Softball Signs Four Recruits
12/9/1999 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Dec. 9, 1999
East Lansing, Mich. - Michigan State softball coach Jacquie Joseph recently completed her recruiting class for the 2000-01 season and four players have inked national letters of intent to attend MSU and play for the Spartans in 2001. The talented class includes Jessica Beech (Okemos, Mich.), Natalie Furrow (Richmond, Va.), Brittney Green (Simi Valley, Calif.) and Angel Merren (Wayland, Mich).
?Overall, I feel great about this group of players,? Joseph said. ?This was a critical class because of the players who will graduate following the 2000 season. This class will give us great depth and it is made up of players who will be able to step in and fill positions right away.
?We have now had good recruiting classes in back-to-back years and that will help us continue to move forward as we build the kind of championship program that we want. It's important to me that we continue to attract outstanding students and athletes to Michigan State University and I feel we have certainly accomplished that with these four outstanding student-athletes.?
After just three years, Beech is one of the most successful softball players ever in the state of Michigan. As a junior last season, she posted a 32-0 record with a 0.01 earned run average in leading the Chieftains to the 1999 Division I state championship. Beech, who fanned 435 batters, also hit .557 with 11 doubles and 14 triples in 1999.
Heading into her senior season, she has helped lead Dan Stolz?s Okemos squad to an 88-18 record. On the mound, she has an incredible 58-5 record and 686 strikeouts. A first-team all-state honoree, she has guided Okemos to three-straight league championships.
In the summer months, Beech plays for the Compuware team that finished 13th nationally at the 1999 ASA 18-under nationals.
?Jessica Beech is one of the finest players the state of Michigan has produced in a number of years, if not the best ever,? Joseph said of the player who will likely pitch and play outfield for the Spartans. ?She is so significant and such a great player because she is more than just a pitcher. With Jessica Beech you get the whole package.?
Green is an infielder who played two years with the under-18 Southern California Athletics Gold team that captured the 1999 national championship after finishing third in 1998.
She has earned all-league and all-county honors three times at Simi Valley High. Last season, Green posted a 6-1 record on the mound with a 0.32 ERA. She also hit .357 with a .536 slugging percentage.
?Anytime you can sign a player from the number one club team in the nation, it says a lot about your program and Michigan State University,? Joseph said. ?Brittney will bring experience and a championship attitude to our program. She is a versatile player who will help us solidify our infield in 2001.?
Furrow, who plays first base, has earned second-team all-state honors twice since joining the Mills E. Godwin High team in Richmond, Va., after her family moved there from California. In 1999, she hit .546 with 10 RBI and a .649 on-base percentage to lead her team to a second-straight 17-3 mark.
Last year, she co-captained the Vienna Shamrocks team that tied for 33rd at the ASA under-18 gold nationals. Furrow spent two years playing for the Richmond Diamonds and while in California she was a member of the California Dynasty team that captured the ASA under-12 national championship in 1994.
?Natalie is a very intelligent player, who is a real student of the game,? Joseph says. ?She is a lefty who can spray the field with her bat and has good foot speed.?
Merren is an all-state honoree from Wayland High, who is coached by former Spartan player Cheri Ritz (1978-81). An outfielder, Merren has helped guide the Wildcats to a record of 103-9 during her career. Last season, she hit .492 with 20 RBI and 27 stolen bases. She is a two-time all-conference, all-district and all-region honoree.
In the summer months, she plays for the Grand Rapids Blaze under-18 team.
?Angel is a left-handed outfielder with great speed,? Joseph said. ?She will provide us with some much-needed depth in the outfield. Angel comes from a strong high school program and she has been well-coached so we know that she will fit into our program very nicely.?