Saturday, April 26
East Lansing, Mich.
1 PM
Michigan State University
15-26, 5-13
4
vs
2
Iowa
30-17, 11-7
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3
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5
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7
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H
E
Iowa
0
0
0
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5
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Michigan State
0
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4
1
Photo by: Kelly Branigan
Kaelin Cash Walks Off Hawkeyes to Even Series
4/26/2025 3:58:00 PM | Softball
EAST LANSING, Mich. – Michigan State softball was down to its final strike trailing 2-1 in the seventh before junior Kaelin Cash came through in the clutch slugging a three-run walk-off home run to help the Spartans take down Iowa, 4-2, on Saturday afternoon from Secchia Stadium.
MSU improves to 15-26 (5-13 B1G) while Iowa falls to 30-17 (11-7). The win snapped Iowa's eight-game winning streak in B1G action. The Spartans conclude their home slate on Sunday for the final game of the series at 1:00 p.m. Michigan State will honor all six of its graduating seniors at the conclusion of Sunday's contest.
Saturday's victory also marked the 50th win in the Green & White for head coach Sharonda McDonald-Kelley, who is closing out her third season at the helm.
Freshman Jacey Schuler started in the circle and tossed 5.1 innings, her longest outing since March 21. Schuler struck out five allowing just three hits and one earned run. Senior Madison Taylor (2-6) pitched the final 1.2 innings, striking out two and allowing one unearned run to earn the victory.
Junior Kaelin Cash tallied all four RBIs of the afternoon for MSU on an RBI double in the second inning and a walk-off, three-run homer in the bottom of the seventh. Sophomore Hannah Greer and junior Britain Beshears also tallied base knocks for the Spartans, with Beshears reaching three times on Saturday adding a pair of walks.
Michigan State drew eight walks in game two led by junior Hannah Hawley who matched a career-high with three.
Iowa's first two batters reached to open the third inning and later advanced into scoring position on a sacrifice bunt. Schuler however retired the final three batters of the inning to keep the Hawkeyes scoreless.
With the score tied at 0-0 heading to the bottom of the third, Greer led-off the inning for MSU with a single to left before Cash drove her in on a two-out double to right center field for the game's first run.
Schuler kept Iowa scoreless through 5.1 frames before back-to-back Hawkeye singles tied the game at 1-1 in the sixth. Iowa took a 2-1 lead with two outs in the seventh after a throwing error extended the inning.
A lead-off walk by senior Macy Lee set the stage for Michigan State in the seventh. Freshman Natalia Kenyatta entered to run for Lee, later advancing all the way to third on a sac bunt and wild pitch. Hawley's third walk of the contest put runners on the corners for Cash, who stepped up the plate in one of the biggest spots of the season.
After working the count full, 3-2, on a pitch just outside the strike zone, Cash made the Hawkeyes pay. Cash sent a ball sky high over the fence in center field to send the Spartan faithful into a frenzy.
Following the conclusion of Sunday's contest, Michigan State will honor the careers of seniors Faith Guidry, Macy Lee, Jenae Wash, Collette Allen, Madison Taylor and Mik Anthony.
MSU improves to 15-26 (5-13 B1G) while Iowa falls to 30-17 (11-7). The win snapped Iowa's eight-game winning streak in B1G action. The Spartans conclude their home slate on Sunday for the final game of the series at 1:00 p.m. Michigan State will honor all six of its graduating seniors at the conclusion of Sunday's contest.
Saturday's victory also marked the 50th win in the Green & White for head coach Sharonda McDonald-Kelley, who is closing out her third season at the helm.
Freshman Jacey Schuler started in the circle and tossed 5.1 innings, her longest outing since March 21. Schuler struck out five allowing just three hits and one earned run. Senior Madison Taylor (2-6) pitched the final 1.2 innings, striking out two and allowing one unearned run to earn the victory.
Junior Kaelin Cash tallied all four RBIs of the afternoon for MSU on an RBI double in the second inning and a walk-off, three-run homer in the bottom of the seventh. Sophomore Hannah Greer and junior Britain Beshears also tallied base knocks for the Spartans, with Beshears reaching three times on Saturday adding a pair of walks.
Michigan State drew eight walks in game two led by junior Hannah Hawley who matched a career-high with three.
Iowa's first two batters reached to open the third inning and later advanced into scoring position on a sacrifice bunt. Schuler however retired the final three batters of the inning to keep the Hawkeyes scoreless.
With the score tied at 0-0 heading to the bottom of the third, Greer led-off the inning for MSU with a single to left before Cash drove her in on a two-out double to right center field for the game's first run.
Kaelin Cash gives us a 1-0 lead with a two-out RBI double to right center!#GoGreen | #SpartanUp pic.twitter.com/jJOSRZH3aU
— Michigan State Softball (@MSU_Softball) April 26, 2025
Schuler kept Iowa scoreless through 5.1 frames before back-to-back Hawkeye singles tied the game at 1-1 in the sixth. Iowa took a 2-1 lead with two outs in the seventh after a throwing error extended the inning.
A lead-off walk by senior Macy Lee set the stage for Michigan State in the seventh. Freshman Natalia Kenyatta entered to run for Lee, later advancing all the way to third on a sac bunt and wild pitch. Hawley's third walk of the contest put runners on the corners for Cash, who stepped up the plate in one of the biggest spots of the season.
After working the count full, 3-2, on a pitch just outside the strike zone, Cash made the Hawkeyes pay. Cash sent a ball sky high over the fence in center field to send the Spartan faithful into a frenzy.
KAELIN CASH CALLED GAME 😤
— Big Ten Softball (@B1Gsoftball) April 26, 2025
She walks it off for @MSU_Softball with a 3-run BOMB 💣💣💣#B1GSoftball pic.twitter.com/z1g6TPTGp2
Following the conclusion of Sunday's contest, Michigan State will honor the careers of seniors Faith Guidry, Macy Lee, Jenae Wash, Collette Allen, Madison Taylor and Mik Anthony.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Taylor, Madison (2-6)
L: Talia Tretton (9-9)
Batting:
RBI: Talia Tretton 1
SH: Tory Bennett 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Jena Young 1 ; Arlette Caravaca 1
HBP: Desiree Rivera 1 ; Talia Tretton 1
Batting:
2B: Cash, Kaelin 1
HR: Cash, Kaelin 1
RBI: Cash, Kaelin 4
SH: Doloszycki, Sydney 2 ; Smiley, Kendall 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Greer, Hannah 1 ; Hawley, Hannah 1 ; Cash, Kaelin 1 ; Kenyatta, Natalia 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
4
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
AB
1
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
1
R
0
H
0
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
UTL
/ Softball
2B
/ Softball1B
/ Softball3B
/ SoftballSS
/ Softball
RHP
/ Softball
3B/C
/ Softball
UTL
/ Softball
P/UTL
/ Softball
LHP
/ Softball
OF
/ SoftballA Road Less Traveled | Spartans All-Access
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