
Photo by: Erica Lee
Roadrunner Classic On Deck for Softball
2/19/2025 12:51:00 PM | Softball
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State softball heads to the Lone Star State this weekend for the 2025 Roadrunner Classic hosted by UTSA. MSU will play four games over four days this week facing host UTSA, Akron and Omaha. Sam Houston State and St. Thomas will also be in attendance but won't face the Spartans. Games previously scheduled for Friday, Feb. 21 have been canceled due to weather. Further updates will be provided on Michigan State softball's social media accounts.
Thursday afternoon's game against UTSA will be streamed on ESPN+. Softball legend Cat Osterman and Alex Loeb will be on the call. It's the only game of the weekend that will be streamed. All games will have live stats provided on StatBroadcast.
SERIES HISTORY
This weekend marks the first ever meeting between MSU and UTSA. The Spartans own a 3-5 all-time record against Akron and a 4-2 record against Omaha. Michigan State last faced Akron on Feb. 13, 2022 in Leesburg, Florida where Ashley Miller tossed the third perfect game in program history striking out 14 Zips batters in a 6-0 victory. MSU hasn't met Omaha in competition since March 1, 2020, in an 11-3 Spartan victory at UC Riverside. Michigan State got hot in the sixth inning scoring six runs to win by run rule. Sarah Ladd was the winning pitcher while Caitie Ladd and Camryn Wincher each tallied three hits at the plate.
THE OPPONENTS
UTSA: The Roadrunners enter the week 7-3 coming off a 2-3 weekend at the Lion Classic at Southeastern Louisiana. UTSA went 2-3 last week defeating South Dakota (3-2) and Mississippi Valley State (7-0), and losing to South Dakota (7-1), Southeastern Louisiana (5-0) and Southeastern Louisiana (4-0). Sabrina Wick (.382) and Jaylen Prichard (.345) lead the Roadrunners in batting while Katia Reyes (1.31 ERA) and Meredith Schmitt (1.75 ERA) have been strong in the circle.
Akron: The Zips are 7-4 ahead of a Wednesday night game at No. 1-ranked Texas, and have been traveling around the state of Texas since playing in the Tarleton State tournament from Feb. 14-16. Akron lost a 3-0 game in San Antonio at Incarnate Word on Tuesday night. The Zips are hitting an impressive .306 as a team led by Brooke Sivek (.424), Sydney Selker (.400)Â and Lily Sullivan (.395). All three Akron starting pitchers boast ERAs under 3.10 with Macy Walters leading the team in innings pitched at 29.1
Omaha: Omaha is receiving votes for the third straight week to open the 2025 campaign, sitting at 9-1 following a 5-0 weekend at Florida Gulf Coast in which the Mavericks defeated Wisconsin (7-0), Seaton Hall (6-5, 6-1) and FGCU (8-2, 5-0). Maddia Groff earned Summit League Pitcher of the Week and Sammy Schmidt was Summit League Performer of the Week. Schmidt is hitting .480 for Omaha while Marra Cramer leads the team with four home runs. Groff owns a 0.88 season ERA over a team-leading 32.0 innings of work.
SPARTANS TAKE TWO AT RED & BLACK SHOWCASE
Michigan State went 2-1 at the 2025 Red & Black Showcase hosted by No. 10-ranked Georgia last weekend. The Spartans earned wins over Longwood (7-2) and Western Carolina (9-1), but dropped a 10-2 meeting with the Bulldogs on Feb. 14. Rematches with Georgia and Longwood were canceled on Saturday due to inclement weather in Athens, Ga.
Sophomore Kendall Smiley hit .625 (5-for-8) over the three games with four runs scored and three extra-base hits. Junior Hannah Hawley got her bat going as well hitting .444 with a home run against Longwood on Friday. Freshman pitcher Jacey Schuler was impressive in the circle all weekend going 2-0 with a 1.08 ERA, 0.78 WHIP and a .133 batting average against in 13 innings. Schuler struck out 15 batters, including 12 against Longwood which tied the program record for strikeouts by a freshman set by Stefanie Noffsinger against Bucknell in 1995.
ON-BASE ANTHONY
Senior second baseman Mik Anthony is currently on a 10-game reached base streak dating back to 2024 when she recorded base hits in MSU's final two games of the season. Anthony has reached via hit or walk in all eight of Michigan State's games thus far and is hitting .300 with a .391 OBP currently.
Anthony come on down the stretch in B1G play last year batting .306 with .907 OPS and a .490 OBP in 36 conference at-bats, including a walk-off home run against Purdue on May 4, 2024.
PROLIFIC POP
Michigan State has made tremendous strides in the power-hitting department since the addition of assistant coach Bethaney Wells in 2024. MSU finished the 2024 season with the third-most single season home runs in program history (50), the most by the team since 2017 when it hit 66.Â
The Spartans finished 2024 ranked #44 in the country in home runs per game with 0.98 (50 in 51 games). That trend has continued in 2025 with MSU ranking  #27 nationally in home runs per game with 10 in eight games thus far. Four Spartans have multiple home runs to their name this season (Doloszycki, Hawley, Beshears, Greer).
