Michigan State University Athletics
Spartans Open Home Slate vs. Penn State
3/26/2015 12:00:00 AM | Softball
| Michigan State (15-15, 0-3 B1G) vs. Penn State (15-15, 0-3 B1G) | |
| Dates | Sat.- Sun. March 28-29, 2015 |
| Location | East Lansing, Michigan; Secchia Stadium (cap. 1,100) |
| Live Video Webstream | MSU All-Access (Saturday)BTN2Go (Sunday) |
| Radio Broadcast | Spartan Sports Network | Download the SSN App |
| Live Statistics | |
| Download Game Notes | Michigan State | Penn State |
| Social Media | @MSU_Softball  | Facebook  |
PENN STATE SERIES NOTES
• Michigan State opens its home schedule this weekend, hosting Big Ten rival Penn State in a three- game series.
• The Spartans trail the all-time series against the Nittany Lions by a 23-28 margin, but own a 14-15 record in games played in East Lansing. In last year's meeting, PSU swept the three-game series at Secchia.
• Penn State is fresh off of its doubleheader sweep of Robert Morris on Wednesday, which evened it's record at an identical 15-15, 0-3 Lexi Knief leads the team in batting average (.373) on base percentage (.435) and doubles (5), and ranks third in slugging (.482). Sophomore pitcher Marlaina Laubach leads her team in a number of different pitching categories including wins (8), strikeouts (45) and innings pitched (81.0). Her 2.59 ERA is second best on the team and she is just one win away from tying her career high for wins in a season. Laubach's ERA along with her victory totals places her in eighth and tied for eighth in the Big Ten.
LOGISTICS
• Live stats will be available via Gametracker for all three games, with links to each at www.MSUSpartans.com. The Gametracker program has undergone an upgrade, allowing smartphone and tablet users to access it on their mobile devices.
• Beginning with this week's Penn State series, MSU will have a radio broadcast of all softball games, both home and away, at www.spartansportsnetwork.com. Matt Tjapkes will have the call, and will be joined in the booth this weekend by Ali Grant, a four-year Spartan letterwinner (2009-12) who is in her second season as a color analyst. In addition, Spartan Sports Network's 24/7 app allows listeners to hear all games carried by the network on their mobile devices.
• All MSU home games will have a video stream of the game available this season. Several games, including Sunday's against the Nittany Lions, will appear on BTN2Go. All other games will have a stream through the official Michigan State Athletics website, which will carry both ends of Saturday's doubleheader.
TEAM NOTES
• The Spartans went 0-3 last weekend at Nebraska, scoring 21 runs in the three losses. MSU was plagued by errors, with nine over the three games. In 2014, the Spartans scored 16 runs in the opening Big Ten series against Ohio State.
• Nebraska dealt its final blow in its final at-bat in two of the three games last weekend, slugging a grand slam in a three-run game in the bottom of the sixth on Friday and adding a three-run shot that broke open a tie game in the bottom of the sixth on Sunday.
• The Spartans finished the tournament portion of their schedule with a 15-12 overall record, the fifth-most wins of any Big Ten team prior to conference play.
• Nine of MSU's 30 games have been one-run affairs, and the Spartans are 5-4 in those contests.
• MSU is 12-4 on the season when scoring first, and owns a 11-2 mark when leading after four innings. MSU has scored 73 of its 129 runs on the year in the first three innings.
• Eighteen of MSU's 30 games this season have been neutral-site contests, and MSU holds a 13-5 record in those games. MSU is 2-10 in true road games, and gets its first games at Secchia Stadium this weekend.
• The Spartans are 14-5 when scoring three runs or more, but 1-10 when scoring two or fewer. MSU scored 10, six, and five runs in three games at Nebraska last weekend.
• MSU has already surpassed 2014 totals in several categories - the Spartans stole just 27 bases last year, and have already swiped 40; in addition, MSU's run production has increased to 4.3 runs per game in 2015, vs. 2.69 a year ago. The Spartans need three runs to surpass last year's total of 132, and six RBI to pass the 124 a year ago. Of course, the most important number - 15 wins - is more than the Spartans had in 2014 (13).
