Michigan State University Athletics
MSU Opens B1G Play at Ohio State
3/19/2014 12:00:00 AM | Softball
March 19, 2014
| MSU (7-15) at Ohio State (10-12) | |
| Dates | Fri.-Sun., March 21-22, 2014 |
| Location | Columbus, Ohio; Buckeye Field (Cap. 1,500) |
| Video Webstream | MSU All-Access ($) |
| Radio | none |
| Live Statistics | |
| Download Game Notes | MSU |
| Social Media | @MSU_Softball  | Facebook  |
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SERIES NOTES
• Michigan State kicks off the 2014 Big Ten season with a three-game series this weekend at Ohio State.
• On Thursday, with a threat of inclement weather in the forecast for Sunday, the series finale was moved to Saturday. The teams will still play a 4 p.m. game on Friday, but will now play a doubleheader on Saturday, beginning at 1 p.m.
• The Spartans trail the all-time series against the Buckeyes by a 37-63 margin, and have lost six straight to OSU. MSU's last win in the series came in May 2011 in Columbus, 12-2 in five innings.
• In last year's meetings, the Buckeyes swept a doubleheader by 4-1 and 6-3 margins.
• MSU is 9-21 all-time in B1G openers, 7-13 under head coach Jacquie Joseph.
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TEN FOR TWITTER
Spartan Softball in 140 characters
• .@MSU_Softball opens @B1GSoftball play at @OhioState_SB this weekend. Fri (4 p.m.), Sat/Sun at 1 p.m.
• Gametracker software has been upgraded, now available on cell phones & mobile devices. Follow from links at MSUSpartans.com
• .@MSU_Softball looks to snap six-game skid vs. Buckeyes. MSU trails all-time series, 37-63.
• .@MSU_Softball earned first extra-inning win in five tries last weekend vs. @ToledoRockets.
• .@PurdueSoftball leads all B1G teams with 30 GP. MSU/OSU each have 22. g .@Sarah_Gutknecht leads team in hits (16), RBI (14), HR (3), 2B (5). Has played 22 games at RF, 1B, 3B, DP.
• JR RF @Yacky9312 has reached base in six straight gms; had 5-gm hitting streak snapped vs. Toledo.
• Sr. P @smith6kelly ranks fourth in B1G in app. (16) - 10 starts (T-8th), six in relief (9th), 3rd in saves (2).
• Fr. P @tinny127 earned W in 3-inn. relief effort vs. Toledo. Ranks 4th in B1G in relief app. (8), and 7th in games finished.
• Junior @SLSanders20 is 5-of-8 w/ 6 RBI as a pinch hitter in 2014; hit .400 as a PH as a soph.
TEAM NOTES
• MSU is coming off weather-shortened 1-1 weekend at the Hoosier Classic. MSU lost 4-3 to Illinois-Chicago before rebounding with a 6-5 victory in 10 innings over Toledo.
• MSU has played five extra-inning games this season, and lost the first four before breaking that streak last Saturday against Toledo. Three of the games went eight innings (Bethune-Cookman, and both against Florida Atlantic), while the SIU-Edwardsville game took nine innings, and the Toledo game 10.
• The Spartans have lost in a walkoff situation twice this season - the first game after a valiant rally against Oklahoma which fell short, and against Marshall (2-1).
• MSU has already had four games this season washed away due to weather. Friday's forecast is low 60's with a 30% chance of rain; the threat of precipitation for the weekend drops, but so do the temperatures - the forecast calls for 40's by Sunday.
• MSU has played 22 games, the third-fewest in the Big Ten; Iowa has played a league-low 17, and Penn State has played 21. Purdue leads the league with 30 games played, while Nebraska has played 26 and Michigan 25.
• Through 22 games, MSU has had only five players appear in every game this season, and only three (catcher Lindsey Besson, and the middle infield duo of 2B Jacquie Reiser and SS Destinee Luna.) Lately, MSU has been hit by the injury bug, as head coach Jacquie Joseph had a very limited bench in the Hoosier Classic. Junior 1B McKinzie Freimuthis expected back this weekend after missing the last five games, the first missed games of her career.
• MSU has turned the fifth-most double plays in the league (7); Illinois has 13 to lead the B1G, while Michigan and Iowa have each turned 10 and Nebraska eight.
• Spartan batters have been hit by pitches a league-high 27 times, tied with Nebraska. Wisconsin batters have been hit by pitches 24 times to rank second.
• The Spartans lead the Big Ten in sacrifice bunts (24).
