Michigan State University
UC Riverside
Softball Tops UC Riverside in Five Innings
3/6/2012 12:00:00 AM | Softball
March 6, 2012
RIVERSIDE, Calif. - The Michigan State softball team traveled to Riverside, Calif. and defeated UC Riverside 15-6 in five innings. The Spartans posted three home runs on the day while the pitching staff notched four strikeouts and only allowed three earned runs. MSU is now 5-12 on the season and the Highlanders are currently 7-12 overall.
Senior Lori Padilla was atop the batting order and kicked off the game with a single through the left side to reach first base. Next up was junior Kylene Hopkins, who battled at the plate and was walked, advancing Padilla to second. Senior Ali Grant posted a sacrifice bunt, which sent Hopkins and Padilla to second and third, respectively. A single up the middle by junior Mary Kate DiVirgilio allowed the first two runs of the game as both runners crossed home plate. DiVirgilio rounded the bases as redshirt freshman Stephanie Sanders posted her first career home run. The long ball was shot into center field and earned two RBIs for MSU.
UC Riverside responded in the next half-inning with two runs. Dione Anderson got on first with a single to the shortstop, then moved to second when Jessica Vasser was walked. A single by Alexis Pickett advanced the runners and then both Anderson and Vasser scored on an error by the Spartan left fielder.
Freshman McKinzie Freimuth was on first from a walk in the second inning as Padilla singled through the left side. The bases loaded when Hopkins was walked, then all runners moved and Freimuth scored on a wild pitch. Next up was Grant who notched a three-run homer to left center and put Michigan State up 8-2. The hit was Grant's first long ball of the year.
The Highlanders cut the lead to two with four runs in the second inning. With runners on first and second, a single by Kayla White allowed the runner on second to round third and reach home. Anderson hit a double to right center, earning two more runs for UC Riverside.
With one out in the fourth, DiVirgilio started the Spartan offense with a double to left center. Sanders was walked and then junior Jayme O'Bryant reached on a fielder's choice, advancing Sanders to second as DiVirgilio was out at third. Senior Melanie Bensema pinch hit for freshman Alyssa McBride and tripled to right center, bringing home O'Bryant and Sanders. The final run of the inning came as junior Jenny Ramsaier posted a single to left field, which allowed Bensema to reach home safely.
The Spartan scoring continued in the fifth with four runs. Back-to-back singles by Padilla and Hopkins put runners on first and second. The next batter was Grant, who laid down a sacrifice bunt to move her teammates into scoring position. DiVirgilio notched a single up the middle to send Hopkins and Padilla home, earning two RBIs on the hit. The final two runs of the game crossed home plate as Sanders posted her second home run of the day into center field.
Junior Shelby Wise kept the game to five innings after posting a 1-2-3 inning and one strikeout. Freshman Carly Nielsen was the starting Spartan in the circle and threw for two full innings. Nieslen allowed three earned runs and struck out three batters. Wise replaced Nielsen in the third inning and earned the win for the day.
The matchup was Michigan State's most offensively productive of the year as its 15 runs was the most to date. The Spartans tabbed a combined 13 hits, 14 RBIs, one double and three home runs.
MSU heads to Los Angeles tomorrow (March 7) to face No. 14 UCLA. Action between the Bruins and the Spartans begins at 9 p.m. (ET).
