Spartans Start Spring Break Trip at Duke Invitational
2/21/2024
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State looks to keep its offensive spark alive this weekend when it heads east to play in the Duke Invitational in Durham, N.C. The Spartans will play five games over the weekend which includes games against Elon, Boston University (RV), Villanova and No. 6-ranked Duke. Play gets underway for the Spartans at Duke Softball Stadium at 12 p.m. on Friday, February 23 when MSU meets Elon. Michigan State's weekend concludes on Sunday, February 25 with a 10:30 a.m. game against Elon. All games will have live stats and stream on ACC Network Extra via ESPN+.
WHO'S UP NEXT?
Follow along live with the Spartans this weekend
Sep 26, 2025 at 5 pmvs NorthwoodEast Lansing, Mich.
Sep 28, 2025 at 12 noonat ToledoToledo, OH
Oct 3, 2025 at 5 pmat Detroit MercyDetroit, MI
Oct 4, 2025 at 1 pmvs HillsdaleEast Lansing, Mich.
Oct 5, 2025 at 5:30 pmvs Lansing Community CollegeEast Lansing, Mich.
NOTES TO KNOW
ABOUT ELON
Elon is 4-5 this season, going 1-4 at the Marucci Classic in Raleigh, N.C. last weekend with a win over North Dakota State (7-5, 8 inn.). The Phoenix fell to NDSU, UConn, and NC State (x2).
Elon is led on offense by Mauri Murray who is hitting .440 with four home runs and 12 RBI. Her four long balls ranks No. 11 in DI. Allee Seering is hitting .300 with two home runs and 11 RBI.
As a team the Phoenix are hitting .239 with a 5.89 ERA.
Taylor Cherry leads the team in ERA at 3.91 over 14.1 innings pitched. Opponents have hit .286 off of her in the circle. McKenna McCard leads in innings pitched (16.1) with a 4.29 ERA.
ABOUT BOSTON UNIVERSITY
Boston is 10-0 and is receiving votes in the NFCA and USA Softball polls. They are ranked No. 25 in the D1Softball poll. Last weekend Boston defeated Queens (x2), Charlotte (x2) and Canisius.
BU's offense is hitting .340 on the season led by Lizzy Avery's .545 average and the .543 average of Lauren Keleher. Keleher has three home runs and 12 RBI, and her 19 hits rank No. 3 in DI.
Kasey Ricard was last week's NFCA DI Pitcher of the Week and enters the weekend with a 0.62 ERA over 33.2 innings pitched. Ricard's 47 strikeouts rank No. 2 nationally and she has thrown four shutouts.
Allison Boaz has posted a 1.14 ERA in the circle over 24.2 innings.
ABOUT VILLANOVA
Villanova is 3-5 and went 1-2 last weekend with a win over George Mason (10-7) and losses to James Madison and George Mason.
The Wildcats are hitting .233 as a team, but have shown power with 10 home runs in eight games.
Lilly St. Jean leads the team hitting .350 followed by Tess Cites at .346. Brooklyn Ostrowski has hit two home runs to lead the team.
Caroline Pellicano leads Villanova with 20.0 innings pitched along with a 2.45 ERA in five appearances and two complete games. Kat Gallant has pitched 16.2 innings with a 5.46 ERA. Alyssa Seidler owns a 0.70 ERA in a limited 10.0 innings of work.
ABOUT #6/8 DUKE
Duke is ranked #6 in the USA Softball poll and #8 in the NFCA Coaches Poll this week after going 4-0 at the FIU Invitational with wins over Rutgers, FIU and Army (x2). The Blue Devils outscored opponents 26-1.
Duke is hitting .358 on the season with 12 home runs, led by Kelly Torres hitting .500, Claire Davidson hitting .481 and Aminah Vega hitting .433. Ana Gold is hitting .360 and leads Duke with three home runs and 14 RBI.
In the circle, former Spartan Jala Wright owns a 0.79 ERA over 17.2 innings allowing opponents to hit just .105 against her. As a team, Duke has posted a 1.02 ERA for the season.
Only #1 Oklahoma and Iowa State have scored multiple runs against the Blue Devils.
Starting our spring break trip in North Carolina this weekend!#GoGreen | #SpartanUp pic.twitter.com/Qysfyhc77f
— MSU Softball (@MSU_Softball) February 19, 2024
BESHEARS, BUTLER EARN B1G WEEKLY HONORS
- Michigan State softball had two players earn B1G weekly honors in the same week for the first time in program history on Feb. 19.
