Softball Off to Iowa for B1G Series

April 18, 2014

MSU (10-28, 2-12 B1G) at Iowa (12-23, 5-9 B1G)
Dates	Fri.-Sun, April 18-20, 2014; Iowa City, Iowa. Bob Pearl Softball Stadium
Video Stream	none
Television	none
Radio	www.SpartanSportsNetwork.com
Live Statistics
Team Information	Michigan State: Roster \| Schedule \| Stats Iowa: Roster \| Schedule \| Stats
Download Game Notes	Michigan State
Social Media	@MSU_Softball \| Facebook

SERIES NOTES

• Michigan State plays a three-game series at Iowa this weekend. The two teams did not meet in the 2013 season.

• MSU trails in the all-time series by a 30-73 margin; in games played in Iowa City, the Hawkeyes hold a commanding 46-7 edge in the series vs. MSU.

• Iowa has won 14 straight games in the series, including a series sweep when the teams last met at Secchia Stadium in 2012.

• All softball games, both home and away, will have a live broadcast at www.spartansportsnetwork.com. Ken Friend will have the call, and will be joined in the booth for home games by either Ali Grant or Lori Padilla, each four-year Spartan letterwinners (2009-12). In addition, Spartan Sports Network's 24/7 app allows listeners to hear all games carried by the network on their mobile devices. Friend will have all the action from Iowa City beginning at 6:50 p.m. ET on Friday.

• Live stats will be available via Gametracker. The Gametracker program has undergone an upgrade, allowing smartphone and tablet users to utilize it on their mobile devices. All links can be found for the game at www.MSUSpartans.com.

TEN FOR TWITTER
Spartan Softball in 140 characters

• .@MSU_Softball heads to Iowa City for a @B1GSoftball series vs. @IowaSoftball

• All remaining @MSU_Softball games are on @Spartan_Radio (www.spartansportsnetwork.com) with @KFriend500 on the call.

• All three games on Gametracker; software has been upgraded, now available on cell phones & mobile devices. Follow from links at MSUSpartans.com

• .@MSU_Softball trails in the all-time series vs. Iowa, 30-73; teams did not meet in 2013

• .@Smith6Kelly threw 20th no-hitter in program history on Wed. vs. EMU; first for her and 1st for MSU since 2010 .

• .@yacky9312 had a pinch-hit solo homer in the bottom of the 6th vs. EMU, the lone run of the game.

• .@SarahGutknecht had a pair of singles vs. EMU, only other hits besides Nielsen's HR in the game.

• Spartan batters have been hit by pitches 47 times, the most in the league; seven more than 2nd-place Nebraska.

• Only two players - 2B @Jacquie Reiser and SS Destinee Luna - have played in all 38 MSU games.

• .@mckinzie_mae one of top fielders in B1G; .989 Fld%, 2 errors. Career-high 13 putouts in Gm. 1 v. Indiana.

TEAM NOTES
• Senior Kelly Smith threw the 20th no-hitter in school history, while junior Carly Nielsen came off the bench to hit a pinch-hit home run in the bottom of the sixth inning as Michigan State earned a 1-0 non-conference win over Eastern Michigan on Wednesday.

• Of MSU's 20 no-hitters in program history, Smith's was the eighth thrown at a home agame, and th first since Lesley Noel's on April 18, 2007.

• MSU was swept by No. 5 Michigan last weekend in Big Ten play, falling 9-1 in five innings in Ann Arbor before falling 8-0 and 14-0 in East Lansing. Sunday's game was particularly frustrating, as the Wolverines scored 10 runs in the top of the seventh inning to turn a tight game into a blowout.

• MSU's opponents have been the beneficiary of MSU's thinning pitching staff, which has just two healthy hurlers. Freshman Valerie Kaff threw nine innings over the weekend, while senior Kelly Smith has thrown 14 innings over the last four games, including the no-hitter vs. EMU on Wednesday.

• MSU has already had five games this season washed away due to weather, and one series had to be moved- the Purdue series was originally to be played in East Lansing but was moved to West Lafayette. In all, MSU will get just 10 home games this season.

• MSU's 10-inning win over Toledo (3/15) is the longest game in the Big Ten this season. MSU's 30 putouts in that game is also a league-high this season, as is MSU's five sacrifice hits that it had against UNC-Wilmington on Feb. 22, and the six times MSU was hit by a pitch on April 5 vs. Penn State.

• Through 38 contests, MSU has had only two players appear in every game this season - 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 has had to patch together lineups. Junior 1B McKinzie Freimuth returned in the OSU series after missing the first five games of her career. Lindsey Besson missed the OSU series behind the plate, senior Dana Briggs returned vs. PSU after suffering a leg injury on the spring break trip, and junior Stephanie Sanders is just returning to right field after a leg injury limited her to pinch-hitting duty. Kassidy Kujawa missed the series finale against Michigan with injury as well. However, the most affected group has been the pitching staff - sophomore Dani Goranson will not pitch this season (the coaching staff was hoping to have her back in action for B1G games), and freshman Kristina Zalewski was injured during the Purdue weekend and is now out for the remainder of the season.

