Michigan State University Athletics
State Heads To The Carolinas For Season Opener
2/16/2006 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Feb. 16, 2006
EAST LANSING, Mich. -
Holiday Inn Express Pirate Classic Tournament Notes
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The Spartan softball team travels to North Carolina this weekend kicking off the 2006 campaign at the Holiday Inn Express Pirate Classic hosted by East Carolina University. State opens tournament play with a 1 p.m. contest against Army Friday afternoon at the ECU softball complex, and will face 2005 NCAA Tournament participant Seton Hall in the second game of the day at 3 p.m. The 2006 season marks the 35th season of Green and White softball.
HERE WE GO! The Spartans open the 2006 campaign competing at the Holiday Inn Express Pirate Classic hosted by East Carolina University. The tournament field is highlighted with schools from eight different conferences throughout the country. The 2006 season marks the 35th season of Spartan softball; where MSU has amassed a 783-805-7 all-time record.
SEASON OPENING MARKS All-time, MSU is 24-10 in season openers, including an 8-4 mark under the direction of 13-year head coach Jacquie Joseph. After losing the 2002 season opener to Oklahoma State, MSU has won three consecutive starts, including an upset over No. 16 Florida last season at the UNLV Rebel Tournament in Las Vegas, Nevada. Although MSU won't face East Carolina to open the season, State did beat the Pirates in the 2003 opener at the Triangle Classic hosted by North Carolina.
AGAINST THE FIELD In 2005, the Spartans didn't face any member of the nine-team field - host ECU, Army, Seton Hall, Bucknell, Campbell, Elon, Ohio, Towson, (MSU) - however, all-time the Spartans are a combined 12-6 against those teams.
YOUNG BUT EXPERIENCED A year ago the Spartans ranked as the ninth-youngest team among 269 Division I softball programs in the nation. Although this year's team yields only two seniors, MSU's youth is outweighed by its experience. With seven juniors and six sophomores who saw significant time in 2005, look for State to utilize the experience and growth from last season.
GREEN AND WHITE WATCH LIST State made 19 marks on the career and single-season record charts in 2005. A trio of freshmen led the way for MSU a year ago at the plate - Caitlin Mahoney with a .288 mark, the Nicosia twins - Nikki and Traci - added .240 and .253 averages respectively for the Spartan offense. All three look to be starters in the 2006 season-opening lineup.
ONE AT A TIME State has posted 11 consecutive seasons with at least 21 victories - MSU's best season in the win/loss column came in 1997 under the tutelage of Jacquie Joseph, when State competed in the NCAA Regionals and finishing the season with an impressive 47-22 mark.
EAST LANSING? SEE YOU IN MARCH State will spend a solid month on the road before returning home to Old College Field to host Eastern Michigan on March 28. After the Pirate Classic, MSU travels to the NFCA Leadoff Classic in Columbus, Ga. to the Plant City Florida Tournament, to the USF-Adidas Spring Break Invitational in Clearwater, Fla. and finishes its southern swing at the Florida Atlantic Tournament in Boca Raton March 17-19.
S-S-S-S-S-WING! Although the Spartans lost two starters from the 2005 squad, look for MSU's starting rotation to be very strong this season. The 2006 MSU lineup boasts seven juniors and six sophomores, all returning from a season ago with more experience and collegiate action behind them. The combined batting averages for the returning starters from `05 (Peterson, Szawara, Darhower, Feenstra, Mercado, Mahoney, N. Nicosia, and T. Nicosia) is a solid .230 - while the sophomore starting class alone (Mahoney, N. Nicosia and T. Nicosia) averaged .260 during their freshman campaign.
the NUMBERS GAME When the Spartans scored first in games play in 2005, they posted a 17-3 mark in the win/loss column, while in night games alone, State posted a 5-2 record. After posting a 2-10 record against ranked opponents in 2005, MSU will look to improve the mark as it could possibly face 20 different opponents ranked or receiving votes in either the preseason USA Today/NFCA Top 25 or ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 polls. The University of Michigan tops both charts, while Northwestern (16/15) and Iowa (24/19) also makes appearances from the Big Ten.
TWIN-BILL - the NICOSIA SISTERS Twin sisters Nikki and Traci Nicosia are important aspects of the Spartan attack. In games where both girls tallied hits in 2005, MSU went 8-1 in those contests, including the doubleheader sweep vs. Detroit where the duo combined for a 7-11 day at the plate and four runs. Nikki also posted a 3-3 effort in the second game of the DH, while Traci added two RBI in each of the day's games.
(AAA) ABOVE-AVERAGE AVERAGES Sophomore's Caitlin Mahoney, Nikki Nicosia and Traci Nicosia recorded three of the top four batting average performances for the Spartans a year ago. Mahoney's .288 was second to then-senior Victoria Morache's record-setting .316, while Traci edged Nikki .253 to .240. In Big Ten play, the trio hit a combined .239 - Nikki at .308, Mahoney at .256 and Traci with a .152 mark.