- Britain Beshears was named B1G Co-Player of the Week and Jaeya Butler earned Freshman of the Week honors.
- Beshears is MSU's first Player of the Week since Lea Foerster on Feb. 27, 2017, and is the 14th player to earn the honor at Michigan State.
- Beshears hit .375 with four home runs and drove in a team-high eight RBI as the 25th player in program history to hit multiple home runs in the same game.
- Butler is the first Freshman of the Week since Ashley Miller on March 2, 2021, and is the seventh Spartan to earn the recognition.
- Butler hit .438 with two doubles and two home runs. Her eight runs scored led the team while her five RBI ranked second on the team. Butler's fifth inning three-run homer against Boise State tied the game at 5-5 and helped the Spartans to an 8-5 win.
?? #B1GSoftball WEEKLY AWARDS ??
— Big Ten Softball (@B1Gsoftball) February 19, 2024
?? Co-Player: @MSU_Softball's Britain Beshears
?? Co-Player: @HuskerSoftball's Sydney Gray
?? Pitcher: @IndianaSB's Brianna Copeland
?? Freshman: @MSU_Softball's Jaeya Butler
? https://t.co/3oMcBddHhO pic.twitter.com/l6rc9shkcB
Introducing Spartan softball season tickets!
— MSU Softball (@MSU_Softball) February 5, 2024
Make your way to Secchia Stadium for all 12 of our home games this season!
???: https://t.co/aCowAlQD7Y#GoGreen | #SpartanUp pic.twitter.com/ohmhY0Mmnn
SPARTANS SLUG WAY TO WINS IN ARLINGTON
- Michigan State's offense broke out last week as MSU went 4-1 at the Maverick Invitational with wins over DePaul, Kansas City, Boise State and UT Arlington.
- MSU hit .345 as a team, scoring 41 runs on the weekend. Michigan State hit 13 home runs and 10 doubles for a .683 SLG% and drove in 38 RBI. The team also worked 13 walks for a .407 OBP.
- Michigan State scored just eight runs in the opening weekend at the Paradise Classic, but bounced back last weekend in Arlington, Texas to score 41 runs.
- MSU outscored its opponents last weekend 41-12.
- Michigan State slashed .345/.407/.683 for a 1.090 team OPS. The Spartans slugged 23 extra-base hits which included 10 doubles and 13 home runs.
- Michigan State ranks No. 8 in the country in home runs per game (1.60) and has nearly matched its home run total from a season ago (16 - 2024, 17 - 2023).
- Britain Beshears is No. 5 nationally with five homers.
Back-to-back multi-homer days for Brit Beshears! She's up to four this weekend and five on the season which ranks second in the B1G.#GoGreen | #SpartanUp pic.twitter.com/ZEGHM2EaFN
— MSU Softball (@MSU_Softball) February 17, 2024
HAWLEY HAULING IN HITS
- Sophomore third baseman/catcher Hannah Hawley is making a major impact on the Spartan lineup in her first season in East Lansing.
- Hawley leads the Spartans with a .419 batting average and is third on the team in on-base (.438), slugging (.742) and OPS (1.180) among qualified players.
- Hawley leads the team with 13 hits and six total extra base hits (four doubles, two home runs).
- Last week in Arlington, Hawley hit .474 (9-for-19) with three doubles and a home run.
LOOKING AHEAD
- Michigan State will play mid-week contests next week at Campbell and UNC Wilmington.
- MSU will take on Campbell in Buies Creek, N.C. at 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday, February 27 before meeting UNC Wilmington at 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, February 28 in Wilmington.
- Campbell is 1-9 so far this season while UNC Wilmington is 5-4.
- Head coach Sharonda McDonald-Kelley was previously the head coach at Campbell from 2019-2022 and led the Camels to consecutive NCAA Regional appearances in 2021 and 2022.
- Michigan State will play at the Chanticleer Showdown hosted by Coastal Carolina in Conway, S.C., March 1-3.
Here's Hannah Hawley's long ball from earlier in the seventh!#GoGreen | #SpartanUp pic.twitter.com/W71M8vDXkp
— MSU Softball (@MSU_Softball) February 17, 2024
