Michigan State University
15-12
Alabama A&M
8-13
Spartans Close Spring Break With 12-0 Win Over AAMU
3/15/2015 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Macon, Georgia -- Michigan State ended its spring break trip on a high note, posting season highs in both hits (14) and runs in a five-inning 12-0 victory over Alabama A&M on Sunday morning. Junior Jacquie Reiser hit her first career home run, while freshman McKenzie Long had three RBI in a 1-for-2 performance at the plate. Kristina Zalewski earned her 11th win of the season, MSU finishes its tournament portion of the schedule with a 15-12 overall record, and turns its attention to Big Ten play, which starts next weekend in Lincoln, Nebraska.
Twelve different players had a hit on the day, including freshman catcher Jordan Davis recording the first hit of her career. Both Lea Foerster and Shanin Thomas went 2-for-3 on the day, each with a pair of RBI.
"It's certainly nice to end our trip on a high note - it makes our travel home much more upbeat," said head coach Jacquie Joseph. "I feel like we've seen a lot here before our Big Ten schedule starts - but the Big Ten season is a whole different beast. The competition steps up a notch - and a consistent approach and production is the only thing that can make us successful in our Conference season. We'll start on the road, but that's not new for us at this point, since we've spent the last six weeks on the road. It's just time for a sharper focus for us as individuals and as a team."
The Spartans plated two in the bottom of the first on three straight two-out hits. Shanin Thomas singled and then moved to second on an error, and Stephanie Sanders brought her home on a single to right, and she also advanced to second on the throw. Hot hand McKenzie Long, with six hits in her last three games, doubled to left center to bring home Sanders, giving the Spartans the early lead.
Zalewski allowed a leadoff double in the top of the second to Viridiana Ramos, but she then retired the Bulldogs in order to bring MSU back to the plate. MSU's bats came alive with four straight hits to start the inning, as Reiser led off the inning with her first career home run, followed by a single to right center by Ellie Stoffer. Alyssa McBride and McKinzie Freimuth both reached on back-to-back bunt singles to load the bases, and pitcher Rachel Sanders hit Lea Foerster to bring a third run across the plate for the Spartans. Thomas followed with a sac fly to center for the first out of the inning, which plated McBride, and pinch hitter Sydney Heath produced an infield single to once again load the bases. Long reached on a fielder's choice to short, nabbing Foerster at third but bringing home Freimuth for MSU's sixth run of the game. Destinee Luna grounded out to end the inning, but not before the Spartans added significantly to their lead.
Emily Lipinski came in to pitch for AAMU in the bottom of the third, after Zalewski allowed a single amid a trio of groundball outs in the top of the inning. She hit Reiser and then walked both Stoffer and McBride on a combined 10 pitches, bringing Freimuth to the plate with the bases loaded and no outs. Lipinski hit Freimuth on a 2-0 pitch to bring home another Spartan run, which was the end of her stint as Sanders returned to the circle to pitch for the Bulldogs. Foerster and Thomas followed with back-to-back singles, scoring two more to blow the game wide open, pushing MSU's lead to 9-0 without an out. Heath, who stayed in after pinch hitting in the second, grounded out to first to score Freimuth, and Long's sac fly to center plated Foerster. Luna, the only starter without a hit in the first two innings, picked up her first hit of the day on a single up the middle to score Thomas and push MSU's lead to a dozen, and Reiser - the first batter of the inning - flied out to right for the third out.
Alabama A&M's biggest threat came in the top of the fourth, as the Bulldogs got three hits in the frame. Tiana Sanders led off the top of the fourth for the Bulldogs with a single up the middle, but she was erased from the basepaths when Ariel Smith grounded into a 3-6-3 double play. Ramos got her second hit of the day, singling through the left side, and Kia Lang legged out an infield single to put a second runner on with two outs. Lauren Walker grounded out to short to end the threat. Raven Christiansen came in to throw the bottom of the fourth, and got Kujawa to ground out to short before allowing the freshman Davis her first career hit, a single to right center . Gutknecht and Foerster followed with back-to-back singles up the middle to load the bases, but Thomas grounded into a double play - the first inning in which the Spartans failed to push a run across the plate.
Zalewski returned to the circle in an effort to close out her complete game, and despite a leadoff single to Tonje Willis, Zalewski made quick work in the frame, getting Brianna Zeigler on a pop out, and striking out both Jessica Alferos and Taiya McInnes to end the game. Zalewski recorded her sixth complete game and second shuout of the season, scattering seven hits and striking out five.
The Spartans return to East Lansing for a week of practice before heading out to Lincoln, Nebraska for a three-game Big Ten series with the Huskers next weekend.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Zalewski, Kristina (11-5)
L: Sanders,R. (0-2)
Batting:
2B: Ramos,V. 1
Base Running:
HBP: McInnes,T. 1
Batting:
2B: Long, McKenzie 1
HR: Reiser, Jacquie 1
RBI: Freimuth, McKinzie 1 ; Foerster, Lea 2 ; Thomas, Shanin 2 ; Sanders, Stephanie 1 ; Heath, Sydney 1 ; Long, McKenzie 3 ; Luna, Destinee 1 ; Reiser, Jacquie 1
SF: Thomas, Shanin 1 ; Long, McKenzie 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Freimuth, McKinzie 2 ; Foerster, Lea 1 ; Thomas, Shanin 2 ; Sanders, Stephanie 1 ; Reiser, Jacquie 2 ; Stoffer, Ellie 2 ; McBride, Alyssa 2
HBP: Freimuth, McKinzie 1 ; Foerster, Lea 1 ; Reiser, Jacquie 1
