Michigan State University Athletics
Softball Kicks Off 2014 Season at Stetson
2/5/2014 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Feb. 5, 2014
| MSU at the Stetson Lead-Off Classic | |
| Dates | Fri.-Sun., Feb. 7-9 |
| Location | DeLand, Fla.; Patricia Wilson Field (Cap. 1,000) |
| Webstream | Live Video Stream (Games vs. Stetson only; subscription required) |
| Live Statistics | |
| Download Game Notes | MSU |
| Social Media | @MSU_Softball  | Facebook  |
| Weekend Preview | Watch |
SERIES NOTES
First Pitch
Michigan State heads to DeLand, Fla. to kick off the 2014 season at the Stetson Lead-Off Classic. The Spartans will play two games each against the host Hatters and Atlantic 10 entry Rhode Island in the weekend tournament. MSU has opened the season at Stetson in three of the last four seasons.
Watch & Follow
Stetson will provide a free video stream of it's games in the invitational, which includes the Friday and Saturday games against the Spartans. Those games are available on Stetson's website at http://www.gohatters.com/liveEvents/liveEvents.dbml. Live stats for all four games are also available.
A Look at the Spartans
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 likely 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.
Strength of Schedule
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.
Scouting the Opposition
Tournament host Stetson was picked to finish sixth in the 2014 Atlantic Sun Conference preseason coaches poll, led by preseason unanimous All-Conference team selection Meredith Owen. The Hatters, coached by 18th-year head coach Frank Griffin, were 31-22 overall in 2013 and 13-13 in the A-Sun. MSU owns a 4-2 record all-time against Stetson, including a split of last season's games (4-1, 1-6) in this same tournament.
MSU's two games against Rhode Island will be the first-ever meeting between the two programs. URI, under the tutelage of sixth-year head coach Erin Layton, were picked 10th in the Atlantic 10 after going 10-37 a year ago and posting a 3-18 mark in league games. The Rams lost their top three hitters and one starting pitcher, but return senior pitcher Sam Bedore.
Most Improved
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).
Inclement Weather
The Spartans had eight game cancellations in 2013 due to weather and field conditions, including the entire B1G series against Minnesota. MSU played 49 total games, the fewest number of any school in the Big Ten (Illinois also played 49, while Michigan played a total of 64). In Big Ten Conference play, the Spartans got in only 19 of 22 games, also the fewest number among any B1G opponent. MSU finished 9-10 in Conference games, good for seventh place.
MSU's 49 games was the fewest for the Spartans since 1986.
First, and Three, Are the Key
MSU was 6-19 a year ago when scoring two or fewer runs, but was 18-6 when scoring three or more. Additionally, MSU went 17-4 when pushing across the game's first run, and 7-21 when allowing its opponent to do so. MSU was just 3-11 when faced with a deficit after the first inning, but was 21-14 when tied or ahead after the first.
MSU was 22-8 in 2013 when holding its opponents under five runs, and 20-3 when allowing two or less.
Big Innings
MSU allowed the most runs in the third (49) and sixth (47) innings last year, while MSU's big-producing innings were the fifth (35), sixth (34) and fourth (32).
Whitewash
The Spartans tallied eight shutouts in the 2013 season, with three coming as 1-0 victories. Kelly Smith had six of the eight shutouts.
At the Plate
While MSU lost its top two hitters to graduation (Hopkins and O'Bryant), the Spartans return its next five in terms of batting average, led by Alyssa McBride; the junior hit .304 in 2013 with 11 multiple-hit games and tied for the team lead with a nine-game hitting streak mid-season. Sarah Bowling led the team with 11 multiple-RBI games and was second with 14 extra-base hits (including six homers) a year ago, batting .254. McKinzie Freimuth hit .281 and had 12 multiple-hit games, and ranked second in the league in sacrifice bunts (14). Stephanie Sanders hit .270 on the year, but hit nearly .400 as a pinch hitter.
In the Circle
Kelly Smith was the workhorse of the staff a year ago, and was among the top 10 in the Big Ten in appearances (41, 4th), strikeouts (222, fifth), strikeouts looking (69, second), innings pitched (205, sixth), wins (18, seventh), opponent batting average (.236, ninth), and ERA (2.97, 10th). She also threw 20 complete games and notched six shutouts.
Dani Goranson posted a 3.84 ERA in 104 innings pitched last year, throwing six complete games in 27 appearances. She is coming off an injury rehab, and will be available to the Spartans in March.
Newcomer Valerie Kaff, who was a 2013 MaxPreps All American and the Arizona Gatorade Softball Player of the Year, will be MSU's second starter.
National Leaders
Kelly Smith's 222 strikeouts last season ranked 44th nationally, while her strikeouts per seven innings (7.6) was third in the Big Ten and 58th among Division I pitchers. Her six shutouts ranked 53rd nationally.
Graduated senior Kylene Hopkins ranked 63rd nationally in batting average (.403), which was good for seventh in the Big Ten.
Record Bookin'
Kelly Smith's 2013 season placed her among the single-season and career leaders in several categories, despite the transfer pitching just her first season in Green and White. In MSU's single-season record book, she placed seventh in wins (18), tied for sixth in appearances (41), and an impressive third in strikeouts (222). Her 18-16 record was a .529 winning percentage, which ranks sixth all-time at MSU. She needs 13 wins to break into MSU's career top ten in that category, and 28 strikeouts to move into the MSU career top 10 as well.
Pinch Hitting Accomplishments
Stephanie Sanders and Shanin Thomas were MSU's primary pinch hitters in 2013. Sanders owned a .400 batting average for 23 games where she entered as a pinch hitter; Sanders also had 13 RBI and a .750 slugging percentage to go with her eight pinch-hits. Thomas owned five RBI and three hits as a pinch hitter.
The Spartan Mentor
MSU head coach Jacquie Joseph is in her 21st season at Michigan State and her 26th as the head coach of a Division I program. She picked up the 700th win of her career as the Spartans defeated Niagara, 2-1, on March 5, 2013, while her 576 victories at MSU is the most for any coach in program history. She has guided MSU to four NCAA Regional appearances (1997, 1999, 2003, 2004) and is one of just three active coaches in the Big Ten to have at least 700 wins.
Joseph has posted three 40-win campaigns, including a school-record 47 wins in 1997. She was named the Big Ten Coach of the Year in 2003 after leading the Spartans to a 40-19 mark and a berth in the NCAA Regionals.
