Michigan State University Athletics
Softball Plays In-state Rivals Midweek
4/20/2015 12:00:00 AM | Softball
| Michigan State (16-29) vs. No. 4 Michigan / Western Michigan | |
| Date/Location | Tues. April 21, 7 p.m. vs. Michigan; Ann Arbor , Michigan Wed. April 22, 3 p.m. vs. WMU; East Lansing, Michigan. |
| Television/ Live Video Webstream | BTN (Tuesday) MSU All-Access (Wednesday) |
| Radio Broadcast | Spartan Sports Network | Download the SSN App |
| Live Statistics |
|
| Social Media | @MSU_Softball  | Facebook  |
LOGISTICS
• Live stats will be available via Gametracker for all five 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 MSU home games will have a video stream of the game available this season. All of MSU's remaining home games, including Wednesday's against Western Michigan, will have a stream through the official Michigan State Athletics website. BTN will carry Tuesday's game (7 p.m.) live from Ann Arbor, but there will be no television or webstreams for the Indiana series.
THE WEEK AHEAD
• Michigan State has another pair of midweek games on tap. The Spartans begin at No. 4 Michigan on Tuesday, and entertain Western Michigan in a Wednesday tilt at Secchia Stadium.
• No. 4 Michigan holds a commanding lead in the series, with wins in 14 straight games vs. the Spartans to improve to 83-27 in the all-time series. The teams met last Wednesday in East Lansing, and the Wolverines used a pair of big innings to post a 10-0 victory. Michigan has won 10 straight after back-to-back losses against Iowa and Minnesota, and sits at 41-6 entering the week. The Wolverines most recently posted a three-game sweep of Indiana last weekend.
• The Spartans trail the all-time series with Western Michigan Broncos by a slim 43-45-1 margin, but the Spartans have won five straight in the series. This will be the first meeting of the teams since the 2011 season, however. MSU is 15-17-1 all-time in games against WMU in East Lansing. The Broncos bring a 17-19 record into Wednesday's contest at Secchia Stadium.
TEAM NOTES
• MSU will play five of its next seven games away from Secchia Stadium. MSU hosts Western on Wednesday, and then hosts Notre Dame next Tuesday.
• MSU has posted some significant offensive improvements from its last few seasons. The Spartans' batting average (.267), RBI (187), home runs (27) and stolen bases (50) is all the best since MSU's 2011 season, while 59 doubles is the most for the Spartans since 2009. MSU's pitching staff has five saves, the most since its six in 2007.
• MSU is hitting .268 as a team in Big Ten play, but the pitching staff owns a 8.92 ERA with 91 walks vs. 70 strikeouts over 16 games.
• 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.
• Twelve of MSU's 45 games have been one-run affairs, and the Spartans are 5-7 in those contests. MSU has two extra-inning losses by 6-5 scores - an 11-inning loss to Rutgers, and a nine-inning affair with Eastern Michigan last week.
• MSU entered the seventh inning of Friday's game with Minnesota tied at 3, but allowed a five-run seventh. In Sunday's game, the Spartans led 4-3 headed into the sixth, but allowed three runs in each of the final two innings.
• Eighteen of MSU's 40 games this season have been neutral-site contests, and MSU holds a 13-5 record in those games. MSU is 2-13 in true road games and 1-11 at home.
• The Spartans are 15-15 when scoring three runs or more, but 1-14 when scoring two or fewer. MSU has scored fewer than four runs just four times in 16 Big Ten games.
• The Spartans rank in the top half of the B1G in the "little things" - first in sacrifice bunts (34), seventh in sacrifice flies (9), and fifth in stolen bases (50). The Spartans are also second in batters hit by pitch (54).
• MSU has hit 59 doubles this season, and has 90 extra-base hits overall; MSU has allowed 86 extra-base hits on the year. MSU's 27 homers have been hit by eight different players, with three players tied for the team lead with six.
PLAYER NOTES
• MSU has three players batting .300 or better after having none a year ago.
• Freshman Lea Foerster has continued to establish herself as one of the team's top hitters. On the season, the center fielder is second on the team in batting (.327), with team bests in hits (48), RBI (25), and runs (31) and ranking third with eight stolen bases. She has also started 43 of 45 games in center field, the most starts for one player at any position this season.
• Foerster went 4-for-5 with a pair of doubles against Eastern Michigan, then went 6-for-12 in the weekend series against Minnesota. In Big Ten games only, Foerster is tied for sixth in the league with six doubles, and she is the team leader overall with 12 two-baggers. She ranks second on the team with six multiple-RBI games, and is atop the leaderboard with 17 extra-base hits.
