right field, and played first in all four games last week.

• Meech hit .538 in a 3-1 week for the Spartans, scoring seven runs on seven base hits (three doubles and a home run) with five RBI, a sac fly, and a walk. She had a slugging percentage of 1.000 on the week and an on-base percentage of .533. Against Maryland, she had five base hits, three for extra bases.

• Senior Kelly Zackrison missed some of the early Big Ten games but been cleared to return to action after suffering an injury at Miami. She celebrated her senior day last Saturday by driving in the game-winning run in the bottom of the eighth inning. She has appeared in 15 games this season with four runs scored and five RBI.

• Sophomore Joanna Bartz has been battling an injury that limited her playing time to pinch hitting opportunities. She started two games of the Maryland series at DP and went 2-for-4 with three walks, scoring once.

• In her last seven games, Bartz has been coming around as her physical health improved, and has hit .375 (3-for-8) with a double and three walks.

• Redshirt sophomore Shae Schreckengost started all four games behind the plate last week, exactly half of her eight starts this season (14 gp). On Wednesday vs. Oakland, she hit her first career home run. In the Maryland series, she was 1-for-4 with a walk.

• The road back from a 2018 season-ending injury has been a long one for 1B Katelyn Hendershott. She has started to see more regular pinch-hitting assignments, and in the four games last week, she was 2-for-3 with a walk.

• Senior Lexi White is batting .246 on the year with two doubles, a home run, and six RBI. She has started 27 of her 32 games at DP.

• Sophomore Laney Joyner continues to improve her offensive approach and has improved on all of her freshman year numbers. On the year, she has walked 12 times - good for fifth on the team and three times the number she drew last year as a freshman (4). She is batting .209 with eight runs scored, 14 hits, and six RBI. This spring she has had her first career doubles, triple, and home run.

• Freshmen Abby Joseph and Courtney Callahan have been valuable assets for the Spartans. Joseph (28 gp) and Callahan (22 gp) have both gotten starts in right field, and are used liberally as pinch runners. Joseph has scored 12 runs, and Callahan two.

• Sophomore Riley Paxson will miss the remainder of the season with an injury. She had been battling to get back into form over her 19 appearances this season, where she had five base hits, four walks, three HBP (still the team lead) and a pair of RBI.

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Players Mentioned

Melanie Baccay

Joanna Bartz

Courtney Callahan

Charla Echols

Ebonee Echols

Kaitlyn Eveland

Lea Foerster

McKenna Gregory

Katelyn Hendershott

Abby Joseph

Laney Joyner

Caitie Ladd

Riley Paxson

Katie Quinlan

Shae Schreckengost

Leah Shipp

Alli Walker

Jordan Watson

Lexi White

Kelly Zackrison