Michigan State University
17-32, 0
Indiana
16-34, 0
Kujawa's Homer Gives Spartans Split with Hoosiers
4/24/2015 12:00:00 AM | Softball
East Lansing, Mich. - Kassidy Kujawa hit her ninth home run of the season - a two-run shot to right field in the top of the seventh inning - to secure a 9-8 victory over Indiana to split a doubleheader at Andy Mohr field in Bloomington. Kristina Zalewski delivered a much-needed complete-game pitching performance for MSU, as the visitors staged a late rally with five runs in the final two innings.
The Hoosiers used a five-run third inning to pull ahead 6-3; after the teams traded runs in the fourth, the Spartans (17-32) rallied with three runs in the sixth to knot the score at 7-7, and Kujawa delivered the biggest of MSU's 13 hits on the night. Zalewski went the distance, scattering eight hits and allowing just four earned runs. Stephanie Sanders and Destinee Luna each had three hits, while McKenzie Long and Alyssa McBride each contributed two hits. The win snapped a 15-game skid for the Spartans, who will look to win the series when it concludes on Sunday at 1 p.m.
After a wild pitch scored an IU run in the bottom of the first inning, the Spartans countered with a two-out rally in the top of the second. McKenzie Long singled to lead off the inning, but both Jordan Davis and Ellie Stoffer were retired to bring up Destinee Luna. She singled to center, and Alyssa McBride - who had a pair of bunt singles in game one - doubled to left to score Long to knot the score at one. Lea Foerster's single to left center scored two, giving MSU a 3-1 lead as both Luna and McBride came around to score on the play. Olson walked Kassidy Kujawa, but got Stephanie Sanders to ground out to short to strand a pair of runners and end the inning.
A five-run inning was on tap for the Hoosiers in the bottom of the third. Rebecca Blitz reached when she was hit by a pitch, and then moved to second when Erin Lehman reached on an error. Shannon Cawley singled up the middle to bring home Blitz, cutting the Spartan lead to 3-2. Zalewski got a big strikeout when she got Kelsey Dotson to go down swinging, but she walked Caramia Tsirigos to load the bases. Michelle Huber emptied them with a grand slam, her fourth home run of the season to give the home team a 6-3 lead. Zalewski got Conenna to fly out to end the frame.
Luna picked up her second hit of the day to lead off the fourth, singling up the middle. McBride walked, signaling the end of the day for starter Lora Olsen, Miranda Tamayo relieved her and walked Foerster to load the bases. Tamayo got Kujawa to strike out for the first out of the inning, bringing up Stephanie Sanders. A nine-pitch at-bat for Sanders featured a long shot to left that had the distance but sailed just into foul territory in left field; she settled for an RBI single to left that brought home Luna to cut the Hoosier lead to 6-4. Tamayo got Gutknecht to ground into a double play at third, ending the Spartan threat.
Zalewski got two quick outs in the bottom of the fourth, but then walked Blitz and saw her steal second. Lehman came up with a single on a bobbled ball in the Spartan infield, scoring Blitz to push IU's lead back out to three runs before Zalewski retired Cawley on a ground ball to short to end the inning.
McBride doubled to lead off the sixth, looking to get a rally going with the top of the order coming to the plate looking to carve into the Hoosier lead. Foerster walked, and both runners advanced on a passed ball. Kujawa flew out to center for the first out of the inning, but it brought McBride across the plate to cut the lead to two. Sanders then delivered another RBI single, plating Foerster to make it a 7-6 ballgame. Tamayo got Sarah Gutknecht looking at a called third strike, but Long singled to put a pair of runners on for Jordan Davis. Davis delivered an RBI single, scoring Sanders and moving to second as Long took third to tie the game at 7-7 and leave two runners in scoring position.
The Hoosiers had one baserunner in the sixth, but could not counter the MSU rally - but the Spartans brought all the momentum into the top of the seventh. Luna led off with a single and was moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by McBride, but Foerster flew out to left for the second out of the inning. That set the stage for Kujawa's heroics, and she launched her ninth home run of the season over the fence in right field to give the Spartans a 9-7 lead headed into the home half of the seventh inning.
With the game in the balance, Long made an impressive diving stop at short and throw across the infield to get the first out of the inning, but Cawley and Dotson followed with back-to-back singles, and Tsirigos hit a ball to deep center, a ball that Foerster just missed to score Cawley to trim the MSU lead down to a single run with the tying run at third and winning run at second. Zalewski got Huber to ground out to third for the second out of the frame, bringing Conenna to the plate with a chance to play the role of hero. Her offering was a grounder to short, and Long corralled it and quickly got the ball to Sanders at first to end the ballgame.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Zalewski, Kristina (13-13)
L: Tamayo (6-9)
Batting:
2B: McBride, Alyssa 2
HR: Kujawa, Kassidy 1
RBI: Foerster, Lea 2 ; Kujawa, Kassidy 3 ; Sanders, Stephanie 2 ; Davis, Jordan 1 ; McBride, Alyssa 1
SH: Long, McKenzie 1 ; Stoffer, Ellie 1 ; McBride, Alyssa 1
SF: Kujawa, Kassidy 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Foerster, Lea 1 ; Kujawa, Kassidy 1 ; Sanders, Stephanie 1 ; Long, McKenzie 1 ; Luna, Destinee 3 ; McBride, Alyssa 2
Batting:
2B: Tsirigos 1
HR: Huber 1
RBI: Lehman 1 ; Cawley 1 ; Tsirigos 1 ; Huber 4
Base Running:
RUNS: Blitz 2 ; Lehman 2 ; Cawley 2 ; Tsirigos 1 ; Huber 1
SB: Blitz 1
HBP: Blitz 1