• Senior Stephanie Sanders is posting her finest offensive season, with career bests in batting average (.282), at-bats (117), hits (33) runs (20), doubles (7), home runs (6), and RBI (25). With an injury to classmate McKinzie Freimuth last weekend, Sanders stepped up and has played first base the last two games; she also hit three home runs in MSU's five contests last week.
• Sarah Gutknecht is currently riding a career-best 11-game hitting streak, tied for the team's best of the season (Alyssa McBride had 11 earlier this year). In that stretch, she's hitting .486 with 17 hits, two doubles, two homers, and 10 RBI. However, she has missed the last eight games (the Minnesota and Ohio State series, as well as games vs. Michigan and Eastern Michigan) with an injury. In her last Big Ten series, she went 7-for-14 at the plate with five RBI at Rutgers. She is expected back in the lineup Tuesday at Michigan.
• With seven Big Ten games missed, Gutknecht's Conference statistics are not meeting the games played minimum to be ranked among conference leaders. However, in Big Ten Conference games, Gutknecht is hitting .484, (which would rank fifth ). Her on-base percentage of 529 would be 15th.
• McKinzie Freimuth is hitting a career-best .292 this season, has a career-best 18 RBI, and is second with nine doubles. Defensively, she has a team-best 292 putouts in 310 chances (good for fourth in the league in both categories) with just one error for a .997 fielding percentage. Injured in the opener against Minnesota, she's doubtful for midweek games.
• Kassidy Kujawa has swung a big bat since returning to the starting lineup for the last 11 games. In those contests, she is hitting .364 with 10 hits, with three doubles, three home runs and five RBI. Her five home runs and 20 RBI this season both surpass her freshman year total.
• Bridgette Rainey is coming off her four best starts of the season, getting the nod in seven of the last 10 games. Last week, she threw 2.1 innings in a planned full-staff outing vs. Michigan, in which each of MSU's four pitchers took a turn; over the weekend, she threw 14 innings in the bookend games vs. Minnesota.
• Redshirt sophomore Dani Goranson, who's most recent outing had been March 1 at Florida International, was cleared to return from injury last Monday and threw in each of MSU's two midweek games, and earned a start in Saturday's game vs. Minnesota. She started against Eastern Michigan and went 3.1 innings, striking out three and walking two. Against Michigan, she entered in relief of starter Bridgette Rainey; she also went 3.1 innings vs. the Gophers, striking out three.
LOGISTICS
• Live stats will be available via Gametracker for all five 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 MSU home games will have a video stream of the game available this season. All of MSU's remaining home games, including Wednesday's against Western Michigan, will have a stream through the official Michigan State Athletics website. BTN will carry Tuesday's game (7 p.m.) live from Ann Arbor, but there will be no television or webstreams for the Indiana series.
THE WEEK AHEAD
• Michigan State has another pair of midweek games on tap. The Spartans begin at No. 4 Michigan on Tuesday, and entertain Western Michigan in a Wednesday tilt at Secchia Stadium.
• No. 4 Michigan holds a commanding lead in the series, with wins in 14 straight games vs. the Spartans to improve to 83-27 in the all-time series. The teams met last Wednesday in East Lansing, and the Wolverines used a pair of big innings to post a 10-0 victory. Michigan has won 10 straight after back-to-back losses against Iowa and Minnesota, and sits at 41-6 entering the week. The Wolverines most recently posted a three-game sweep of Indiana last weekend.
• The Spartans trail the all-time series with Western Michigan Broncos by a slim 43-45-1 margin, but the Spartans have won five straight in the series. This will be the first meeting of the teams since the 2011 season, however. MSU is 15-17-1 all-time in games against WMU in East Lansing. The Broncos bring a 17-19 record into Wednesday's contest at Secchia Stadium.
TEAM NOTES
• MSU is mired in its longest losing streak since 2013, as the Spartans have dropped 12 straight heading into the game at Michigan on Tuesday.
• MSU will play five of its next seven games away from Secchia Stadium. MSU hosts Western on Wednesday, and then hosts Notre Dame next Tuesday.
• Despite its lengthy string of losses, MSU has posted some significant offensive improvements from its last few seasons. The Spartans' batting average (.267), RBI (187), home runs (27) and stolen bases (50) is all the best since MSU's 2011 season, while 59 doubles is the most for the Spartans since 2009. MSU's pitching staff has five saves, the most since its six in 2007.
