Michigan State University
Oakland (DH)
Spartan Softball Splits At Oakland
4/16/2002 12:00:00 AM | Softball
April 16, 2002
ROCHESTER, Mich. - The Michigan State softball team split a doubleheader Tuesday afternoon (April 16) against Oakland. MSU won game one, 4-0, while the Golden Grizzlies took game two, 4-2. The Spartans now stand at 21-26 for the season.
Becky Gray (Sr., Burr Oak/Burr Oak) struck out eight in five innings of work in MSU's 4-0 game one victory. Gray (10-12) retired the first 10 batters of the game and 16 of the 18 she faced while only allowing one hit. Jessica Beech (So., Okemos/Okemos) threw the final two innings, also only giving up one hit, to earn her fourth save of the year.
MSU put up a run in the first as Brittney Green (So., Simi Valley, Calif./Simi Valley) hit a sacrifice fly that brought home Margaret Schick (Jr., Grass Lake/Chelsea). The Spartans extended their lead in the fifth, scoring two runs to make the score 3-0. Angel Merren (So., Wayland/Union) nailed a double down the right-field line to plate Lacy Hauxhurst (Jr., Westminster, Calif./Westminster) and Sandy Lewis (Jr., Empire/Glen Lake) advanced home on a throwing error by the Oakland third baseman.
State added a run in the seventh on a Lewis RBI single that scored Merren.
In game two, MSU quickly scored two runs in top of the first, but Oakland bounced back to score four in its half of the inning. For MSU, Schick advanced home on a Lewis steal from first to second, and Lewis later scored on a throwing error by the pitcher. Lewis went 2-for-2 with a walk in the game.
The Grizzlies (16-29-1) regained the lead as they scored four runs off MSU starting pitcher Keri DeJong (Sr., Portage/Kalamazoo Christian) in the first. Beech relieved DeJong (3-7) in the first and pitched the remainder of the game.
Oakland's Julie Anderson (2-5) surrendered seven hits but didn't allow any runs after the first inning. The Spartans' last scoring threat came in the sixth as Green singled and pinch runner Kim Strauch (Fr., Durand/Corunna) stole second. Strauch then took third on a fielder's choice with two outs. The next batter, Lacy Hauxhurst, hit a shot to the hole between first and second, but OU second baseman Nina Catanzaro made a diving play to retire Hauxhurst and end the inning.
Michigan State returns to action Thursday, April 18 to face Loyola-Chicago for a single game in Chicago, beginning at 4 p.m.
Game Summaries:
Game One Summary R H EMSU 100 020 1- 4 5 1OAK 000 000 0- 0 2 3
WP: Gray-MSU (10-12)LP: Marzano-OAK (6-10)SV: Beech-MSU (4)
Game Two Summary R H EMSU 200 000 0- 2 7 1OAK 400 000 x- 4 4 1
WP: Anderson-OU (2-5)LP: DeJong-MSU (3-7)SV: Marzano-OU (2)
Spartan Notebook: ? Margaret Schick stole two bases to up her total to 24 for the season. Her 24 stolen bases are good for second in an MSU season.
? Becky Gray struck out eight batters today, giving her 371 for her career, good for second all-time at Michigan State. The record is 408 strikeouts set by Stacey Smith from 1994-97.