GOING, GOING, GONE! Senior Elizabeth Peterson can gain another spot on the all-time home run charts with just one home run during the 2006 campaign. Her three homers in 2005 tied for a team high with junior Dayna Feenstra, while her career mark of 14 ranks her fourth all-time.
FIELD 101 The East Carolina softball complex carries left and right field line dimensions of 200 feet, while the mark to center field is 220 feet. The Spartans will also play one game next weekend at DH Conley High School where the fences are 200 feet all-around.
A TOUGH ROAD Despite playing one of the toughest schedules in the nation, the Spartans still compiled a 25-28-1 record. They held a batting average under .200 for a good portion of the season but came back to finish with a .234 mark.
THE YOUNG ONES CAN HIT! Three of MSU's top four hitters were freshmen (Caitlin Mahoney .288, Traci Nicosia .253 and Nikki Nicosia .240) while then-senior Victoria Morache tied the school's 27th-best performance at the plate with a .317 average.
PITCHING DUO LEADING THE WAY Rachel Turney (1.90 ERA, 14-16) and Lesley Noel (3.24 ERA, 8-5) became an impressive tandem on the rubber. Turney's 160 strikeouts tied for fifth most all-time in a single season, while Noel was 8-3 in April and May combined.
MAKING AN IMPRESSIVE MARK MSU set 19 marks on the career record charts in 2005, while the 25 wins marked the 11th-straight season the program racked up at least 21 victories.
STREAKY, WITH A STRONG FINISH State went 13-7 in the final 20 contests of the 2005 regular season, including a win vs. No. 15 Northwestern on April 19 and sweeps of in-state rivals Oakland and Detroit during the streak. In the final stretch of the year, MSU enjoyed its longest winning streak of the season, a span of five games, starting with a victory vs. Oakland on April 19, and ending with a 14-2 loss to No. 15 Northwestern on April 30. Michigan State was 14-9 in the month of April and 4-2 in May.
A LITTLE BIT OF THIS, A LITTLE BIT OF THAT The Spartans tallied a season-high 44 at-bats in the 13 inning contest vs. Penn State on April 10. MSU's nine runs in the season-opening contest vs. Florida proved a season high, while its 12 hits vs. both Ohio State (April 9) and IPFW (April 27) were the highest total for the 2005 campaign.
SINGLE GAME RECORD BREAKERS Caitlin Mahoney and Victoria Morache each went to the plate six times in the 2-1 victory vs. Penn State. The mark was the highest at-bat total by a Spartan since the 2003 campaign. Nikki Nicosia's three stolen bases vs. Florida Atlantic on March 19 ranks her atop the single-game record charts as the most recent Spartan to reach the feat.
BATTER UP! The Spartans tallied a 10-3 record in East Lansing as MSU out-hit opponents .291 to .229 while compiling an impressive 1.23 team ERA at Old College Field. Caitlin Mahoney posted a season and team-high nine-game hitting streak in 2005, while Victoria Morache hit in nine consecutive Big Ten contests for the Spartans.
S T- T- T- T- T- RIKE! In her first season competing for the Green and White, Rachel Turney was the pitcher of record in six of the final 10 contests in 2005. Turney finished the season with a 14-16 overall mark and a 1.90 earned run average.
GETTING IN DONE AT THE PLATE After their efforts in 2005, three current Spartans rank among the top 15 all-time in career batting average. Dayna Feenstra boasts a .298 all-time average, which places her ninth. Elizabeth Peterson (.297) and Caitlin Mahoney (.288) rank 10th and 11th, respectively.
QUICKNOTES... • MSU participated in eight extra inning contests in 2005 going 4-3-1 in those games. • Jessica LeFevre scored 13 runs in 38 appearances for the Spartans in 2005. She also stole 13 bases in 15 attempts. • Three Spartans - sophomore Dayna Feenstra, and seniors Janette Hurtado and Victoria Morache - received 2005 Academic All-Big Ten honors for their work in the classroom. • Caitlin Mahoney was honored with a spot on the All-Great Lakes Region Team in 2005. • In 2005, heavy hitter Elizabeth Peterson added 29 hits to her career tally. Her 113 career hits, ranks her 28th all-time, where she is just two hits shy of the 27th spot held by Julie Hirth. • Nikki Nicosia finished her freshman campaign with 18 stolen bases for the year. The mark ranks her seventh on MSU's single-season charts. • Pitcher Lesley Noel allowed just 15 walks in 86.1 innings pitched during the 2005 season, which puts her in second place in the single-season record books. • Freshman infielder Traci Nicosia tallied five triples in 2005, the highest single-season total since Stacey Phillips posted five in 1999. The duo sits in fourth place on MSU's single-season charts.
