Spartans And Grizzlies Meet In Mid-Week Doubleheader

April 3, 2006

EAST LANSING, Mich. - The Spartan softball team (22-10, 2-0 Big Ten) is set to face intrastate rival Oakland University in a non-conference doubleheader at Old College Field, Tuesday, beginning at 3:30 p.m. State most recently swept Big Ten foe Minnesota, April 1, where Caitlin Mahoney led the Green and White offense with four hits and seven RBI at the plate. Lesley Noel improved to 6-3 on the year, pitching her fifth complete-game of the season in a 3-1 win vs. the Gophers, while Megan Hair earned her sixth win of the season in the 7-6 series finale victory. MSU leads the all-time series with the Grizzlies, 15-2.

WRAP-UP, ROUND-UP! The Spartans started the Big Ten season with a two-game sweep vs. Minnesota on April 1. Game one of the series on Friday was postponed until Saturday afternoon due to inclement weather. State took a 3-1 win in the conclusion of Friday's contest, and finished the afternoon with a 7-6 come-from-behind win vs. the Gophers.

THE OAKLAND SERIES Michigan State swept Oakland last season, 4-0 and 5-0. The back-to-back shutout wins vs. the Grizzlies marked the first time in nearly three years that MSU posted consecutive shutouts in a doubleheader. Pitchers Lesley Noel and Rachel Turney led the Spartans in the circle, while senior Janette Hurtado led the offensive attack with four hits for the day.

CONGRATULATIONS! In the thrilling 7-6 victory vs. Minnesota on April 1, head coach Jacquie Joseph earned her 400th career victory as a Spartan. In her 13th season at the helm of the Michigan State softball program, she has amassed an impressive resume: four NCAA tournament appearances, one Big Ten title and numerous individual honorees have donned the Green and White during the Joseph era.

STREAKING SPARTANS Kara Weigle currently holds a team-best six-game hitting streak heading into Tuesday's doubleheader vs. Oakland. Gina Mondo tallied one hit in the first game vs. Minnesota to extend her hitting streak to a team-best, and season-high, nine games, however the Gopher pitching staff was able to hold Mondo hitless in game two, breaking the streak.

COMMON OPPONENT The Spartans and Grizzlies have not faced a common opponent thus far in 2006, however OU faced future Green and White opponent, Western Michigan in a non-conference doubleheader on March 28. MSU and WMU are set for a 4 p.m. match-up April 25 at Old College Field.

SLIM MARGINS State has played in 16 games decided by two runs or less in 2006. The Spartans are 4-4 in one-run games, and hold a 4-4 mark in games decided by two runs.

DID YOU KNOW? Head coach Jacquie Joseph likes to keep a consistent defensive line-up. Three Spartans have started all 32 games at the same position: Dayna Feenstra (first base), Gina Mondo (second base) and Nikki Nicosia (center field). Meghan Darhower has started all 32 games, 31 at third base and one at shortstop.

AROUND THE HORN - BIG TEN STYLE State sits in the third spot among league competitors with a 22-10 overall record and a 2-0 Big Ten slate. The Green and White ranks fifth in the Big Ten in team batting with a .260 average, while Kara Weigle and Caitlin Mahoney rank as MSU's top individuals at the plate, both hitting .667 through two games. Pitcher Lesley Noel has a team-best 0.89 ERA overall (0.00 Big Ten) and ranks third overall on the year. (Statistics based on games played through April 2)

A LOOK AT OAKLAND:

• Oakland went 2-2 vs. Valparaiso in a four-game Mid-Con series March 31-April 1.

• In a 3-2 win vs. Valparaiso, the Grizzlies were led by Laura Chomokos who pitched a complete-game, five hit effort from the circle. Her 2-4 performance at the plate was also a team-best.

• OU holds an 8-13 mark in 2006, with notable wins vs. UNC Wilmington, Elon and Villanova.

• Led by Chomokos with a 1.49 ERA and 6-6 mark, six pitchers have seen time in the circle for OU this season.

• Head coach Glenn MacDonald is in his first season at the helm of the Grizzlie program.

LAST TIME VS. OAKLAND

Then-sophomore Rachel Turney and freshman Lesley Noel each posted complete-game shutouts to help MSU improve to 18-24-1 overall on April 19, 2005. The wins marked the first time since the 2002 season that State shutout the same opponent in a doubleheader (April 6 at IPFW, 2-0 and 17-0).

Turney shutout the opposition for the second time in her last three starts in State's first win, allowing five hits, striking out eight and not walking a batter in the process. In game one all of Michigan State's six hits came from different batters.

Noel went the distance in game two, giving up only three hits and striking out a then-career-high four batters. Janette Hurtado was 3-for-4 in the game with two RBI and a run scored as the Spartans posted 11 hits, including Victoria Morache, Dayna Feenstra and Amy Szawara notching two apiece. Combined, Hurtado paced the offense with a 4-for-8, four RBI effort.

MINNESOTA SERIES RECAP:

Caitlin Mahoney went 4-for-6 with seven RBI, as Michigan State swept conference foe Minnesota at Old College Field on Saturday. State took a 3-1 win in the conclusion of Friday's postponed contest, and posted a 7-6 come-from-behind victory in the final game of the series. With the two wins head coach Jacquie Joseph recorded her 400th career victory at Michigan State on Saturday, while pitchers Lesley Noel (6-3) and Megan Hair (6-2) each improved their 2006 records from the circle.

Abby Lincoln and Gina Mondo each posted one run, while Mahoney paced the Spartan bats with three RBI and two hits at the plate in game one. Noel allowed two hits and one run, pitching her fifth complete game of the year.

Mahoney tallied four RBI in game two, while Weigle added two hits and one RBI. The trio of Rachel Turney, Noel and Hair allowed nine hits with six strikeouts in the combined effort.

MINNESOTA SERIES NOTES:

* With a two-game total of seven RBI, Caitlin Mahoney has 16 runs batted in on the year. She is just the third MSU player to tally a four-RBI game this season, and now has three multi-RBI contests this year.

* Gina Mondo's hit in game one moved her hit streak to nine games, the best by a Spartan this season.

* Kara Weigle also hit well for the Green and White on Saturday, going 4-for-6 in the two games. The Naples, Fla., native now has seven multi-hit games on the year, putting her fourth on the team in that category.

* The run given up in the first inning of game one halted a stretch of 23.1 scoreless innings for sophomore pitcher Lesley Noel. Noel did not give up a run for the remainder of the contest to notch her fifth complete game of the 2006 campaign.

* The double play by Minnesota in game one was just the second completed against Michigan State this year.

* State is now 12-2 when scoring four to nine runs and evens its record to 4-4 in one-run contests.

* In the second game, Minnesota out-hit MSU, 9-7, marking just the second time this season the Spartans have been out hit and won the game.