Michigan State University Athletics
Four Games on Tap for Softball at Littlewood Classic
2/12/2014 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Feb. 12, 2014
| MSU at the Arizona State Littlewood Classic | |
| Dates | Fri.-Sun., Feb. 14-16 |
| Location | Tempe, Ariz.; Alberta B. Farrington Stadium (Cap. 1,535) |
| Video Webstream | none |
| Radio | vs. Washington |
| Live Statistics | |
| Game Notes | Download PDF: MSU |
| Social Media | @MSU_Softball  | Facebook  |
| Weekend Preview | Watch |
SERIES NOTES
• Michigan State heads to Tempe, Ariz., to participate in the Littlewood Classic. The Spartans will play four games over three days, which includes a game each against No. 11 Oklahoma, No. 3 Washington, and San Jose State, which is receiving votes in the poll..
• With the schedule changes due to weather-related travel, MSU will play just four games this weekend instead of five. MSU's game against Illinois State was a casualty of the rescheduled tournament.
• In the all-time series against each of its opponents, MSU owns a winning record and San Jose State (2-0), is tied with Oklahoma (3-3), and trails the all-time series with Washington, 1-3. This will be the first-ever meeting between MSU and SIU-Edwardsville.
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• Michigan State has a pair of athletes from the state of Arizona. Sophomore shortstop Destinee Luna (Surprise)was the 2012 Arizona Division 1 Player of the Year pick in Section 1 at Centennial High School, while freshman pitcher Valerie Kaff (Mesa/Mountain View) was a MaxPreps 2013 All American as well as the 2013 Arizona Gatorade Softball Player of the Year.
TEAM NOTES
• MSU opened the season at the Stetson Leadoff Classic, going 2-1 on the weekend. The Spartans fell to host Stetson 5-1 in the season opener, then swept Rhode Island in a doubleheader (5-0, 9-0 (5)) in the final day of the tournament.
• The Spartans were originally scheduled to play both Stetson and Rhode Island twice in last weekend's tournament, but the second game of the weekend against the Hatters was washed out, and Sunday's single game against URI became a doubleheader. All Big Ten teams have played at least four games, with the exception of MSU. In addition, no other school has played fewer than 23 innings, while MSU has played just 18 thanks to a 9-0 win in five innings against the Rams.
MSU had eight game cancellations in 2013 due to weather and field conditions. MSU played 49 total games, the fewest number of any school in the Big Ten and the fewest for the Spartans since 1986.
• The Spartan pitching staff ranks third in team ERA in the Big Ten (1.94), allowing 16 hits and five earned runs over 18 innings. MSU has also issued just two walks, the fewest in the Big Ten.
• The Spartans have started off with a team batting average of .275, which ranks eighth in the Big Ten.
• Ten of the 12 players with a plate appearance last weekend came away with at least one hit. Six had at least one RBI, and MSU was walked nine times.
• MSU hit four home runs last weekend, the third-highest team total in the league behind Indiana (6) and Wisconsin (5).
• With just one error in its three games in Florida, MSU ranks third in the Big Ten in fielding percentage, (.986). MSU turned a pair of double plays, the second-highest total in the league behind Ohio State (3).
• MSU will play nine games against five teams which appear in the NFCA pre-season 2014 poll. MSU will play single games against No. 2 Oklahoma, No. 5 Washington, and No. 22 South Alabama, along with three-game series against Big Ten foes No. 4 Michigan and No. 9 Nebraska.
Nineteen of MSU's 26 pre-Big Ten opponents finished fifth or better in their conference in 2013, and five are their defending conference champions. Washington and Oklahoma, as well as Big Ten foes Nebraska and Michigan, made the Women's College World Series. Four Big Ten teams received bids to the NCAA Tournament overall.
• MSU was the fifth-most improved team in Division I softball in 2013 from its 2012 record. The 2012 Spartans suffered through an 11-42 campaign riddled with injuries, but went 24-25 in 2013, a 15-game improvement. Only four programs had more than a 15-game improvement from 2012 to 2013: Delaware (+19.5), Northwestern State (+18.5), St. Joseph's (+17), and UNC Greensboro (+15.5).
