Michigan State University
8-21
Notre Dame
22-7
MSU Drops Midweek Game at No. 23 Notre Dame
4/2/2014 12:00:00 AM | Softball
April 2, 2014
East Lansing, Mich. - - A five-run third inning for No. 23 Notre Dame (21-7) allowed the Irish to overcome an early deficit and post an 11-4 victory over Michigan State (8-21) on Wednesday night in South Bend, Ind. Freshman Lindsey Besson hit a first-inning homer and finished the day 2-for-4 with four RBI. Shortstop Chloe Saganowich went 2-for-3 for the Irish with five RBI, including a three-run homer for Notre Dame in the Irish's big inning.
MSU scattered seven hits, but stranded nine runners on the evening. Val Kaff allowed 11 runs in her complete-game effort, walking five. Alyssa McBride led off the fourth with a single to extend her team-best hitting streak to six games.
MSU jumped on the board in the top of the first, as Sarah Gutknecht earned a two-out walk, and Shanin Thomas' single put two runners on for the freshman catcher, Besson. She took the first pitch for a ball, then sent the next one over the left-field wall for her first career home run. Alyssa McBride grounded out to end the inning, but MSU's start gave the Spartans a 3-0 lead after just a half inning.
Notre Dame countered in the bottom of the second. Cassidy Whidden drew a one-out walk, and Casey Africano reached on an infield fielder's choice where Whidden reached second safely. That left two on for Saganowich, who delivered a single that scored both Whidden and Africano to whittle down MSU's lead to 3-2.
The third was where the Irish inflicted the most damage. Jenna Simon and Emilee Koerner led off the inning with back-to-back singles, and Katey Haus sacrificed the pair over to put two runners in scoring position with one out. Micaela Arizmendi singled home Simon to tie the game, and Whidden's sacrifice fly plated Koerner for ND's first lead of the game. Africano's single up the middle kept the inning alive for Saganowich, who hit the first pitch she saw to right center to push Notre Dame's lead to 7-3.
The home team added three more in the fourth to put the game out of reach. Arizmendi hit her sixth homer of the year, a two-run shot to right, and Koerner added a sacrifice fly for a 10-3 lead.
The Spartans manufactured a run in the top of the fifth to make it a 10-4 game. Kassidy Kujawa drew a one-out walk, and Gutknecht followed with a single through the left side. After Thomas flied out to center, Besson came to the plate and singled to right, plating Kujawa and giving the catcher her fourth RBI of the night, and cutting the Notre Dame lead to 10-4. However, McBride struck out to end the inning, stranding Gutknecht and Besson.
The Irish got the run back in the bottom half of the fifth. Leadoff hitter Karley Wester led off with an infield single and advanced to second on an error; two batters later Koerner walked on four straight pitches, and Haus followed with an RBI single to left center.
Kaff threw her second complete game in the last four days, as she threw 10.2 innings in Sunday's doubleheader and tacked on an additional six innings in tonight's outing.
The team opens its home season this Friday when it begins a three-game series with Big Ten rival Penn State. Friday's game is at 3 p.m., followed by single games on Saturday and Sunday at 1 p.m.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Nasland (4-1)
L: Kaff, Valerie (4-9)
Batting:
2B: Luna, Destinee 1
HR: Besson, Lindsey 1
RBI: Besson, Lindsey 4
SH: Luna, Destinee 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Kujawa, Kassidy 1 ; Gutknecht, Sarah 1 ; Thomas, Shanin 1 ; Besson, Lindsey 1
HBP: Kujawa, Kassidy 1
Batting:
2B: Koerner 1
HR: Arizmendi 1 ; Saganowich 1
RBI: Koerner 1 ; Haus 1 ; Arizmendi 3 ; Whidden 1 ; Saganowich 5
SH: Haus 1
SF: Koerner 1 ; Whidden 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Wester 1 ; Simon 2 ; Koerner 1 ; Haus 1 ; Arizmendi 2 ; Whidden 1 ; Africano 2 ; Saganowich 1
SB: Simon 1 ; Whidden 2
HBP: Whidden 1 ; Saganowich 1
