MSU Welcomes Chippewas to Secchia Stadium Wednesday

April 22, 2014

MSU (13-29, 4-13 B1G) vs. Central Michigan (28-15, 7-5 MAC)
Date	Wed, April 23, 2014; East Lansing, Mich. Secchia Stadium
Television	none
Radio	www.SpartanSportsNetwork.com
Live Statistics
Team Information	Michigan State: Roster \| Schedule \| Stats Central Michigan: Roster \| Schedule \| Stats
Social Media	@MSU_Softball \| Facebook

• Michigan State hosts a midweek contest against non-conference foe Central Michigan. MSU trails the all-time series by a 27-56-2 margin.

• Jacquie Joseph is a 1985 graduate of CMU, and was inducted into the school's athletic Hall of Fame as part of the 1982 AIAW World Series team last fall. Joseph played her college ball for current CMU coach Margo Jonker, who is in her 35th season as the head coach of the Chippewas. Jessica Bracamonte, a four-year MSU letterwinner, is in her first season an assistant coach for CMU.

• The teams met just once in the 2013 season, a 3-0 Chippewa victory at the Indiana Invitational. The current CMU squad is 28-15 overall, and owns a 7-5 record in the MAC; the Chips are 0-3 this season against Big Ten competition.

• MSU is coming off its best week of the season, going 3-1. The Spartans earned a 1-0 non-conference win over Eastern Michigan at Secchia Stadium on Wednesday, then took two of three vs. Iowa to earn its first-ever series win in Iowa City.

• Senior Kelly Smith earned the Big Ten Pitcher of the Week honors. She threw three complete games - all MSU wins last week; she tossed the 20th no-hitter in school history against EMU, recording a season-best nine strikeouts. She threw two complete-game shutout wins at Iowa (1-0 and 4-0), and on the week struck out a total of 23, while walking just three and allowing nine hits.

• Of the top four hitters in the Spartan lineup, three are freshmen. Sarah Gutknecht owns the team lead in batting average (.280), hits (33), RBI (24), homers (6), and doubles (9); catcher Lindsey Besson is batting .273 with three doubles and nine RBI, while Kassidy Kujawa is hitting .270 with six doubles, three homers, and 12 RBI.

• Each of the three first-year players have had hits in the last two games vs. Iowa, while Besson had a hit in all three contests.

• Gutknecht and Besson have each reached base in each of the last five games, and were MSU's top hitters last week; Gutknecht hit .455 over the four games, while Besson went 5-for-11 in the Iowa series.

• Junior Stephanie Sanders, who's opportunities have been limited by injury this season, is still batting .273 and is second on the team in RBI (17). Even when she couldn't be a regular in the lineup, she went 7-for-12 as a pinch hitter with 10 RBI.

• Spartan batters have been hit by pitches 48 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, Kujawa, and Jacquie Reiser have each been hit seven times. Meanwhile, Reiser leads the Big Ten and ranks ninth nationally in sac bunts (13).

• Carly Nielsen played the role of hero in last Wednesday's game vs. EMU, hitting a homer in the bottom of the sixth to give MSU all the offense it would need as Kelly Smith threw her no-hitter. Two days later, Stephanie Sanders delivered a RBI single in the top of the sixth in a 1-0 victory at Iowa.