• MSU is 6-5 on the season when scoring three or more runs, but 1-10 when scoring two or fewer. MSU is 5-1 when allowing two or fewer, and 2-14 when allowing three or more.
• MSU will play 12 games against six teams which appeared in this week's NFCA poll. MSU has already played single games against No. 22 Oklahoma and No. 5 Washington, and has a single game against current No. 25 Notre Dame along with three-game series against Big Ten foes No. 6 Michigan, No. 17 Nebraska, and No. 23 Northwestern. In addition, MSU has played two against Hofstra and one against Virginia Tech, both which sit just outside the top 25. Big Ten foe Minnesota is also ranked (No. 16), but is not on MSU's regular-season schedule this year.
Nineteen of MSU's 26 non-conference 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's infield features mostly underclassmen, with the exception being junior 1B McKinzie Freimuth. The middle infield of Jacquie Reiser and Destinee Luna are sophomores, while Sarah Gutknecht (1B/3B), catcher Lindsey Besson, and two of MSU's three healthy pitchers (Valerie Kaff and Kristina Zalewski) are all freshmen. Four of MSU's five outfielders are juniors - Alyssa McBride, Carly Nielsen, Stephanie Sanders, and Ellie Stoffer - and left fielder Kassidy Kujawais a first-year player.
• 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.
PLAYER NOTES
• Freshman Sarah Gutknechtowns or shares the team lead in hits (16), RBI (14), homers (3), doubles (5), and at-bats (65). She is third on the team in walks (5) and runs (6).
• Gutknecht has played the most positions on the field of any player on the roster. She has logged games in right field, third and first base, in addition to being the designated player. She has started the last five games at 1B.
• At the Hoosier Classic, Gutknecht went 3-for-9 with a double, a home run, and a pair of RBI.
• Carly Nielsen had her five-game hitting streak, the longest active streak on the team and tied for the team's best on the season, snapped against Toledo. Nielsen has reached base safely in six straight games, the longest active streak on the team and two behind Lindsey Besson'slongest streak this season (eight games).
• McKinzie Freimuth and Destinee Lunahave each been hit by a pitch a team-high five times, which ranks eighth in the Big Ten. Freimuth's ranked 47th in the nation in that category. She was injured on her most recent HBP against Marshall (March 7), which caused her to miss the last five games - the first games missed in her MSU career.
• Ellie Stoffer played double duty last weekend, playing the second half of the game against Toledo behind the plate in place of Lindsey Besson. Stoffer went 1-for-4 with a walk and a HBP in the two games against UIC and Toledo.
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• Stephanie Sanderscontinues her prowess as a pinch hitter. The junior has had nine pinch hit appearances and is 5-for-8 (.625) with seven RBI. On the year, she's batting .281 and has the team's third-highest OBP (.378). Sanders hit .400 as a pinch hitter in 2013.
• On the season, freshman LF Kassidy Kujawais second on the team in batting average (.275), OBP (.393), hits (14), total bases (24), doubles (4), homers (2), total bases (24), runs scored (9). She leads the team in slugging pct. (.471) and walks (9).
• Senior Kelly Smithwas the only pitcher to appear in both games last weekend, working two relief innings against UIC and a full seven regulation innings in the win over Toledo. She struck out eight to push her career total to 265, good for 10th on MSU's career list. This season, she has gotten 18 batters looking, which ranks in a tie for sixth in the B1G.
• Smith has been versatile for the Spartans this season, raking fourth in appearances (16), which includes 10 starts (tied for eighth in the Big Ten) while entering six games in relief (ninth). Her two saves ranks third in the Conference.
• Smith also ranks 11th in the league in innings pitched (48.1), and is tied for seventh in games finished (five). Over the last seven games, she has lowered her ERA from a season high 5.73 (on Feb. 22) to 4.27.
• Kristina Zalewskigot the win with her three relief innings vs. Toledo, allowing one hit and one earned run in picking up her second win of the season.
• Now that her number of innings pitched qualifies for the Big Ten rankings, Zalewski ranks fourth in games in relief (8), fifth in games finished (7) and earned runs allowed (11), and tied for first in walks allowed (7).
• Freshman Valerie Kaffranks 10th in the Big Ten in innings pitched (61.0). She's tied for ninth in appearances (14), and eighth in starts (10). She got the start against UIC last Saturday, going four innings and striking out four without earning a decision.
• Jacquie Reiser set an MSU single-game record with four sacrifice hits in the 5-2 win over UNC-Wilmington on Feb. 21. Her four sacrifice bunts is the most by any Big Ten player in a game this season. Reiser's seven sacrifice bunts this year is the second-most in the Big Ten, and ranks 23rd nationally.
