Wednesday, February 28
Wilmington, N.C.
5 PM
Michigan State University
8-9
10
at
6
UNC Wilmington
8-6
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4
5
6
7
R
H
E
Michigan State
0
2
0
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2
0
6
10
14
1
UNCW
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2
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0
2
6
13
1
Senior Alexis Ross stole a program record four bases on Wednesday night.
Photo by: Andy Mead/YCJ
Softball Comes From Behind to Clip UNCW
2/28/2024 9:07:00 PM | Softball
WILMINGTON, N.C. – A late offensive surge helped Michigan State softball come from behind to defeat UNC Wilmington, 10-6, on Wednesday night at Boseman Field. The Spartans trailed 4-2 early but a six-run seventh inning broke the game open.
Senior Alexis Ross set the Michigan State single-game stolen base record by swiping four bags, and sophomore Britain Beshears tied the NCAA Division I lead for home runs with her ninth of the season. Freshman Makayla Huddleston (1-1) earned her first career victory in the circle.
Michigan State improves to 8-9 in the non-conference portion of its schedule as it prepares to travel to Conway, South Carolina for the Chanticleer Showdown on March 1-3. UNC Wilmington falls to 8-6 overall.
Junior Faith Guidry made the start and struck out three batters in 1.1 innings pitched, allowing three earned runs before being relieved by Huddleston mid-way through the second inning. Huddleston went 4.2 innings and allowed two earned runs, tossing scoreless third, fourth, fifth and sixth frames. Junior Madison Taylor recorded the final three outs of the contest.
Wednesday was a strong offensive night for the Spartans who collected 14 hits. Every batter in the starting lineup recorded a hit. Sophomore Hannah Hawley went 3-for-5 at the plate with a team-high four RBI, a double and her fourth home run of the season. Ross led the way with a 4-for-5 performance at the dish in addition to her four stolen bases. Senior AJ Militello and junior Macy Lee each drove in two RBI and Beshears hit a solo shot to lead-off the seventh inning.
UNCW opened the scoring with two runs in the bottom of the first. Back-to-back base knocks to open the inning led to the first run of the contest before a two-out single extended Wilmington's advantage.
A two-out single up the middle from freshman Payton Conroy started MSU's game-tying rally in the second. In the very next at-bat, Hawley cleared the left field fence on a sharp line drive for her fourth home run of the campaign. Ross reached on an infield single for the second time in as many innings and stole two bases in the frame.
The Seahawks used a trio of singles and a sacrifice bunt to take a 4-2 lead over Michigan State in the home half of the second. Looking to tie things up, the Spartans put two runners in scoring position in the fourth, but no runners came around to score. Conroy reached on a hit by pitch before Ross singled for her third time on Wednesday night.
More two-out magic helped MSU tie the game at 4-4 in the fifth. Senior Jenae Wash reached on a hit by pitch and redshirt sophomore Mik Anthony took first on a UNCW error to set the stage for Militello with two down. Militello lined a diving ball to left that brought both Wash and Anthony around to score.
Beshears put Michigan State ahead 5-4 with a lead-off home run in the seventh. Her home run to left was her ninth of the season which leads all B1G players and ties for the NCAA DI lead (Reese Atwood, Texas).
Wash and Anthony singled, and Militello walked to load the bases for MSU later in the inning. After a Spartan strikeout for the second out, more two-out magic ensued. Hawley doubled to left scoring Wash and Anthony before Ross' fourth infield hit of the night plated Militello. After Ross stole her program-record fourth base of the game, Lee dropped a bloop into right that scored two.
UNC Wilmington got two runs back in the bottom of the seventh but it wasn't enough to overcome the six-run Spartan advantage.
Up Next
Michigan State will drive further south to Conway, South Carolina for a five-game weekend at the Chanticleer Showdown on March 1-3. The Spartans will face Iona (x2), host Coastal Carolina, Yale and Oakland to wrap up their spring break trip. Action gets started against Iona at 12:00 p.m. on Friday, March 1. All dates and times are subject to change due to weather.
Senior Alexis Ross set the Michigan State single-game stolen base record by swiping four bags, and sophomore Britain Beshears tied the NCAA Division I lead for home runs with her ninth of the season. Freshman Makayla Huddleston (1-1) earned her first career victory in the circle.
Michigan State improves to 8-9 in the non-conference portion of its schedule as it prepares to travel to Conway, South Carolina for the Chanticleer Showdown on March 1-3. UNC Wilmington falls to 8-6 overall.