• MSU returns 12 letter winners and six starters from last year's team which finished 24-25 and played in the Big Ten Tournament. Three starters were lost to graduation - center fielder and All-Big Ten pick Kylene Hopkins, third baseman and All-Big Ten selection Jayme O'Bryant, and second baseman Jenny Ramsaier. Ramsaier and O'Bryant are back with the team this year as student coaches.
In the infield, returning starters McKinzie Freimuth (first) and Destinee Luna (shortstop) each played nearly every game at those positions last season, and solidify a young infield. Sophomore Shanin Thomas is penciled in at third and sophomore transfer Jacquie Reiser is the likely starter at second, while freshman Sarah Gutknecht can play either of the corner infield positions and will look to earn playing time.
Alyssa McBride, the team's top returning hitter, will patrol center field for the Spartans this year, (moving over from left, where she played 44 games a year ago). Hard-hitting freshman Kassidy Kujawa will also vie for a starting role in the outfield, along with Ellie Stoffer, (who was behind the plate in 48 of 49 games last season), Dana Briggs, and Carly Nielsen. Stephanie Sanders, one of the league's top pinch-hitters, may also see time, while senior Sarah Bowling will continue as the team's designated player.
Both starting pitchers from 2013, senior Kelly Smith and sophomore Dani Goranson, return to the roster, but Goranson is sidelined until March as she completes rehab from an injury. Freshman Valerie Kaff will be counted on to eat up some innings early, while classmate Kristina Zalewski, like Goranson, is rehabbing from an injury and will fight to get on the field to contribute. Lindsey Besson will complete the battery, taking over starting catching duties, with both Stoffer and senior Emma Fernandez available as backup.
PLAYER NOTES
• Freshman Kassidy Kujawa was MSU's big bat on the weekend at Stetson. Kujawa hit .571 with a league-best 1.429 slugging percentage in the three games. She went 4-for-7 with a team-best four RBI and two homers, the first two round-trippers of her collegiate career.
The freshman ranks third in the league in batting average and is tied for second in on-base percentage (667). URI walked her twice intentionally in the second game; she was responsible for MSU's first two game-winning RBI of the year. She also had four putouts in left field.
• Kujawa ranks third in the Big Ten in batting average (.571), first in slugging percentage (1.429), and is tied for second in on-base percentage (.667), while ranking in a tie for third in home runs (2).
• In addition to Kujawa, Sarah Gutknecht went 2-for-5 and had her first career home run, which was her first collegiate hit as well; Hers came in the top half of the doubleheader against URI. Sophomore Shannin Thomas also smacked her first career homer - a grand slam in the nightcap vs. URI. Her five RBI on the weekend is tied for seventh in the Big Ten.
• Both Destinee Luna and Alyssa McBride had three hits last weekend in Florida. Luna went 3-for-9 (.333) with a hit in each game, giving her the team's current longest active hitting streak (three games). McBride went 2-for-3 in the second game against URI with a double and an RBI.
• MSU utilized three pitchers last weekend; Kelly Smith earned the first and third games in the circle. Smith threw 11 innings on the weekend, scattering nine hits and striking out 14. In both games, at least half of her strikeouts were batters caught looking - three of her six K's vs. Stetson, and five of eight against URI. On the weekend, she had a 1.91 ERA, allowed just three runs, walked two, and gave up just one extra-base hit. Newcomer Valerie Kaff made her first collegiate appearance in relief against Stetson, going two innings and surrendering two runs. She made her first start against Rhode Island in the bottom half of the doubleheader, throwing four innings, scattering three hits, and earning the win in a 9-0 decision for the Spartans. Classmate Kristina Zalewski made her collegiate debut in relief of Kaff, allowing one hit in her one inning of work.
• Smith and Kaff both appear among Big Ten statistical leaders in several categories. Smith is ninth in ERA (1.91), tied for third in strikeouts (14), first in strikeouts looking (8), eighth in runs allowed (3) and 11th in earned runs allowed (3). Kaff is ninth in hits allowed (6), tied for fourth in runs allowed (2) and tied for fifth in earned runs allowed (2).
• Smith's 14 strikeouts brought her to within 14 of MSU's all-time top 10 strikeout leaders. She currently owns 236 strikeouts in just her second season at MSU; Keri DeJong ranks 10th all-time in the career record book for strikeouts with 250. In 2013, Smith had 222 K's, good for third in MSU's single-season record book.
