MSU Heads to Rutgers For First-Ever Softball Series

April 2, 2015

Michigan State (16-17, 1-5 B1G) at Rutgers (16-9, 4-2 B1G)
Dates	Fri.- Sun. April 3-5, 2015
Location	Piscataway, NJ; Rutgers Softball Complex
Live Video Webstreams	BTN2Go
Radio Broadcast	Spartan Sports Network \| Download the SSN App
Live Statistics
Download Game Notes	Michigan State \| Rutgers
Social Media	@MSU_Softball \| Facebook

MSU-RUTGERS SERIES NOTES

• Michigan State makes its first-ever trip to New Jersey for a three-game series against a new Big Ten rival, Rutgers.

• The Spartans lead the all-time series with the Scarlet Knights by a 6-2 margin, with all eight previous games played on neutral sites. The teams last met in 2011 (a 4-2 Michigan State victory) after an 11-year hiatus in the series.

• Rutgers swept Stony Brook in a midweek non-conference doubleheader (7-5, 1-0) to improve to 16-5 overall, and holds a 4-2 record in conference play

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.

• MSU has a live 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 for home games 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 three games at Rutgers will have a live video webstream via BTN2Go The subscription-based service has both individual-game and monthly subscriptions to watch games from all 14 Big Ten schools.

TEAM NOTES
• MSU went 1-2 in its home series against Penn State last weekend, dropping both ends of a Saturday doubleheader (7-4, 11-10) before rebounding with a 8-6 victory on Sunday in the series finale.

• MSU gave up runs in its opponent's final at-bat four of it's last six games that sealed an opponent win. In games one and three at Nebraska, the Huskers slugged a grand slam in the bottom of the sixth on Friday (a 15-10 final) and adding a three-run shot that broke open a 4-4 game in the bottom of the sixth in the series finale. In both games of the doubleheader last Saturday, MSU allowed PSU to score twice in the top of the seventh to pad a one-run lead in a 7-4 loss, and then a Macy Jones two-run homer in the top of the seventh gave the Nittany Lions a win in the nightcap.

• 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.

• Ten of MSU's 33 games have been one-run affairs, and the Spartans are 5-5 in those contests.

• MSU is 13-4 on the season when scoring first, and owns a 12-3 mark when leading after four innings. MSU has scored 90 of its 151 runs on the year in the first three innings.

• Eighteen of MSU's 33 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.

• The Spartans are 15-7 when scoring three runs or more, but 1-10 when scoring two or fewer. MSU has scored no fewer than four runs in any of its six Big Ten game.

• MSU has already surpassed 2014 totals in several categories - the Spartans stole just 27 bases last year, and nearly doubled that with 47; in addition, MSU's run production has increased to 4.58 runs per game in 2015, vs. 2.69 a year ago. The Spartans have also surpassed last year's run total of 132 (151) and RBI (137) to pass the 124 a year ago. Of course, the most important number - 16 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 (170), and eighth in team ERA (4.45), opponent batting average (.292) and runs allowed (161), and also second in the Big Ten in saves (5).

• The Spartans rank in the top half of the B1G in the "little things" - first in sacrifice bunts (28), fourth in sacrifice flies (9), eighth in walks (98), and fifth in stolen bases (47).

• MSU has hit 41 doubles this season, and has 58 extra-base hits overall; MSU has allowed 53 extra-base hits on the year. Last weekend, MSU smacked three homers, giving MSU 15 on the season - five shy of the 2014 total.

• 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.

• Seven of 14 Big Ten teams played midweek contests this week, but all were non-conference contests. MSU plays its first non-conference midweek tilt next Wednesday when it hosts Toledo.

PLAYER NOTES

• Senior Stephanie Sanders had a big weekend at the plate vs. Penn State, going 4-for-8 with three extra-base hits (two doubles and her first home run of the season.) She also added four RBI. She ranks fourth on the team with 14 RBI. Destinee Luna also posted a .500 batting average last weekend, going 4-for-8 with one RBI.

• Alyssa McBride continues to lead the Spartans with a .417 batting average, which is fifth in the Big Ten. She is also fifth in on-base percentage (.542), and seventh in walks (21). McBride has posted career highs in doubles (4), and 14 RBI; her 30 hits are six more than her 2014 total and short of her career best of 40.

• Classmate 1B McKinzie Freimuth has not only continued her steadfast field defense, but is hitting a career-best .313 this season, has a career-best 15 RBI, and leads the squad with eight doubles, which includes a pair in the PSU series. She went 4-for-10 with a pair of RBI against the Nittany Lions.

• Freimuth also continues her sure-handed ways at first base; she has a team-best 225 putouts in 234 chances (good for fourth in the league in both categories, respectively) with just one error for a .996 fielding percentage.

• Sarah Gutknecht has swung her way out of a mid-spring slump. She brings a team-best seven-game active hitting streak to New Jersey, hitting .500 over those seven contests (9-for-18). On the season, Gutknecht has her average back up to .279, with a team-best five homers and 13 RBI.

• Kassidy Kujawa returned to the starting lineup and got the nod in left field in each game against the Nittany Lions, hitting .375 in the series with two doubles and three RBI. She contributed a pair of homers against Nebraska in the Conference-opening series, which included a grand slam in game one and a solo seventh-inning shot in the finale. Her three home runs this season matches her freshman year total, and her 14 RBI is better than the 13 she posted last season.

• Junior Shanin Thomas entered the series finale against Penn State and delivered a pinch-hit home run, her first of the season and fourth of her career.

• Freshman McKenzie Long continues to lead the Spartans in RBI (18), one of eight players with double-figure runs batted in so far this season. In her first-ever Big Ten series at Nebraska, she posted a .556 batting average (5-for-9) with seven RBI, which included a pair of homers. She has jumped to fourth on the team in batting average (.288) with four doubles and three home runs.

• Kristina Zalewski threw in all three games of the PSU series last weekend, and she ranks sixth in the league in appearances (25) and eighth in games started (16). She remains sixth in the league in ERA with a 2.67, and is also sixth in innings pitched (123.1), strikeouts (108) and wins (12).