• MSU has played five extra-inning games this season, and lost the first four before breaking that streak on March 15 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. MSU has been run-ruled eight times, which includes twice against the Wolverines.

• MSU's 2014 schedule 12 games against six teams which appeared in last week's NFCA poll (April 8). MSU has already played single games against No. 16 Oklahoma, No. 11 Washington, and No. 22 Notre Dame, as well as a three-game series against No. 3 Michigan. Still on tap is three-game series against Big Ten foes No. 20 Nebraska, and No. 25 Northwestern. In addition, MSU has played two against Hofstra and one against Virginia Tech, both which sit just outside the top 25. Big Ten foes Minnesota (No. 12) is also ranked and Wisconsin is receiving votes, but is 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'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 Kujawa is a first-year player.

PLAYER NOTES

• Senior Kelly Smith threw the 20th no-hitter in school history, while junior Carly Nielsen came off the bench to hit a pinch-hit home run in the bottom of the sixth inning as Michigan State earned a 1-0 non-conference win over Eastern Michigan on Wednesday. Sarah Gutknecht had a pair of singles in the win, while Smith struck out a season-best nine and walked just one on the day. It was her team-best ninth complete game of the season.

• The last no-hitter in school history was thrown by Lauren Kramer on Feb. 13, 2010, an 8-0 victory in five innings over Stetson. The last seven-inning no-hitter was tossed by Megan Hair on February 17, 2006, an 8-1 win over Seton Hall, where she walked six and struck out three.

• Kelly Smith has been versatile for the Spartans this season, ranking seventh in the B1G in appearances (26), which includes 18 starts (T-8th) while entering eight games in relief (T-12th). She is tied for 12th in innings pitched (103.1), while her two saves ranks fourth.

• Carly Nielsen came to the plate as a pinch hitter in the bottom of the sixth vs. EMU, and delivered MSU's only run of the game and the third hit of the day for the Spartans. It is just the second career homer for the junior, who hit the first of her career earlier this season at Ohio State. On Sunday, Nielsen had robbed Michigan's Taylor Hasselbach of a home run at the right field wall. Watch it at http://tinyurl.com/NielsenCatch.

• Kaff ranks 10th in the league in innings pitched (108.0), and is tied for 10th in starts (17). Among league pitching leaders, Kaff is second among freshmen in both innings pitched and starts - only Illinois' Brandi Needham (142.0 IP, 22 starts) has gotten the ball more than Kaff among first-year players in the league.

• Sarah Gutknecht owns the team lead in hits (30), RBI (23), homers (6), doubles (8), slugging pct. (.514), plate appearances (124), and at-bats (109). She is second in batting average (.275) and second in walks (14), which included an intentional walk against the Hoosiers.

• 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 played all of the Big Ten season, and the most games overall, at third base.

• On the season, Kassidy Kujawa is second on the team in batting average (.275), hits (25), doubles (6), walks (14), and total bases (40) while leading the squad in runs (16) and OBP (.405). She hit her third home run of the season, and the first since the opening weekend, at Michigan.

• Spartan batters have been hit by pitches 47 times, the most in the league. Destinee Luna has been hit a team-high eight times, which ranks ninth in the Big Ten; McKinzie Freimuth and Jacquie Reiser have each been plunked seven times, which ranks 10th.

• McKinzie Freimuth continues to be one of the top-fielding players in the league. She made a career-best 13 putouts in game one vs. Indiana on April 9. She has missed five games this season with injury, and is just six putouts shy of ranking in the top 12 in the league in that category (she has 184 putouts.) She has just two errors in 190 chances - a fielding percentage of .989. She has also turned eight double plays, good for ninth in the league.

• MSU leads the B1G in sacrifice bunts (44), 11 more than second-place Indiana. Jacquie Reiser set an MSU single-game record with four sacrifice hits in the 5-2 win over UNC-Wilmington on Feb. 21. Those four sacrifice bunts is the most by any Big Ten player in a game this season. Reiser's 11 sac bunts this year is the most in the B1G and ranks 16th nationally. Reiser and Lindsey Besson each have four sac bunts in B1G play, which ranks in a tie for third.

• Stephanie Sanders is perhaps the most clutch pinch hitter in the Big Ten. On the season, the junior has had 14 pinch hit appearances and is 7-for-12 (.583) with 10 RBI. In the Big Ten, only Purdue's Katy McJunkin (7-for-10 (.700), 4 RBI) and Kelsey Susalla of Michigan (5-for-7, 3 RBI) are at the same level of proficiency as Sanders, but MSU's junior has more RBI than the pair combined. Last weekend, Sanders was in the lineup as both a right fielder and the designated player, so she did not have any pinch hit at-bats.