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Thursday afternoon's game against UTSA will be streamed on ESPN+. Softball legend Cat Osterman and Alex Loeb will be on the call. It's the only game of the weekend that will be streamed. All games will have live stats provided on StatBroadcast.
SERIES HISTORY
This weekend marks the first ever meeting between MSU and UTSA. The Spartans own a 3-5 all-time record against Akron and a 4-2 record against Omaha. Michigan State last faced Akron on Feb. 13, 2022 in Leesburg, Florida where Ashley Miller tossed the third perfect game in program history striking out 14 Zips batters in a 6-0 victory. MSU hasn't met Omaha in competition since March 1, 2020, in an 11-3 Spartan victory at UC Riverside. Michigan State got hot in the sixth inning scoring six runs to win by run rule. Sarah Ladd was the winning pitcher while Caitie Ladd and Camryn Wincher each tallied three hits at the plate.
THE OPPONENTS
UTSA: The Roadrunners enter the week 7-3 coming off a 2-3 weekend at the Lion Classic at Southeastern Louisiana. UTSA went 2-3 last week defeating South Dakota (3-2) and Mississippi Valley State (7-0), and losing to South Dakota (7-1), Southeastern Louisiana (5-0) and Southeastern Louisiana (4-0). Sabrina Wick (.382) and Jaylen Prichard (.345) lead the Roadrunners in batting while Katia Reyes (1.31 ERA) and Meredith Schmitt (1.75 ERA) have been strong in the circle.
Akron: The Zips are 7-4 ahead of a Wednesday night game at No. 1-ranked Texas, and have been traveling around the state of Texas since playing in the Tarleton State tournament from Feb. 14-16. Akron lost a 3-0 game in San Antonio at Incarnate Word on Tuesday night. The Zips are hitting an impressive .306 as a team led by Brooke Sivek (.424), Sydney Selker (.400)Â and Lily Sullivan (.395). All three Akron starting pitchers boast ERAs under 3.10 with Macy Walters leading the team in innings pitched at 29.1
Omaha: Omaha is receiving votes for the third straight week to open the 2025 campaign, sitting at 9-1 following a 5-0 weekend at Florida Gulf Coast in which the Mavericks defeated Wisconsin (7-0), Seaton Hall (6-5, 6-1) and FGCU (8-2, 5-0). Maddia Groff earned Summit League Pitcher of the Week and Sammy Schmidt was Summit League Performer of the Week. Schmidt is hitting .480 for Omaha while Marra Cramer leads the team with four home runs. Groff owns a 0.88 season ERA over a team-leading 32.0 innings of work.
SPARTANS TAKE TWO AT RED & BLACK SHOWCASE
Michigan State went 2-1 at the 2025 Red & Black Showcase hosted by No. 10-ranked Georgia last weekend. The Spartans earned wins over Longwood (7-2) and Western Carolina (9-1), but dropped a 10-2 meeting with the Bulldogs on Feb. 14. Rematches with Georgia and Longwood were canceled on Saturday due to inclement weather in Athens, Ga.
Sophomore Kendall Smiley hit .625 (5-for-8) over the three games with four runs scored and three extra-base hits. Junior Hannah Hawley got her bat going as well hitting .444 with a home run against Longwood on Friday. Freshman pitcher Jacey Schuler was impressive in the circle all weekend going 2-0 with a 1.08 ERA, 0.78 WHIP and a .133 batting average against in 13 innings. Schuler struck out 15 batters, including 12 against Longwood which tied the program record for strikeouts by a freshman set by Stefanie Noffsinger against Bucknell in 1995.
ON-BASE ANTHONY
Senior second baseman Mik Anthony is currently on a 10-game reached base streak dating back to 2024 when she recorded base hits in MSU's final two games of the season. Anthony has reached via hit or walk in all eight of Michigan State's games thus far and is hitting .300 with a .391 OBP currently.
Anthony come on down the stretch in B1G play last year batting .306 with .907 OPS and a .490 OBP in 36 conference at-bats, including a walk-off home run against Purdue on May 4, 2024.
PROLIFIC POP
Michigan State has made tremendous strides in the power-hitting department since the addition of assistant coach Bethaney Wells in 2024. MSU finished the 2024 season with the third-most single season home runs in program history (50), the most by the team since 2017 when it hit 66.Â
The Spartans finished 2024 ranked #44 in the country in home runs per game with 0.98 (50 in 51 games). That trend has continued in 2025 with MSU ranking  #27 nationally in home runs per game with 10 in eight games thus far. Four Spartans have multiple home runs to their name this season (Doloszycki, Hawley, Beshears, Greer).
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Players Mentioned
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Thursday, April 17
A Higher Standard | Spartans All-Access
Tuesday, February 11
Spartans All-Access: Jenae Wash
Thursday, April 11
Spartans All-Access: Coach Sharonda McDonald-Kelley
Thursday, April 20