Michigan State University
12-30
Central Michigan
29-15
CMU Rallies, Downs MSU 6-4
4/23/2014 12:00:00 AM | Softball
April 23, 2014
East Lansing, Mich. - - Michigan State hosted intra-state rival Central Michigan on Wednesday for its final mid-week game of the regular season, and two runs for the Chippewas in both the sixth and seventh innings allowed the visitors to come back from a 4-2 deficit to claim a 6-4 victory.
CMU third baseman Trista Cox went 3-for-4, while both Chelsea DeLamiellure and Katelyn Rentschler had two RBI in the victory. Chippewa pitcher Morgan Yuncker scattered six hits, striking out two.
Val Kaff was the hard-luck loser, pitching three relief innings and allowing four hits and four runs, none earned due to a pair of late-inning errors that let CMU back into the game. She struck out two.
The game pitted Spartan head coach Jacquie Joseph, a 1985 graduate of CMU, against her mentor and collegiate coach Margo Jonker, currently in her 35th season at the helm of the Chippewa program. Joseph was part of the 1982 CMU team that was inducted into the CMU Athletics Hall of Fame this past fall.
"We let that game get away from us late, with mistakes," said Joseph. We had pitched and played well enough to win. Giving them four unearned runs is what cost us - you just can't give up unearned runs to a quality opponent."
Jacquie Reiser legged out a two-out bunt single in the bottom of the third, and Kassidy Kujawa followed with a bloop single to shallow left center. McKinzie Freimuth hit a fly ball to left that Lauren Bowman misplayed, and it allowed Reiser to score from third on the error. Gutknecht grounded out to short to end the inning, but it gave MSU a 1-0 lead after three innings.
In the top of the fourth, the Chippewas countered. Trista Cox hit a long fly ball to left field that just eluded the reach of Kujawa. The left fielder made a nice running catch to get CarolAnn Sexauer's shot to right center for the second out of the inning. Chelsea DeLamielleure, who had CMU's first hit back in the second inning, sent a 1-2 pitch over the right field wall for a two-run homer. It was the first run allowed by Kelly Smith since the series finale against Michigan on April 12.
MSU regained the lead bottom of the fourth. Alyssa McBride was hit by a pitch, and pinch hitter Sarah Bowling delivered an RBI double over the head of right fielder Evelyn Lorimer. Shanin Thomas came in to hit for Destinee Luna, and she sent the first pitch back through the left side, bringing home Ellie Stoffer, who had re-entered the game to run for Bowling. Jacquie Reiser flew out to center for the third out, but the Spartans took a 3-2 lead into the top of the fifth.
Valerie Kaff came in to relieve Smith, who went four innings, allowing four hits and striking out four. She struck out two and walked one in her first inning of work, keeping the Chips off the board. That brought up the bottom of the order for the Spartans in the bottom of the inning. Freimuth legged out an infield single with one out, and Gutknecht singled through the left side to put runners on first and second for Stephanie Sanders with just one out. Sanders worked through a nine-pitch at bat, fouling off four straight, before earning a free pass to first to load the bases. Carly Nielsen hit the first pitch to center field to bring home Freimuth for a 4-2 lead. McBride grounded out to end the inning.
Back out for the sixth, Kaff was greeted by a one-out single up the middle for Cox, and then an error put Sexauer on base for runners at first and second. Chelsea DeLamielleure grounded to third and reached on a fielder's choice, but still left two runners on for Katelyn Rentschler; she lined a shot over the head of center fielder McBride for a two-run double to tie the game. Lorimer ended the threat when she lined out to Kujawa in left for the third out.
Kaff gave up an infield single to Raechel Zahrn to lead off the top of the seventh, and an error allowed Bowman to reach base to put two on with no outs. Brittney Horan's sac bunt moved the runners to second and third, and Cory DeLamielleure's sac fly to center scored Zahrn to give the Chips a 5-4 lead, and Cox followed with a single to right to push CMU's lead to 6-4, leaving MSU one last chance in the bottom of the seventh. Yunker walked leadoff batter Kujawa in the bottom of the seventh, but after Freimuth sacrificed her over to second, Gutknecht and Sanders both fouled out to end the game.
MSU hosts Nebraska for a three-game series this weekend at Secchia Stadium, beginning at 5 p.m. on Friday. The teams will play games at noon on both Saturday and Sunday.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Yuncker (9-2)
L: Kaff, Valerie (5-14)
Batting:
2B: Bowman 1 ; Cox 1 ; Rentschler 1
HR: DeLamie_Ch 1
RBI: DeLamie_Co 1 ; Cox 1 ; DeLamie_Ch 2 ; Rentschler 2
SH: Horan 1
SF: DeLamie_Co 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Bowman 1 ; Cox 1 ; Sexauer 1 ; DeLamie_Ch 2 ; Zahrn 1
Batting:
2B: Bowling, Sarah 1
RBI: Freimuth, McKinzie 1 ; Nielsen, Carly 1 ; Bowling, Sarah 1 ; Thomas, Shanin 1
SH: Freimuth, McKinzie 1
SF: Nielsen, Carly 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Freimuth, McKinzie 1 ; McBride, Alyssa 1 ; Stoffer, Ellie 1 ; Reiser, Jacquie 1
SB: Sanders, Stephanie 1
HBP: McBride, Alyssa 1
