Late Rally Falls Short In 5-4 Loss to Detroit Mercy

Wednesday, April 1

East Lansing, Mich.

5 pm

Michigan State University

13-21

Detroit Mercy

8-20

Detroit Mercy

Michigan State

4/1/2026 9:07:00 PM | Softball

Box Score

East Lansing, Mich. – Michigan State's seventh-inning rally fell just short on Wednesday, dropping a 5-4 decision to visiting Detroit Mercy at Secchia Stadium.

Entering the bottom of the seventh trailing by two, the Spartans pushed one across on back-to-back base hits by Britain Beshears and Natalia Kenyatta, but Kenyatta and Kendall Smiley (who had reached on a single) were stranded as the game ended on a long fly ball to right center.

Detroit Mercy plated three runs in the second inning, helped by a Liv Peterson two-run homer. MSU scored a run in each of the first three innings to tie it up, but the visitors wet up 5-3 on a pair of runs in the sixth inning on a leadoff walk and back-to-back doubles.

Carsyn Cassady went five innings and surrendered just three base hits, but allowed five runs, walked four and struck out seven. Jacey Shuler contributed two no-hit innings in relief, striking out one and walking one in facing seven batters. Sydney Doloszycki and Kenyatta each had two of MSU's six hits on the day.

The Spartans (13-21 overall) left 14 runners on base in the game. The Titans improved to 8-20 overall and earned their first win over MSU since a 14-inning affair in 2008.

Detroit pitcher Savannah Schulz earned the win in the circle, going 4.2 innings and scattering four hits and striking out two. Liv Peterson had the two-run homer in the third and Abby Klaft's sixth-inning double plated two runs.

Michigan State opens a three-game home Big Ten series against Illinois on Friday.

NOTEWORTHY

The Spartans turned their 17^th double play of the year, which ranks in a tie for eighth all- time at MSU in a single season.
Sydney Doloszycki had an RBI single in the third and a double in the fifth.
Zoie Bernard walked three times in the game, a career high. She had walked twice in a game four previous times this season.
Payton Conroy walked twice. Conroy added a stolen base and highlight catch in the second inning.
Freshman Evun Seeforth came on as a pinch hitter in the fifth inning and drew a walk.
Kendall Smiley picked up an RBI on a second-inning sac fly and also had a seventh-inning base hit.
Carsyn Cassady went 5.0 innings and struck out seven – one shy of the career-best eight she had last Saturday at Ohio State. She allowed three hits.
Jacey Schuler threw two innings of no-hit relief, walking one and striking out one.
Detroit earned its first win in the series since May 2008, a 15-9 decision that went 14 innings – which was the fifth-longest game in MSU history.

Hey #SCTop10 - a little webgem comin' atcha by @ConroyPayton from East Lansing! pic.twitter.com/h99ahG3dwr
— Michigan State Softball (@MSU_Softball) April 1, 2026

SCORING SUMMARIES

The Spartans struck quickly, putting a run on the board in the bottom of the first. Zoie Bernard drew a leadoff walk, stole second, went to third on a wild pitch, and then came home on a third strike that got past the catcher. Grillo reached on the passed ball on a third strike, and Payton Conroy walked to put two on for MSU – but the two runners were stranded.
The Titans countered in the top of the second. After a leadoff walk, Liv Peterson launched a two-run homer to left to make it a 2-1 game. A walk, stolen base, and a pair of wild pitches allowed another run to score to let the visitors take a 3-1 lead. MSU responded in the home half of the inning, putting a pair - Britain Beshears was hit by a pitch,ss followed by a single from Natalia Kenyatta. Bernard drew her second walk of the game to load the bases, and a sac fly to center by Kendall Smiley brought Beshears home to make it 3-2.
MSU tied the game in the bottom of the third. Payton Conroy drew a one-out walk, and stole second. Sophie Holverstott reached on an error in center field, pushing Conroy to third; Conroy came home on a single up the middle by Sydney Doloszycki.
The visitors put together a rally in the top of the sixth. A leadoff walk followed by back-to-back doubles by Hannah Schlachter and Abby Klaft, with Klaft's hit plating two runs for Detroit Mercy to go up 5-3 with none out. Cassady was then replaced by Jacey Schuler, who got two popups and a ground ball out in succession and strand Klaft.
Down to their last at-bat, MSU staged a seventh-inning rally that fell just short. Britain Beshears and Natalia Kenyatta put together back-to-back singles – Beshears initially with the single and went to third on an error by the right fielder, and came home to score on Kenyatta's base knock. The Titans walked Bernard – her season-high third of the season, and Kendall Smiley's single to right caught Bernard at second for the second out of the inning. A long fly ball nearly to the wall in center ended the game with two runners on.