Softball Opens 2008 Campaign At Seminole Classic

Feb. 13, 2008

EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State softball opens its 2008 compaign this weekend with four games at the Seminole Classic on Feb. 15-17 in Tallahassee, Fla. The Spartans will face Alabama-Birmingham on Friday, Bethune-Cookman and Jacksonville on Saturday and Florida State on Sunday. Live stats for all MSU games will be available through www.msuspartans.com, while live video webstreaming for Sunday's game against the Seminoles can be accessed for a one-time fee of $4.99 through www.accselect.com.

PDF of complete Softball notes: MSU Notes
Seminole Classic Tournament Page: Seminole Classic Website

LIVE STATS:
LIVE WEB CAST (Sunday, Feb. 17 vs. Florida State): ACC Select Broadcast

LISTEN TO SPARTAN SPORTS PODCASTS
Head Coach Jacquie Senior Captain Nikki Redshirt Freshman Captain Bianca

QUICK HITTERS
• The Spartans have won five straight season openers, including last year's 13-9 victory over Toledo on Feb. 16, 2007 at Alabama's Holiday Inn Bama Bash in Tuscaloosa, Ala. In its 36-year history, Michigan State owns a 26-10 record in season-opening games, including a 10-4 mark under current head coach Jacquie Joseph.

• Michigan State led the Big Ten conference last year in batting average (.297), and returns four of 2007's top seven batters to the 2008 roster. Nikki Nicosia led the Spartans in 2007 with a .357 batting average, while Kara Weigle (.356), Traci Nicosia (.352) and Caitlin Mahoney (.309) also hit above .300.

• MSU's shortstop Bianca Mejia is healthy and ready for her first collegiate acion, after redshirting her freshman year with an ACL injury. Despite missing the 2007 season for the Spartans, Mejia sharpened her mental skills on the bench last spring and got healthy in time to play for the USA Junior National team in July. Mejia had the game-tying RBI in the title game's 3-1 win, and the Americans went 10-0 to capture the championship of the ISF Junior Women's World Championship.

• Starting the year at the Seminole Classic, the Spartans will face off against four programs in three days at Florida State's JoAnne Grad Field in Tallahassee, Fla.

• MSU's opening game against UAB will be the first between the Spartans and Blazers.

• Michigan State leads the overall series against BCU, 2-0; the teams met in 2005, when MSU swept the Wildcats 2-0 in a doubleheader at the Stetson Tournament in DeLand, Fla.

• Against Jacksonville, Michigan State won the only previous meeting, a 4-3 victory in the 2004 seaon-opening game at the USF-Wilson Tournament in Tampa, Fla.

• Michigan State trails Florida State in the overall series, 3-6. FSU most recently defeated the Spartans 4-1 on Feb. 25, 2005 at the NFCA Leadoff Classic in Columbus, Ga. The programs' first meeting was in 1985 when the Seminoles swept a doubleheader against MSU in Tallahassee, Fla.

• The Spartans are the only team in the Seminole Classic who have yet to play a game this spring.