• MSU is hitting .268 as a team in Big Ten play, but the pitching staff owns a 8.92 ERA with 91 walks vs. 70 strikeouts over 16 games.
• 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.
• Twelve of MSU's 45 games have been one-run affairs, and the Spartans are 5-7 in those contests. MSU has two extra-inning losses by 6-5 scores - an 11-inning loss to Rutgers, and a nine-inning affair with Eastern Michigan last week.
• MSU entered the seventh inning of Friday's game with Minnesota tied at 3, but allowed a five-run seventh. In Sunday's game, the Spartans led 4-3 headed into the sixth, but allowed three runs in each of the final two innings.
• Eighteen of MSU's 40 games this season have been neutral-site contests, and MSU holds a 13-5 record in those games. MSU is 2-13 in true road games and 1-11 at home.
• The Spartans are 15-15 when scoring three runs or more, but 1-14 when scoring two or fewer. MSU has scored fewer than four runs just four times in 16 Big Ten games.
• The Spartans rank in the top half of the B1G in the "little things" - first in sacrifice bunts (34), seventh in sacrifice flies (9), and fifth in stolen bases (50). The Spartans are also second in batters hit by pitch (54).
• MSU has hit 59 doubles this season, and has 90 extra-base hits overall; MSU has allowed 86 extra-base hits on the year. MSU's 27 homers have been hit by eight different players, with three players tied for the team lead with six.
PLAYER NOTES
• MSU has three players batting .300 or better after having none a year ago.
• Freshman Lea Foerster has continued to establish herself as one of the team's top hitters. On the season, the center fielder is second on the team in batting (.327), with team bests in hits (48), RBI (25), and runs (31) and ranking third with eight stolen bases. She has also started 43 of 45 games in center field, the most starts for one player at any position this season.
• Foerster went 4-for-5 with a pair of doubles against Eastern Michigan, then went 6-for-12 in the weekend series against Minnesota. In Big Ten games only, Foerster is tied for sixth in the league with six doubles, and she is the team leader overall with 12 two-baggers. She ranks second on the team with six multiple-RBI games, and is atop the leaderboard with 17 extra-base hits.
• Senior Stephanie Sanders is posting her finest offensive season, with career bests in batting average (.282), at-bats (117), hits (33) runs (20), doubles (7), home runs (6), and RBI (25). With an injury to classmate McKinzie Freimuth last weekend, Sanders stepped up and has played first base the last two games; she also hit three home runs in MSU's five contests last week.
• Sarah Gutknecht is currently riding a career-best 11-game hitting streak, tied for the team's best of the season (Alyssa McBride had 11 earlier this year). In that stretch, she's hitting .486 with 17 hits, two doubles, two homers, and 10 RBI. However, she has missed the last eight games (the Minnesota and Ohio State series, as well as games vs. Michigan and Eastern Michigan) with an injury. In her last Big Ten series, she went 7-for-14 at the plate with five RBI at Rutgers. She is expected back in the lineup Tuesday at Michigan.
• With seven Big Ten games missed, Gutknecht's Conference statistics are not meeting the games played minimum to be ranked among conference leaders. However, in Big Ten Conference games, Gutknecht is hitting .484, (which would rank fifth ). Her on-base percentage of 529 would be 15th.
• McKinzie Freimuth is hitting a career-best .292 this season, has a career-best 18 RBI, and is second with nine doubles. Defensively, she has a team-best 292 putouts in 310 chances (good for fourth in the league in both categories) with just one error for a .997 fielding percentage. Injured in the opener against Minnesota, she's doubtful for midweek games.
• Kassidy Kujawa has swung a big bat since returning to the starting lineup for the last 11 games. In those contests, she is hitting .364 with 10 hits, with three doubles, three home runs and five RBI. Her five home runs and 20 RBI this season both surpass her freshman year total.
• Bridgette Rainey is coming off her four best starts of the season, getting the nod in seven of the last 10 games. Last week, she threw 2.1 innings in a planned full-staff outing vs. Michigan, in which each of MSU's four pitchers took a turn; over the weekend, she threw 14 innings in the bookend games vs. Minnesota.
• Redshirt sophomore Dani Goranson, who's most recent outing had been March 1 at Florida International, was cleared to return from injury last Monday and threw in each of MSU's two midweek games, and earned a start in Saturday's game vs. Minnesota. She started against Eastern Michigan and went 3.1 innings, striking out three and walking two. Against Michigan, she entered in relief of starter Bridgette Rainey; she also went 3.1 innings vs. the Gophers, striking out three.
