Michigan State University
8-7
Ole Miss
11-4
Late Rally Falls Short vs. Ole Miss
2/28/2015 12:00:00 AM | Softball
East Lansing, Mich. - Michigan State fell in its opening game at the FIU Panther Invitational, falling 4-3 to Ole Miss on Saturday. It was the third straight one-run loss for the Spartans, who fall to 8-7 overall.
A lengthy rain delay after the sixth inning apparently gave time for head coach Jacquie Joseph to rally her troops, as Michigan State scored three runs in the bottom of the seventh, but fell short in the comeback attempt.
"I like the way we came back in the seventh, but as you can see, it just wasn't enough," said Joseph. "We keep preaching and working on consistency, inning to inning, at-bat to at-bat. We didn't get anything going until it was far too late in the game today. It just has to start coming sooner."
The Rebels drew first blood, scoring two in the second inning. Alex Schneider hit a one-out homer to left field to put the first run of the game on the board, and after Kaff got Alyssa Invergo to ground out back to the circle, Haley Culley walked on four pitches. She stole second, and came home on a Courtney Syrett infield single.
MSU tried to get something going in the third. Lea Foerster drew a leadoff walk, and was sacrificed over to second by McKinzie Freimuth. After Shanin Thomas lined out to the shortstop, Stephanie Sanders singled up the middle, moving Foerster to third and leaving runners on the corners. However, pitcher Emily Gaitan got Sarah Gutknecht to fly out to left to retire the side.
A Spartan infield error in the top of the fifth plated two more for Ole Miss, pushing the Rebel lead to 4-0. A leadoff walk and bunt single put two runners with two out on for Strother, who made contact to the left side. The error allowed both Elantra Cox and pinch-runner Paige McKinney to cross the plate and double Ole Miss' lead.
MSU made its move in the bottom of the seventh. Pinch hitter Lindsey Besson led off with a single, and pinch runner Ellie Stoffer came around to score when Alyssa McBride extended her streak of safely reaching base to 15 games with a double to left. Lea Foerster followed with a double of her own, scoring McBride and making it a 4-2 game. Senior McKinzie Freimuth singled, and both she and Foerster advanced into scoring position on a passed ball, putting two runners in scoring position with no outs. Looking to halt the comeback, pitcher Gaitan got a groundout, a strikeout, and a flyout from the next three hitters in the order, retiring the side and preserving the Rebel win.
Valerie Kaff was once again on the short end of a tough decision, as she pitched her second consecutive complete game, scattering just four hits. She struck out six on the day.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: E. Gaitan (7-0)
L: Kaff, Valerie (1-3)
Batting:
2B: M. Strother 1
HR: A. Schneider 1
RBI: M. Strother 1 ; A. Schneider 1 ; C. Syrett 1
Base Running:
RUNS: E. Cox 1 ; A. Schneider 1 ; H. Culley 1 ; P. McKinney 1
SB: E. Cox 1 ; M. Strother 1 ; A. Invergo 1 ; H. Culley 1 ; P. McKinney 1
Batting:
2B: Foerster, Lea 1 ; McBride, Alyssa 1
RBI: Foerster, Lea 1 ; McBride, Alyssa 1
SH: Freimuth, McKinzie 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Foerster, Lea 1 ; Stoffer, Ellie 1 ; McBride, Alyssa 1
HBP: Foerster, Lea 1
