Michigan State University Athletics
Saturday, April 11
Piscataway, NJ
3 PM
Michigan State University
15-24, 2-11
9
at
6
Rutgers
20-22, 4-14
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | Runs R | Hits H | Errors E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michigan State | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 11 | 0 |
| Rutgers | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 0 |
Caravaca, Conroy Propel Spartans to 9-6 Win at Rutgers
4/11/2026 6:08:00 PM | Softball
East Lansing, Mich. – Catcher Kirsten Caravaca smacked a three-run homer in the top of the seventh inning to propel MSU to a 9-6 victory on the road at Rutgers on Saturday afternoon.
The teams were tied at six-all entering the final frame. With two on and one out in the top of the seventh, Caravaca's homer – her first of the season – sailed over the wall in left center to put the Spartans ahead.
Sophomore Carsyn Cassady closed the door from there – she walked the leadoff hitter in the bottom of the seventh, but then got back -to-back strikeouts of Rutgers' No. 2 and No. 3 hitters and then a fly ball to center for her fourth win of the year. Cassady entered the game in relief of Autumn Behlke in the second and provided 5.1 innings of two-hit relief, striking out eight.
The Spartans came out of the gates fast, staking a 6-0 lead in the top of the first inning on RBI base hits by Kendall Smiley, Natalia Kenyatta, and Payton Conroy. Rutgers plated one in the first and then delivered a three-run homer in the second and a two-run shot in the fourth to tie the game. Neither team could generate a go-ahead score in the fifth or sixth innings.
The teams will complete the three-game series with the rubber match on Sunday at 1 pm. The game will stream live on B1G+.
NOTEWORTHY
SCORING SUMMARIES
The teams were tied at six-all entering the final frame. With two on and one out in the top of the seventh, Caravaca's homer – her first of the season – sailed over the wall in left center to put the Spartans ahead.
Let's talk about timing.
— Michigan State Softball (@MSU_Softball) April 11, 2026
Tie ballgame, top of the seventh.
Kirsten Caravaca smacks her first homer of the season to give MSU a 9-6 lead at Rutgers. pic.twitter.com/18Rnd84teu
Sophomore Carsyn Cassady closed the door from there – she walked the leadoff hitter in the bottom of the seventh, but then got back -to-back strikeouts of Rutgers' No. 2 and No. 3 hitters and then a fly ball to center for her fourth win of the year. Cassady entered the game in relief of Autumn Behlke in the second and provided 5.1 innings of two-hit relief, striking out eight.
The Spartans came out of the gates fast, staking a 6-0 lead in the top of the first inning on RBI base hits by Kendall Smiley, Natalia Kenyatta, and Payton Conroy. Rutgers plated one in the first and then delivered a three-run homer in the second and a two-run shot in the fourth to tie the game. Neither team could generate a go-ahead score in the fifth or sixth innings.
The teams will complete the three-game series with the rubber match on Sunday at 1 pm. The game will stream live on B1G+.
NOTEWORTHY
- Kirsten Caravaca hit her first home run as a Spartan in the top of the seventh inning, a three run shot that determined the final score. It was also the third homer of her career. Caravaca also tied her career high with eight putouts.
- Sydney Doloszycki went 3-for-4 in the game with a run scored. She has tied her career best with three base hits in each of the two games against the Scarlet Knights.
- Carsyn Cassady struck out eight batters in 5.1 innings of relief work. The eight strikeouts matches her season and career best, established on March 28 at Ohio State.
- Payton Conroy hit a first inning double, her career-best eighth of the season. She finished with a pair of RBI in a 1-for-3 effort at the plate.
- Natalia Kenyatta went 2-for-3 with a pair of RBI. It was the first multiple-RBI game of her career.
- Kendall Smiley had an RBI single in the first inning.
- MSU's win snapped a three-game skid.
SCORING SUMMARIES
- Michigan State started fast, posting five base hits and scoring six runs to open the game. A walk and two singles loaded the bases for Kendall Smiley, who singled to center to bring home Bernard and Hawley. Hannah Greer drew a two-out walk to re-load the bases, and MSU got back-to-back hits from Natalia Kenyatta and Payton Conroy (double) to plate four more runs and give MSU a 6-0 lead. Rutgers countered with one run on an RBI double in the home half of the inning.
- Rutgers' Sam Rowher hit her second home run of the series in the second inning, a three-run shot that made it 6-4. The Scarlet Knights tied the game at 6-6 in the fourth on a two-run homer by Eva Garafolo.
- After the teams posted consecutive scoreless innings, Britain Beshears led off the seventh inning and was hit by a pitch, and Ava Coffinger came on as a pinch runner. Doloszycki followed with a single, her third hit of the game. The Scarlet Knights went to the bullpen to bring on Maddie Caldwell, and Kendall Smiley laid down a sac bunt to advance the runners. Caravaca homered over the wall in left center. MSU put two more runners on (a Kenyatta single and walk by Conroy), but Rutgers got out of the inning without further damage. In the bottom of the inning, Rowher walked to get the Scarlet Knights a baserunner, but Conroy struck out the next two batters and ended the game with a fly ball to center.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Cassady, Carsyn (4-8)
L: Brooke Shifflett (6-7)
Batting:
2B: Conroy, Payton 1
HR: Caravaca, Kirsten 1
RBI: Smiley, Kendall 2 ; Caravaca, Kirsten 3 ; Kenyatta, Natalia 2 ; Conroy, Payton 2
SH: Smiley, Kendall 2 ; Kenyatta, Natalia 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Bernard, Zoie 1 ; Hawley, Hannah 1 ; Coffinger, Ava 1 ; Doloszycki, Sydney 2 ; Smiley, Kendall 1 ; Caravaca, Kirsten 1 ; Greer, Hannah 1 ; Kenyatta, Natalia 1
HBP: Beshears, Britain 1
Batting:
2B: Mia Mitchell 1 ; Hailey Stripling 1
HR: Sam Rohwer 1 ; Eva Garofalo 1
RBI: Sam Rohwer 3 ; Mia Mitchell 1 ; Eva Garofalo 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Sam Rohwer 1 ; Riley Hwang 1 ; Etta Garofalo 1 ; Hailey Stripling 1 ; Eva Garofalo 1 ; Jayla Fuller 1
HBP: Mia Mitchell 1 ; Jayla Fuller 1
Game Leaders
AB
4
R
2
H
3
RBI
0
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
2
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
RHP
/ Softball
1B
/ Softball
C/UTL
/ Softball
RHP
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
SS
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
SS
/ Softball
UTL
/ Softball
OF
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Spartans All-Access: Jenae Wash
Thursday, April 11