Michigan State University
12-10
UCF
18-4
UCF Blanks Spartans in Tournament Finale
3/8/2015 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Orlando, Florida -- Freshman Bridget Rainey made her fourth career start, but a five-run fifth inning blew open a tight game as MSU fell to the host University of Central Florida, 8-0 on Sunday. Knight ace Mackenzie Audas struck out 10 and brought a no-hitter into the fifth inning, shutting out the Spartans for the second time this weekend.
"I keep preaching the consistency, and we have to really continue to work to get there," said head coach Jacquie Joseph. "There are flashes and glimpses of what I think we can be - but we haven't consistently put it together yet. It's frustrating, but it's something we will focus on as we have a week to get ready for our next tournament. It will be a week of practice without working around class schedules and academic commitments - and perhaps we can bring a different focus being away from campus and practicing in a different environment."
Michigan State finishes the weekend with a 2-2 record, and is now 12-10 overall on the season. The Spartans have matched their 2014 win total.
The Knights scored once in the bottom of the first to take an early lead. Linnea Goodman led off with a single up the middle, and Kahley Novak came up with an infield single, advancing Goodman to third. Rainey walked Farrah Sullivan to load the bases, and Courtney Rotton reached on a fielder's choice, which scored Goodman for the 1-0 lead Kalyn Cenal reached on an error to load the bases once again, but Rainey struck out the next two batters to get out of the inning with little damage. In the second, the Knights threatened again with the bases loaded, but with two outs, Kassidy Kujawa made an impressive grab in deep left on Rotton to end the inning and strand all three runners.
Meanwhile, UCF ace Mackenzie Audas was dealing, striking out five of the first six Spartan batters. In the third, Audas pushed her strikeout total to seven by getting both Reiser and Stoffer to start the inning, but MSU got a pair on base after she walked Alyssa McBride and hit Lea Foerster, Kujawa lined out to third to end the threat, however.
In the bottom of the fourth UCF pushed another run across the plate. Novak worked a two-out walk off of Rainey, and moved to third on a Sullivan single up the middle that just eluded a diving Destinee Luna. Rainey hit Rotton on a pitch inside at the knees, loading the bases for Kayln Cenal. After Cenal got a hold of a 1-1 pitch and sent it foul down the left-field line, she worked a walk, bringing home Novak from third on the play. No. 6 hitter Brittany Solis pushed Rainey to a full count, but the freshman pitcher was up to the task when Solis hit a screeching liner back to the mound, flashing the leather and getting the Spartans out of the inning with just the one run.
In the fifth, Destinee Luna was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning, and she was sacrificed to second and then third by a Jacquie Reiser bunt and Shanin Thomas groundout to first. McBride then popped out in foul territory to the third baseman, ending MSU's chances in the fifth.
UCF blew open the game in the fifth inning, plating five runs, all with two outs. Rainey got the first two batters, walked Maddy Schroeder, and then saw her move to third on an infield hit by Goodman. Novak laid down a nice bunt single to load the bases for the third time on the day, followed by Sullivan and Rotton walking home a pair of runs to make it a 4-0 game. Cenal cleared the bases with a ball hit to right that was dropped, blowing open the game to make it 7-0. Solis then was robbed of a hit by a nice catch in center by Foerster, ending the inning.
McKinxie Freimuth broke up Audas' no-hitter in the top of the sixth, legging out a bunt single with one out. However, like the other MSU runners on the day, she was stranded as the pitcher got a foul out and another strikeout to push her game total to 10.
The Knights greeted Rainey with back-to-back hits in the bottom of the sixth inning, a single by Wagner and a double to right by Jessica Ujvari. Back-to-back walks to Andrea Neswiacheny and pinch hitter Blair Kelley brought the winning run across the plate, ending the game at 8-0 in favor of the home team.
MSU heads to Georgia next weekend to participate in the Mercer Bears Classic, taking on both Youngstown State and Alabama A&M in addition to host Mercer.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: AUDAS, M. (9-0)
L: Rainey, Bridgette (1-3)
Batting:
SH: Reiser, Jacquie 1
Base Running:
HBP: Foerster, Lea 1 ; Luna, Destinee 1
Batting:
2B: UJVARI, Je. 1
RBI: KELLEY, B. 1 ; SULLIVAN, F. 1 ; ROTTON, C. 2 ; CENAL, K. 4
SH: SOLIS, B. 1
Base Running:
RUNS: GOODMAN, L. 2 ; NOVAK, K. 2 ; SULLIVAN, F. 1 ; ROTTON, C. 1 ; WAGNER, T. 1 ; SCHROEDER 1
SB: NOVAK, K. 1
HBP: ROTTON, C. 1
