Michigan State University
Florida Intl
Florida International Defeats Spartan Softball, 7-2
3/9/2002 12:00:00 AM | Softball
March 9, 2002
PLANT CITY, Fla. - Florida International beat the Michigan State softball team, 7-2, Saturday afternoon (March 9) in the Spartans' last game of the Speedline Invitational. MSU finished the tournament with an 0-5 record and falls to 7-13 for the season.
The Spartans took an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first on a Natalie Furrow (So., San Diego, Calif./Mills E. Godwin) RBI single that plated Lauren Pedersen (Fr., Portage/Northern). Furrow went 2-for-4 in the game and extended her hitting streak to four games.
The Panthers (19-15) came back and took the lead for good with four runs in the third. MSU starter Jessica Beech (So., Okemos/Okemos) was knocked out of the game after 2.1 innings of work, allowing four runs on five hits in the loss (3-4).
MSU rallied for a run in the fourth as a Pedersen sacrifice bunt brought home Janette Hurtado (Fr., Rowland Heights, Calif./Diamond Bar), cutting the FIU lead to two runs.
FIU put the game out of reach in the seventh as the Panthers plated three runs on three hits to increase the lead to 7-2.
The Spartans threatened to score in the bottom half of the seventh, but stranded runners on second and third to end the game. Overall, MSU left 10 runners on base.
MSU returns to action to play in the Winthrop Tournament in Rock Hill, S.C., next weekend (March 15-17). The Spartans begin the tournament against Tulsa at 4 p.m. and Providence at 8 p.m., Friday, March 15.
Game Summary R H EFIU 004 000 3- 7 8 1MSU 100 100 0- 2 9 1
WP: Nealer-FIULP: Beech-MSU (3-4)
