B1G Action Opens for Spartan Softball

EAST LANSING, Mich. – It's opening weekend for Big Ten softball as Michigan State heads to Oklahoma City to face Minnesota and Northwestern to kick off the league slate on March 13-16. The Big Ten partnered with USA Softball and Devon Park this season to host eight conference teams over two weekends of competition to open conference play.

All games will stream on B1G+.

Michigan State, Minnesota, Northwestern and Penn State all head to USA Softball's Devon Park, home of the Women's College World Series this week for the first of two B1G weekends in OKC. MSU will play two games against each of Minnesota and Northwestern but won't face PSU. The Spartans will take on the Golden Gophers for single games on March 13-14, and Northwestern on March 15-16.

MSU has won two-straight over the Golden Gophers, winning 5-4 over Minnesota last season in Columbia, S.C. after a walk-off three-run home run by Hannah Hawley. The Spartans scored all five runs in the bottom of the seventh inning on home runs by Wash and Hawley. Northwestern has won 23 consecutive games against the Spartans dating back to 2011. MSU last met the Wildcats at a neutral site in 2021 at the Leesburg, Florida B1G COVID site.

The Opponents
Minnesota is 11-13 this season under fifth-year head coach Piper Ritter, dropping two in a row prior to Thursday night's game. The Golden Gophers fell to McNeese State, 2-0, on Tuesday. Both MSU and Minnesota own wins over Miami, with Minnesota taking down the RedHawks twice, 9-6 and 4-3.

Four Golden Gophers are hitting above .300, let by Margaret Tobias' .362 hitting. Nani Valencia leads the team with 27 hits, and Taylor Krapf leads the Golden Gophers in extra-base hits with six doubles, a triple and nine home runs. In the circle, Sydney Schwartz has posted a 2.69 ERA through 70.1 innings with a .241 batting average against.

Northwestern is 9-9 under long-time head coach Kate Drogan, riding a three-game winning streak into OKC following wins over Louisville (5-1) and Longwood (10-5, 9-1) at the Cardinal Classic. The Wildcats were taken down by Central Michigan, 4-2. Northwestern posted a season-best victory over Duke on Feb. 8, 4-1.

Kaylie Avvisato (.382) and Grace Nieto (.340) are hitting above .300 for the Wildcats who enter the week hitting .244 as a team through 18 games. Lauren Boyd leads NU starting pitchers with a 3.00 ERA over 37.1 innings along with a .245 batting average against, followed by Riley Grudzielanek's 4.12 ERA over 35.2 innings. Both pitchers have made seven starts. Renae Cunningham has seen success in relief, making 10 appearances total with a 2.14 ERA over 19.2 innings.

Spartans Take Three in Oxford
Michigan State dropped its first game in Oxford, Ohio last weekend 8-0 to Miami, but bounced back winning three-straight to enter this week in OKC on a three-game winning streak. The Spartans rebounded with a 6-0 win over Northern Kentucky, 9-7 win over Miami and a second 10-1 win over NKU.

Senior catcher Macy Lee hit .714 for the week along with a tied for team-best six RBI. Junior Kaelin Cash and sophomore Hannah Greer each hit .500, with Greer matching Lee's six RBI. Junior Britain Beshears hit .400 with two extra-base hits as MSU hit .323 as a team.

It was another strong weekend of pitching from freshman Jacey Schuler who posted a 1.75 ERA in three appearances going 1-1 with her first career save. Opponents hit .208 against Schuler who struck out 15 in 12.0 innings.

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Players Mentioned

Britain Beshears

Kaelin Cash

Hannah Greer

Hannah Hawley

Macy Lee

Jacey Schuler