Michigan State University Athletics
Spartans Host Toledo In Midweek Tilt
4/6/2015 12:00:00 AM | Softball
| Michigan State (16-20) vs. Toledo (12-22) | |
| Date | Wed. April 8, 2015; 4 p.m. |
| Location | East Lansing, Michigan; Secchia Stadium (cap. 1,100) |
| Live Video Webstream | MSU All-Access |
| Radio Broadcast | Spartan Sports Network | < a="" href=" http://test.spartansportsnetwork.com/Extras/SSN-APP "> Download the SSN App |
| Live Statistics | |
| Social Media | @MSU_Softball  | Facebook  |
• Michigan State takes a break from Big Ten play and hosts Toledo in the first midweek non-conference game of the season at Secchia Stadium. It will kick-start a nine-game homestand for the Spartans, their longest of the season.
• Live stats will be 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.
Wednesday's game will have a live webstream paired with the Spartan Sports Network call of the game. A subscription to MSU's All-Access package is required, with several subscription options available.
• The Rockets have lost each end of the first three MAC doubleheaders to Bowling Green, Western Michigan, and Northern Illinois to start Conference play 0-6. This will be Toledo's second time facing a Big Ten team this season, as the Rockets were on the wrong end of a 20-5, 9-0 doubleheader sweep by Michigan in Arizona in February.
• Celeste Fidge leads the rockets with a .420 batting average, with 16 extra-base hits and 28 RBI. Jessica Lemieux (.347, 19 RBI) and Chandler Rice (.333, 18 RBI) round out the top hitters. Emily Anderson (4.67 ERA in 108 innings) and Marla Gooding (97.1 IP, 5.11 ERA) have carried the bulk of the load in the circle.
• MSU owns a 13-11 edge in the all-time series, and have won the last seven games between the teams. MSU took a 6-5 extra-inning victory in 2014.
• The Spartans are 2-10 in their last 10 games, which includes a 1-8 mark in B1G play. MSU has been doing admirably at the plate in that stretch, with seven players hitting .300 or better - Sarah Gutknecht leads the team with 16 hits, including two homers and eight RBI and a .500 batting average in those games. Kassidy Kujawa has a team-best 14 RBI, three homers and three doubles in that same stretch.
• MSU is coming off a sweep at the hands of new B1G entry Rutgers, which included an 11-inning affair that spanned two days and a 39-run slugfest over the first two games.
• MSU's hot hitting through the first three B1G series has several players among league leaders. Sarah Gutknecht is fifth in the B1G (Conference games only) with a .484 batting average, and she ranks ninth in hits (15). Kujawa ranks seventh in RBI (14).
• MSU's pitching staff has struggled through the first part of the Big Ten season. While there have been three complete games (including one from freshman Bridgette Rainey on Sunday), the staff owns a 9.67 ERA with 54 walks vs. 38 strikeouts over nine games.
• Senior Alyssa McBride continues to lead the Spartans with a .403 batting average, which is tenth in the Big Ten. She is also fifth in on-base percentage (.529), and tied for ninth in walks (22).
• Senior 1B McKinzie Freimuth has not only continued her steadfast field defense (.996), but is hitting a career-best .315 this season, with a team-best eight doubles.
• Gutknecht led the Spartans offensively at Rutgers, going 7-for-14 at the plate with five RBI. Stephanie Sanders hit .429 and Kujawa was right behind with a 5-for-12 performance (.417). They each accounted for a homer as well - along with freshman Lea Foerster and Ellie Stoffer.
• The Spartans are back at Secchia Stadium this weekend for a three-game series vs. Ohio State. First pitch on Friday is at 4 p.m., and the Saturday and Sunday games are both 1 p.m. starts.
