Michigan State University
8-24, 1-8
Penn State
10-22, 3-6
Penn State Takes 6-0 Win In Series Finale
4/6/2014 12:00:00 AM | Softball
April 6, 2014
East Lansing, Mich. - - Penn State pitchers Christy VonPusch and Marlaina Laubach combined on a three-hitter as the Nittany Lions closed out a series sweep of Michigan State on Sunday with a 6-0 victory at Secchia Stadium.
Penn State (10-22, 3-6 B1G) got a 3-for-4 effort from sophomore Lexi Kneif, who had a double, triple, and home run. Kasie Hatfield also had a pair of hits for the visitors, while Kristina Brackpool had a pair of RBI.
Spartan senior Kelly Smith pitched a complete game, scattering nine hits and allowing five earned runs, striking out two and walking two. The Spartans struggled at the plate, as they didn't record a hit until the fourth inning and were limited to just three on the day. MSU falls to 8-24, 1-8 Big Ten.
"Today, Kelly certainly pitched well enough to win - we just didn't produce at the plate," said head coach Jacquie Joseph. "We just aren't getting timely hitting. We left seven runners on base today - we need to get better in one-out, two-out situations. Get on base, moving runners over - we're struggling in all facets. Credit to Penn State, because they came in and battled during these three games."
While it took some time for the teams to get on the board in the first two games of the series, Penn State jumped on the board in the top of the first. Leadoff hitter Lexi Kneif reached on an error, and two batters later was brought home by a Kasie Hatfield double to left center. Smith walked Macy Jones to put two on, but got out of the jam and limited the Nittany Lions to just one.
The visitors struck again in the third. Kneif led off the third with a triple to center, and Smith then hit Furuya and walked Hatfield to load the bases. After Smith got Jones to pop up to second for the first out of the inning, Habitz legged out a nice bunt between the mound and the plate, and all runners were safe, as Kneif scored. Kristina Brackpool singled to center to push two more runs across, making the PSU lead 4-0. Smith got Miller to pop out in foul territory, and pinch hitter Meghan Bradley popped out to second to end the Nittany Lion threat.
Laubach came in to relieve VanPusch in the circle for PSU in the bottom of the third, and despite hitting Jacquie Reiser to lead off the inning, retired the next three Spartans on groundouts. Alyssa Mc Bride picked up MSU's first hit of the day in the fourth with a two-out single to center, but Laubach didn't allow another hit until the sixth.
In the top of the fourth, Smith got Sovereign to ground out to Freimuth at first, but Kneif came up and hammered a 1-0 pitch over the wall in dead center field to pad PSU's advantage. It was her first career home run. Two batters later, Smith gave up back-to-back singles to Hatfield and Jones to put runners on the corners, but she got Habitz to ground out to short to end the PSU threat.
PSU's bats came alive again in the sixth. Sovereign, who robbed McKinzie Freimuth of a single with a diving catch to end the fifth inning, led off the top of the sixth with an infield single, and she advanced to third on a Kneif double to center. Furuya's sacrifice fly to left scored Sovereign, making it 6-0 PSU, but Smith got both Jones and Hatfield to pop out to second to limit the damage to a single run.
In the bottom of the sixth, Gutknecht tried to get something going with a one-out double to center. Sanders flew out to left, freezing Gutknecht at second. Besson hit a popup to the left side of the infield that third baseman Sam Shanahan lost in the sun and dropped, putting runners on the corners with two outs for McBride. She slapped a hit to third, and was out at first by a half-step, ending the MSU threat.
After Smith retired the Nittany Lions on just five pitches in the top of the seventh, MSU came to the plate with one last-ditch effort to break up the shutout. It wasn;t to be, as the Spartans were retired and PSU got the sweep.
MSU heads to Bloomington for a midweek doubleheader against Indiana on Wednesday, then plays archrival Michigan next weekend. The teams play Friday in Ann Arbor, and then on Saturday and Sunday in East Lansing.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Von Pusch (2-1)
L: Smith, Kelly (2-10)
Batting:
2B: Knief 1 ; Hatfield 1
3B: Knief 1
HR: Knief 1
RBI: Knief 1 ; Furuya 1 ; Hatfield 1 ; Habitz 1 ; Brackpool 2
SH: Furuya 1
SF: Furuya 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Knief 3 ; Furuya 1 ; Hatfield 1 ; Sovereign 1
SB: Furuya 1
HBP: Furuya 1
Batting:
2B: Gutknecht, Sarah 1
SH: Freimuth, McKinzie 1 ; Besson, Lindsey 1
Base Running:
HBP: Reiser, Jacquie 1