Junior Faith Guidry made the start and struck out three batters in 1.1 innings pitched, allowing three earned runs before being relieved by Huddleston mid-way through the second inning. Huddleston went 4.2 innings and allowed two earned runs, tossing scoreless third, fourth, fifth and sixth frames. Junior Madison Taylor recorded the final three outs of the contest.
Wednesday was a strong offensive night for the Spartans who collected 14 hits. Every batter in the starting lineup recorded a hit. Sophomore Hannah Hawley went 3-for-5 at the plate with a team-high four RBI, a double and her fourth home run of the season. Ross led the way with a 4-for-5 performance at the dish in addition to her four stolen bases. Senior AJ Militello and junior Macy Lee each drove in two RBI and Beshears hit a solo shot to lead-off the seventh inning.
UNCW opened the scoring with two runs in the bottom of the first. Back-to-back base knocks to open the inning led to the first run of the contest before a two-out single extended Wilmington's advantage.
A two-out single up the middle from freshman Payton Conroy started MSU's game-tying rally in the second. In the very next at-bat, Hawley cleared the left field fence on a sharp line drive for her fourth home run of the campaign. Ross reached on an infield single for the second time in as many innings and stole two bases in the frame.
The Seahawks used a trio of singles and a sacrifice bunt to take a 4-2 lead over Michigan State in the home half of the second. Looking to tie things up, the Spartans put two runners in scoring position in the fourth, but no runners came around to score. Conroy reached on a hit by pitch before Ross singled for her third time on Wednesday night.
More two-out magic helped MSU tie the game at 4-4 in the fifth. Senior Jenae Wash reached on a hit by pitch and redshirt sophomore Mik Anthony took first on a UNCW error to set the stage for Militello with two down. Militello lined a diving ball to left that brought both Wash and Anthony around to score.
Beshears put Michigan State ahead 5-4 with a lead-off home run in the seventh. Her home run to left was her ninth of the season which leads all B1G players and ties for the NCAA DI lead (Reese Atwood, Texas).
Wash and Anthony singled, and Militello walked to load the bases for MSU later in the inning. After a Spartan strikeout for the second out, more two-out magic ensued. Hawley doubled to left scoring Wash and Anthony before Ross' fourth infield hit of the night plated Militello. After Ross stole her program-record fourth base of the game, Lee dropped a bloop into right that scored two.
UNC Wilmington got two runs back in the bottom of the seventh but it wasn't enough to overcome the six-run Spartan advantage.
Up Next
Michigan State will drive further south to Conway, South Carolina for a five-game weekend at the Chanticleer Showdown on March 1-3. The Spartans will face Iona (x2), host Coastal Carolina, Yale and Oakland to wrap up their spring break trip. Action gets started against Iona at 12:00 p.m. on Friday, March 1. All dates and times are subject to change due to weather.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Huddleston, Makayla (1-1)
L: Ewers,Carrigan (2-3)
Batting:
2B: Hawley, Hannah 1
HR: Hawley, Hannah 1 ; Beshears, Britain 1
RBI: Hawley, Hannah 4 ; Ross, Alexis 1 ; Lee , Macy 2 ; Beshears, Britain 1 ; Militello, AJ 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Hawley, Hannah 2 ; Ross, Alexis 1 ; Beshears, Britain 1 ; Wash, Jenae 2 ; Anthony, Mik 2 ; Militello, AJ 1 ; Conroy, Payton 1
SB: Ross, Alexis 4 ; Beshears, Britain 1 ; Anthony, Mik 1 ; Conroy, Payton 1
HBP: Wash, Jenae 2 ; Conroy, Payton 1
Batting:
2B: Britt,Morgan 1
RBI: Britt,Morgan 2 ; Amodeo,Mackenzie 1 ; Stockton,Skylar 1 ; Richardson,Lauryn 1
SH: Amodeo,Mackenzie 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Vitola,Tayler 2 ; Britt,Morgan 1 ; Stockton,Skylar 1 ; Hennessy,Grace 1 ; Relay,Cassidy 1
SB: Vitola,Tayler 1
PO: Richardson,Lauryn 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
5
R
1
H
4
RBI
1
AB
5
R
2
H
3
RBI
4
AB
5
R
1
H
1
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
3B
/ Softball1B
/ Softball
SS
/ Softball
RHP
/ Softball3B/C
/ Softball
RHP
/ Softball
OF
/ SoftballOF
/ Softball
LHP
/ Softball
OF
/ SoftballA Road Less Traveled | Spartans All-Access
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A Higher Standard | Spartans All-Access
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Spartans All-Access: Jenae Wash
Thursday, April 11
Spartans All-Access: Coach Sharonda McDonald-Kelley
Thursday, April 20