• MSU's pitching staff - a group greatly hindered by injury in 2014 - has been strong over the opening portion of the schedule. MSU's pitching staff ranks sixth in strikeouts (156), seventh in team ERA (4.21), and also second in the Big Ten in saves (4).
• The Spartans rank in the top half of the B1G in the "little things" - first in sacrifice bunts (26), fourth in sacrifice flies (9), eighth in walks (89), and fifth in stolen bases (40).
• MSU has hit 34 doubles this season, and has 48 extra-base hits overall; MSU has allowed 43 extra-base hits on the year. Last weekend, MSU smacked five homers, nearly matching its total to that point of the season (7).
• An 17-game home schedule and non-conference games against schools from 17 different conferences (including six NCAA Tournament teams and eight conference champions) comprises Michigan State's 2015 schedule. The Spartans capped a 30-game swing away from East Lansing in Lincoln, but will play 17 of its next 25 at Secchia Stadium, starting Saturday vs.
• The Spartans will play six non-conference midweek games around their Big Ten schedule, with six of them coming at Secchia Stadium: against Toledo (April 8), Eastern Michigan (April 14), Western Michigan (April 22), and Notre Dame (April 28); the lone road non-conference contest will be at Central Michigan on Wednesday, April 29.
PLAYER NOTES
• Senior Alyssa McBride continues to lead the Spartans with a .446 batting average, which is second in the Big Ten. She is also third in on-base percentage (.563), and tied for sixth in walks (19). McBride posted career highs in doubles (4), and 12 RBI; her 29 hits are five more than her 2014 total and 11 short of her career best of 40.
• McBride has three games with a 3-for-3 effort at the plate, most recently against Youngstown State (3/13). She was a combined 2-for-4 with five walks in the Nebraska series.
• Classmate 1B McKinzie Freimuth has not only continued her steadfast field defense, but is hitting a career-best .303 this season, has a career-best 13 RBI, and hit a team-best six doubles.
• Freimuth also continues her sure-handed ways at first base; she has a team-best 196 putouts in 205 chances (good for fifth in the league in both categories, respectively) with just one error for a .995 fielding percentage.
• Freshman McKenzie Long has consecutive weekends of hitting .500 or better. At Nebraska, she posted a .556 batting average (5-for-9) with seven RBI, which included a pair of homers. She hit .533 in the Mercer Tournament with and four doubles and seven RBI. Against Alabama A&M on 3/14, she went a perfect 4-for-4, the second-most hits in a single game in school history, scoring three times and knocking in a pair of runs. She has jumped to second on the team in batting average (.210) and shares the team lead in RBI (17).
• Freshman Lea Foerster is establishing herself in the Spartan lineup. On the season, the center fielder is third on the team in batting (.304), with 28 hits and a team-high 17 RBI, scoring a team-high 20 runs and ranking second with seven stolen bases. She is tied for second in the Big Ten with two triples. Foerster is second on the team with five multiple-RBI games, and shares the top spot with seven extra-base hits.
• Sarah Gutknecht has swung her way out of a mid-spring slump, going 4-for-8 at Nebraska with a double. On the season, Gutknecht has her average back up to .260, and brings a team-best four-game hitting streak into this weekend's series.
• Kassidy Kujawa had a couple of big swings against the Huskers, which included a grand slam in game one and a solo seventh-inning shot in the finale. Kujawa had seven RBI last weekend, tying the team lead. Her three home runs this season matches her freshman year total.
• Junior Jacquie Reiser ranks in a tie for ninth in the Big Ten with 10 stolen bases, and she is 10-for-11 on theft attempts. She leads the league in both sacrifice bunts (7) and hit by pitches (9), and has already surpassed her hit total from 2014 (5) by smacking her first career home run against Alabama A&M. She led the Big Ten a year ago in sac bunts (13), and has surpassed her career total in stolen bases - she had four last season.
