Late Blast Sinks Spartans, 7-5

March 22, 2015

East Lansing, Mich. -- A three-run homer in the bottom of the sixth inning by Alicia Armstrong was the deciding blow for the home team in a 7-5 victory for Nebraska over Michigan State (15-15, 0-3 B1G) on Sunday afternoon. The Spartans and Nebraska each had eight hits on the day, but three MSU errors were the difference, as the Huskers got the series sweep in the opening weekend of Conference play.

Kristina Zalewski started her second game of the series, also throwing in the 15-10 decision in favor of Nebraska on Friday. The storyline was somewhat similar, as a grand slam blew open Friday night's game in the bottom of the sixth, and Armstrong's shot came in the same inning on Sunday. Zalewski scattered eight hits, striking out two and allowing five earned. Emily Lockman earned the win for Nebraska (15-12, 3-0 B1G), going 6.1 innings before Cassie McClure got the final two outs to earn her third save of the season.

McKinzie Freimuth, McKenzie Long, and Sarah Gutknecht each had two hits for the Spartans today, and Long added three RBI. MJ Knighten was the lone Husker with more than one hit.

"The errors are just missed opportunities for us - and the way that Nebraska capitalized on them in this series - and this game - was a big factor today," said head coach Jacquie Joseph. "I thought Z's effort in the circle was good enough to win, and our starting pitchers this weekend were all facing Big Ten competition for the first time. We did some good things, but not enough to consistently win in the Big Ten. We'll be excited to get an opportunity to play at home this week after our first 30 games on the road."

In the home half of the first, MJ Knighten rocketed a triple down the right -field line, and scored on a wild pitch to Alicia Armstrong, giving the Huskers a 1-0 lead just three batters in. Anderson lined out to third for the second out, but Cassie McClure came back with a two-out double down the right field line.

A walk, hit batter, and an error left the bases loaded with one out for the Huskers in the second, setting them up for a big inning. Zalewski got a critical out by striking out Kiki Stokes, but a throwing error on a ground ball by Knighten allowed two runs to score, giving Nebraska a 3-0 lead.

MSU got on the scoreboard In the top of the third. The Spartans got the first two batters on - Freimuth walked, and Foerster reached on a fielder's choice, with Freimuth going to second. Thomas moved the runners with a groundout, and Kujawa hit into a second fielder's choice of the inning, getting Freimuth at third. Long singled to bring home a run, but Kujawa got nipped at third to end the inning.

The Huskers got the leadoff runner on in the bottom of the frame, as McClure doubled to right center, immediately replaced by Otte as a pinch runner. Otte came home on a hit to deep right by Muir, but the right fielder got caught in a rundown between second and third for the second out of the inning. Kat Wollman singled and stole second, but Mattie Fowler grounded out to end the inning without further damage.

The Spartans put their first two runners on in the top of the fifth, as McBride reached on an error and Freimuth followed with a textbook bunt single. With Spartan runners active all weekend on the basepaths, Sydney Heath was able to reach on a fielder's choice, as the fielders had to check on both McBride and Freimuth. Kassidy Kujawa brought home a runner on a groundout to third to make it a 4-2 game, and Long followed with an infield single that scored two more to knot the game at 4-4. L

The Huskers had designs on getting the lead back, and put two runners on with just one out in the bottom of the inning on a hit by pitch and Spartan error . Zalewski worked out of the jam with a flyout by Woolman and getting a strikeout of Fowler, keeping the Spartans in a tie ballgame.

MSU had a pair of runners with one out in the top of the sixth, but Nebraska worked out of the jam and came to the plate with an eye on separating from the Spartans on the scoreboard. The freshman second baseman Laura Barrow singled to lead off the bottom of the frame, and was moved to second by a fly ball from Stokes. Knighten, Nebraska's hottest hitter, deposited a single into left field to put runners on the corners, and Armstrong came through with the three-run shot that gave back the Huskers the lead, 7-4. Zalewski got McClure to line out to right and Pasquale to line out to Luna at short to get out of the inning, but the Huskers had dealt what they hoped was a significant blow, regaining a three-run lead.

Michigan State came out swinging - literally - in the top of the seventh, as Kujawa led off the frame with a line drive shot over the left-field wall, her second home run of the series and third of the season. Fowler robbed Long of a likely extra-base hit, snagging a well-hit ball before it got by her for the first out of the inning. Gutknecht followed with a stand-up double, which signaled the end of the day for Lockman, who appeared in each of the three games on the weekend. McClure came on to pitch, and retired both Luna and Stoffer to end the game.

Michigan State, which has played its first 30 games on the road, gets ready for a five-game homestand, beginning Tuesday against intra-state rival Detroit. The Spartans then host Penn State this weekend in a three-game series at Secchia Stadium.

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Team Stats

McKinzie Freimuth

McKenzie Long

Sarah Gutknecht

Lea Foerster

Players Mentioned

McKinzie Freimuth

Sarah Gutknecht

Sydney Heath

Kassidy Kujawa

McKenzie Long

Kristina Zalewski