Wednesday, March 26
East Lansing, Mich.
5 PM
Michigan State University
vs
Central Michigan
Photo by: Erica Lee
Softball Preps for Week of Intrastate Games against Central Michigan, Michigan
3/25/2025 3:08:00 PM | Softball
EAST LANSING, Mich. – Michigan State softball is set to play four games against intrastate foes this week hosting Central Michigan on Wednesday, March 26 at 5:00 p.m. before heading to Ann Arbor, Michigan for a three-game series against Michigan on March 28-30.
All four games will be streamed on B1G+ with live stats available on StatBroadcast. Fans can tune into the radio broadcast of the action via the Michigan State Athletics app or on MSUSpartans.com where Jeremy Otto will be on the call.
This weekend's series against the Wolverines marks the first traditional three-game series between the programs since 2014 and is the first rivalry series hosted at a singular playing site since 1995. Since then, both programs had previously split hosting duties during the series.
Spartans Take Down Oakland in Mid-Week Contest
Michigan State went 1-3 last week, taking down Oakland in a mid-week, 7-5, before dropping a three-game series to now No. 22-ranked Ohio State over the weekend by scores of 17-1, 7-3 and 24-2.
MSU got seven runs on nine hits and six walks against the Golden Grizzlies on Tuesday, getting a trio of home runs from Hannah Hawley, Britain Beshears and Collette Allen. Kendall Smiley, Kaelin Cash and Ava Coffinger posted multi-hit efforts.
Sophomore Ava Mullen earned her first career victory in the circle pitching in relief and Madison Taylor earned her second save of the season tossing the final two innings of the contest.
Four Spartans hit above .300 over four games last week led by Kaelin Cash's .444 average. Collette Allen hit .375, Kendall Smiley batted .308 and Hannah Hawley posted a .300 average with two home runs. Carsyn Cassady led the pitching staff with a 4.57 ERA.
Hauling in Hits
After a breakout campaign as a sophomore, junior Hannah Hawley is continuing that trend in her junior season slashing a team-best .333/.477/.681 for a team-high 1.158 OPS. Hawley leads the team in multi-RBI games with five and is tied for the team lead in multi-hit games with six joining Kendall Smiley and Kaelin Cash.
Over the last two weeks of play Hawley leads Michigan State with a .429 batting average and a .625 on-base percentage. Hawley's nine hits, four home runs, five extra-base hits, nine RBIs and nine walks all lead the team. At the hot corner, Hawley has committed zero errors with 17 put-outs and 12 assists.
The Opponents: Central Michigan and Michigan
Led by sixth-year head coach McCall Salmon, Central Michigan enters Wednesday's contest with a 10-15 record but are winners of three straight. CMU is 1-2 against B1G opponents this season dropping two games to Illinois but knocking off Northwestern, 4-2, at the Cardinal Classic on Feb. 28.
The Chippewas are led by a quintet of .300+ batters with Carly Sleeman leading the way at .398 with a team-high 10 home runs and 30 RBI. London Williams is close behind with a .371 average, five long balls and 15 runs driven in. CMU is hitting .305 as a team with a .385 OBP. Mackenzie Langan is the ace of staff posting a 3.37 ERA and a 1.39 WHIP over 54.0 innings.
MSU is 32-59-2 all-time against the Chippewas but have won four-straight against CMU dating back to 2018. Michigan State has won its last four home meetings against Central Michigan, winning 3-0 (3/21/23), 8-0 (3/22/22), 8-1 (4/25/18) and 10-7 (3/30/16). The Spartans are 13-25-2 all-time when taking on CMU in East Lansing.
Michigan is led by long-time assistant and second-year head coach Bonnie Tholl and will take on Western Michigan on Tuesday night prior to the weekend series against MSU. The Wolverines are 24-8 entering their dual with the Broncos at Alumni Field. Michigan is rolling with a five-game winning streak that includes a 4-0 mark in Oklahoma City where they swept Maryland and Wisconsin.
Lauren Derkowski is back in the circle for Michigan and owns a 1.66 ERA and 0.96 WHIP in 101.1 innings pitched. Derkowski has tossed 10 complete games and eight shutouts. Erin Hoehn owns a 2.15 ERA over 65.0 innings and a team-high 15 starts. Freshman Lauren Putz leads Michigan with a .424 batting average on 10 home runs, 30 runs batted in and a .509 OBP.
