Michigan State University Athletics
Softball Begins Lengthy Road Trip
3/2/2006 12:00:00 AM | Softball
March 2, 2006
EAST LANSING, Mich. -
Plant City Tournament Notes
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The Spartan softball team will continue early season tournament action when it travels to the Plant City Tournament and the USF-Adidas Spring Break Invitational, March 4-12. State enters play with an overall 4-2 mark after dropping two contests to No. 12 Georgia and Southern Illinois at the shortened NFCA Leadoff Classic last weekend. Inclement weather cancelled the final two days at the annual Leadoff Classic. MSU will kick off the extended road trip vs. Boston University, March 4 at 1:30 p.m at the Randy Larson Four Plex, the former spring training home of the Cincinnati Reds.
CUT SHORT Due to inclement weather that spread throughout the southern states last weekend, the Spartans competed at only one day of the scheduled three-day NFCA Leadoff Classic. State went 0-2 in the opening round of pool play last Friday, with losses to No. 12 Georgia and Southern Illinois.
THE FLORIDA SUNSHINE! MSU will hit the road for its annual spring break trip, heading to the Plant City Tournament and the USF-ADIDAS Spring Break Invitational hosted by USF. The Spartans will also face Toledo in a March 7th doubleheader at the Plant City complex. While in Florida, five Spartans will compete on home soil - Meghan Darhower, Caitlin Mahoney, Kara Weigle and Nikki and Traci Nicosia.
AGAINST THE FIELD From the field of five at the Plant City tournament, State faced only Temple last season falling to the Owls 0-3 on March 8 in Tampa, Fla. All time vs. the field, MSU has never faced Buffalo or Harvard, and is a combined 11-5 vs. Boston University and Temple.
SOPHOMORE STRENGTH State's Nikki Nicosia began the season on a tear at the plate. Nicosia went 9-12 for the weekend, including a 2-2 effort vs. Army and a 3-3 tally vs. Seton Hall on Friday. Saturday vs. the Bucknell Bison, Nicosia went 2-4, while in the championship game vs. the Pirates, her 2-3 effort proved best in the Spartan lineup. At the shortened NFCA Leadoff Classic, Nikki started both contests vs. No. 12 Georgia and SIU.
WHAT A WAY TO START! The Spartans opened the 2006 campaign competing at the Holiday Inn Express Pirate Classic hosted by East Carolina University Feb. 17-19, where behind four complete games by the Spartan pitching staff, the Green and White tallied a 4-0 record and the tournament championship. The trio of Rachel Turney, Megan Hair and Lesley Noel allowed just one earned run for the tournament, holding opponents to a .103 batting average.
MVP IN STYLE Spartan pitching ace Rachel Turney went 2-0 at the Pirate classic with wins vs. Army and host ECU in the championship game of the weekend. She allowed just four hits, walking just one batter with no earned runs from the mound. For her play, Turney was named the Holiday Inn Express Pirate Classic Tournament MVP, and also Big Ten pitcher of the week. Congrats!
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 Leadoff Classic, MSU travels 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.
SEASON OPENING MARKS All-time, MSU is 25-10 in season openers, including an 9-4 mark under the direction of 13-year head coach Jacquie Joseph after the victory vs. Army on Feb. 17.
FIELD 101 The Plant City complex will prove to be one of the biggest fields that MSU will compete at during the 2006 campaign as its dimensions measure 310 feet all around. The Plant City complex is the former spring training home of the Cincinnatti Reds.
CAREER BEST PERFORMANCES Rachel Turney, Nikki Nicosia and Catiline Mahoney all set new career marks competing at the Pirate Classic last weekend. Mahoney's game tying homerun vs. Bucknell was the first of her career, while Turney's 11 strikeouts vs. ECU and Nicosia's three hits and three runs vs. Seton Hall were new career-bests.
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.
MONEY AT THE PLATE In its first action of the 2006 campaign, the Spartans hit a solid .311 at the plate competing at the Holiday Inn Express Pirate Classic last weekend in Greenville, N.C. State tallied 32 hits, 15 runs and 39 total bases enroute to its best start at 4-0 since the 1997 season when MSU began the year 7-0.
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.
TWIN-BILL - the NICOSIA SISTERS Twins sisters Nikki and Traci Nicosia posted great numbers during the opening week of play in 2006. Nikki led the Spartan offense with a .750 average at the plate, going a perfect 3-3 in stolen base attempts. Traci hit .214, with three hits including one double in the 8-1 victory vs. Seton Hall. Both made marks on the all-time single-season records charts a season ago - Traci ranks tied for fourth all-time with five triples, while Nikki's 18 stolen bases in 2005 ranks her tied for seventh.
(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. So far in 2006, the story remains the same... NNicosia leads the pack with a .750 average, Mahoney holds a .333 mark while TNicosia adds a .214 tally heading into the Leadoff Classic.
H - B - P (HIT BY PITCH) Only one Spartan got hit by a pitch during opening weekend play - freshman catcher Kara Weigle took not only ONE, but TWO hits for the team... welcome to the big leagues!
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.
BEST IN A WHILE State's 4-0 start at the Holiday Inn Express Pirate Classic is the best start by a Spartan squad since the 1997 season when Jacquie Joseph led MSU to a 7-0 mark to begin the year.
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.
BUFFALO • Buffalo enters weekend play at the Plant City Tournament with an overall 2-2 mark thus far in 2006. The Bulls opened the season with wins over St. Johns and Memphis, and losses to Notre Dame and St. John's at the Golden Panther Invite. UB is led by Sophie Barstad who averages .300 at the plate after opening weekend action, while Lauren Picciana and Mary Russell add .286 and .250 marks respectively. From the mound, Barstad holds top marks with a 2-0 tally, allowing two earned runs and 13 hits in 13.2 innings pitched thus far in 2006.
HARVARD • Harvard has yet to see action in 2006. The Crimson finished the 2005 campaign 18-20 behind a 3rd place 9-5 Ivy League mark. Led by 12th year head coach Jenny Allard, Harvard returns 12 letterwinners and seven starters from a year ago.
BOSTON UNIVERSITY • Boston University enters weekend action with an overall 1-2 mark, with a victory over George Mason and losses to Eastern Michigan and Austin Peay at the Mercer Tournament last weekend. The Terriers are led by Brandi Sheilds who posted five hits in seven at bats for a .714 average, while Christy Leath and Liz Alley add .545 and .500 marks respectively. Cassidi Hardy leads the BU pitching staff with a 2.45 ERA and 1-0 record heading into play in Plant City.
TEMPLE • The Owls enter play in Plant City with an overall 1-4 mark after competing at the USF Wilson Invitational, Feb. 18-20. Temple is led by first-year head coach Casey Dickson in 2006. Leading the way at the plate is Lauren Evans who went 2-4 in opening weekend play. Brandie Mora and Shawn Casey follow with .429 and .333 averages respectively. Jennifer Nacianceno was the pitcher of record in all four of the Owls' contests at USF, pitching three complete games in the stretch.
