Michigan State University
3-5
UNC-Wilmington
4-4
Nielsen, Freshmen Help Spartans To 5-2 Win
2/21/2014 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Feb. 21, 2014
Columbia, S.C. - Carly Nielsen went 3-for-4 with two RBI, while freshmen Kassidy Kujawa and Lindsey Besson each contributed a pair of hits in a 5-2 victory over UNC-Wilmington on Friday afternoon in the South Carolina Gamecock Invitational. The Spartans rattled off a season-best 10 hits to snap a four-game skid and improve to 3-5 on the season, while UNC-Wilmington falls to 4-4.
Freshman Valerie Kaff threw 5 1/3 innings, scattering six hits and allowing just one earned run striking out three. Senior Kelly Smith picked up the save, striking out three in 1 2/3 innings.
"Kicking off our weekend in the right way was important," said head coach Jacquie Joseph. "Getting our bats going was a big piece of our success today. With two games on tap tomorrow, the key is going to be consistency with our hitting. I'm looking forward to seeing how we respond."
MSU put a run on the board in the top of the first. Destinee Luna led off with a walk, and Kujawa moved her to second on her single to right. Both advanced on a wild pitch, and pitcher Casey Rowland walked Sarah Gutknecht on four pitches to load the bases. Besson lined into a double play, as Luna was thrown out at the plate to leave two on and two out for Ellie Stoffer, in the lineup as the designated player, singled to left, plating Kujawa for the first run of the game. McBride struck out for the third out of the inning, leaving runners at second and third.
UNC-Wilmington evened the game in the bottom of the second. Kristen Jernigan lined a one-out triple to right field, and scored on a Jordin Phillips liner to right. That was all for the Seahawks in the inning, as Kaff got Brittany Gamby to foul out to McKinzie Freimuth to retire the side.
Both teams scored in their half of the fourth inning. For MSU, Nielsen reached on an error, and Jacquie Reiser laid down one of her four sacrifice bunts on the day to advance Nielsen to second; the junior then stole third and scored on a wild pitch to Freimuth to give MSU its second run of the day. IN the bottom half of the inning, Morgan Ayers singled through the right side and Erin Brown's sacrifice attempt was bobbled by Reiser to put runners at first and second with none out. Jernigan followed with an RBI single, scoring Ayers, to knot the score at two. As the Seahawks tried to get a rally going, pinch hitter Casey Shue tapped it back to Kaff, who threw out Brown as she tried to come home. Phillips came to the plate with an eye on getting home another run, but her attempt went to Gutknecht at third, who threw out Jernigan at the plate for the second out of the inning. Kaff retired Gamby on a flyout to right, and the UNC-W threat was extinguished.
MSU put two on the board in the top of the sixth, as Nielsen had her second hit of the day to move Alyssa McBride, who walked to open the inning, to second. After a pitching change brought Peyton Jordan into the circle, Reiser sacrificed the runners to second and third, and Stephanie Sanders, who pinch hit for Freimuth, laced a single through the left side to plate McBride and give MSU a 3-2 advantage. Kujawa followed with a hit into left center, which sent Nielsen home and gave MSU a two-run lead.
The Spartans tacked on an insurance run in the seventh, as Nielsen came to the plate with two on and one out, lacing a single to right.
Meanwhile, Kaff and Smith shut out the Seahawks the rest of the way. Kaff picked up her second win of the year, and Smith earned the pitching staff's first save of the season by striking out three of the five batters she faced.
MSU has a pair of games on tap on Saturday, starting at 12:30 when MSU takes on Boston University at 12:30, and the Spartans play the host school at 3 p.m. The weekend will conclude on Sunday when MSU tangles with Georgetown at 12:30 p.m.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Kaff, Valerie (2-2)
L: Rowland, Casey (2-2)
S: Smith, Kelly (1)
Batting:
RBI: Kujawa, Kassidy 1 ; Stoffer, Ellie 1 ; Nielsen, Carly 1 ; Sanders, Stephanie 1
SH: Reiser, Jacquie 4
Base Running:
RUNS: Kujawa, Kassidy 1 ; Besson, Lindsey 1 ; McBride, Alyssa 1 ; Nielsen, Carly 2
SB: Nielsen, Carly 1
HBP: Gutknecht, Sarah 1 ; McBride, Alyssa 1 ; Freimuth, McKinzie 1
Batting:
3B: Jernign, Kristen 1
RBI: Jernign, Kristen 1 ; Phillips, Jordin 1
SH: Brown, Erin 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Ayers, Morgan 1 ; Jernign, Kristen 1