The Spartans are 29-100 all-time against Michigan and have lost 10 straight contests to the Wolverines. MSU is 10-49 when playing in Ann Arbor, last winning on the road on 5/12/17 at the B1G Tournament. Michigan State last defeated Michigan on 5/11/18 by a score of 7-0, also in the B1G Tournament.
All four games will be streamed on B1G+ with live stats available on StatBroadcast. Fans can tune into the radio broadcast of the action via the Michigan State Athletics app or on MSUSpartans.com where Jeremy Otto will be on the call.
This weekend's series against the Wolverines marks the first traditional three-game series between the programs since 2014 and is the first rivalry series hosted at a singular playing site since 1995. Since then, both programs had previously split hosting duties during the series.
Spartans Take Down Oakland in Mid-Week Contest
Michigan State went 1-3 last week, taking down Oakland in a mid-week, 7-5, before dropping a three-game series to now No. 22-ranked Ohio State over the weekend by scores of 17-1, 7-3 and 24-2.
MSU got seven runs on nine hits and six walks against the Golden Grizzlies on Tuesday, getting a trio of home runs from Hannah Hawley, Britain Beshears and Collette Allen. Kendall Smiley, Kaelin Cash and Ava Coffinger posted multi-hit efforts.
Sophomore Ava Mullen earned her first career victory in the circle pitching in relief and Madison Taylor earned her second save of the season tossing the final two innings of the contest.
Four Spartans hit above .300 over four games last week led by Kaelin Cash's .444 average. Collette Allen hit .375, Kendall Smiley batted .308 and Hannah Hawley posted a .300 average with two home runs. Carsyn Cassady led the pitching staff with a 4.57 ERA.
Hauling in Hits
After a breakout campaign as a sophomore, junior Hannah Hawley is continuing that trend in her junior season slashing a team-best .333/.477/.681 for a team-high 1.158 OPS. Hawley leads the team in multi-RBI games with five and is tied for the team lead in multi-hit games with six joining Kendall Smiley and Kaelin Cash.
Over the last two weeks of play Hawley leads Michigan State with a .429 batting average and a .625 on-base percentage. Hawley's nine hits, four home runs, five extra-base hits, nine RBIs and nine walks all lead the team. At the hot corner, Hawley has committed zero errors with 17 put-outs and 12 assists.
The Opponents: Central Michigan and Michigan
Led by sixth-year head coach McCall Salmon, Central Michigan enters Wednesday's contest with a 10-15 record but are winners of three straight. CMU is 1-2 against B1G opponents this season dropping two games to Illinois but knocking off Northwestern, 4-2, at the Cardinal Classic on Feb. 28.
The Chippewas are led by a quintet of .300+ batters with Carly Sleeman leading the way at .398 with a team-high 10 home runs and 30 RBI. London Williams is close behind with a .371 average, five long balls and 15 runs driven in. CMU is hitting .305 as a team with a .385 OBP. Mackenzie Langan is the ace of staff posting a 3.37 ERA and a 1.39 WHIP over 54.0 innings.
MSU is 32-59-2 all-time against the Chippewas but have won four-straight against CMU dating back to 2018. Michigan State has won its last four home meetings against Central Michigan, winning 3-0 (3/21/23), 8-0 (3/22/22), 8-1 (4/25/18) and 10-7 (3/30/16). The Spartans are 13-25-2 all-time when taking on CMU in East Lansing.
Michigan is led by long-time assistant and second-year head coach Bonnie Tholl and will take on Western Michigan on Tuesday night prior to the weekend series against MSU. The Wolverines are 24-8 entering their dual with the Broncos at Alumni Field. Michigan is rolling with a five-game winning streak that includes a 4-0 mark in Oklahoma City where they swept Maryland and Wisconsin.
Lauren Derkowski is back in the circle for Michigan and owns a 1.66 ERA and 0.96 WHIP in 101.1 innings pitched. Derkowski has tossed 10 complete games and eight shutouts. Erin Hoehn owns a 2.15 ERA over 65.0 innings and a team-high 15 starts. Freshman Lauren Putz leads Michigan with a .424 batting average on 10 home runs, 30 runs batted in and a .509 OBP.
The Spartans are 29-100 all-time against Michigan and have lost 10 straight contests to the Wolverines. MSU is 10-49 when playing in Ann Arbor, last winning on the road on 5/12/17 at the B1G Tournament. Michigan State last defeated Michigan on 5/11/18 by a score of 7-0, also in the B1G Tournament.
Players Mentioned
UTL
/ Softball
1B
/ Softball
3B
/ Softball
RHP
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
3B/C
/ Softball
RHP
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
LHP
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