No. 2 Michigan Nips Spartans, 3-0

Wednesday, April 13

East Lansing, Mich.

4:30 PM

Michigan State University

20-20, 2-8

Michigan

30-4, 8-2

Michigan

Michigan State

4/13/2016 12:00:00 AM | Softball

Box Score

April 13, 2016

Box Score

SPARTAN SYNOPSIS

Michigan State fell to No. 2 Michigan, 3-0, on Wednesday afternoon at Secchia Stadium. All the offense for the visiting Wolverines came in the fifth inning, where they came up with three runs on four hits. The Spartans fall to 20-20 overall, and Michigan improves to 30-4.

A sellout crowd of 1,203 took in the midweek matinee between in-state rivals, and were treated to an early pitchers duel, as the teams were scoreless through four innings. The Wolverines, limited to just one hit through the first four frames, finally broke through in the top of the fifth, stringing together four hits and capitalizing on one Spartan error and a wild pitch to put three runs on the board.

The Spartans stranded six runners on the day, including two in the sixth inning when Michigan hurler Megan Betsa issued back-to-back two-out walks.

The Spartans host Indiana for a three-game series at Secchia Stadium this weekend. Game one of the series is 4 p.m. Friday.

TOP PERFORMERS

Celeste Wood had a first-inning standup double, and finished 1-for-3.
Shanin Thomas went 1-for-3, reaching on a third-innings single.
MSU used three pitchers; Kristina Zalewski allowed just one hit in the first four innings, but took the loss when she left in the top of the fifth with the bases loaded and none out. Bridgette Rainey allowed one run, striking out one and walking one in two innings of work, and Dani Goranson faced just four batters in the seventh and allowed one hit.

Quotable

"We don't believe in moral victories, but what you can do is take lessons away from your failures. We didn't win today, but our pitchers each had a good outing against some of the most dangerous hitters in the country. We held them to a single hit in the first four innings, and then got into a little trouble in the fifth - but it wasn't a snowball effect. We gathered our composure and got out of the inning. Megan Betsa had 13 strikeouts today, when we had struck out just 22 times in our previous Big Ten games this season. She's a tremendous pitcher, and that's what she can do to you - so there's plenty of lessons we can learn from that as well. What I do want is our team to take some confidence into our series with Indiana this weekend and approach every at-bat, every batter, every defensive situation with an aggressive mentality."

Head coach Jacquie Joseph

STATS AND STORYLINES

The teams were scoreless through four innings, as Zalewski limited the Wolverines to just one hit; Betsa totalled eight strikeouts, but allowed a standup double to Celeste Wood in the first and a single up the middle to Shanin Thomas in the second.

The Wolverines put their first two batters on in the top of the fifth. Montemarano laced a first-pitch single up the middle, and Kellie Christner laid down a bunt single that put runners on first and second. Amanda Vargas singled to right, but Montemarano didn't test the arm of Wood in right and held up at third. MSU brought on Bridgette Rainey to pitch, and got Aidan Falk to line out to center on the first pitch. Abby Ramirez reached on a fielder's choice, nabbing Vargas at second for the second out as Montemarano crossed the plate for a 1-0 lead. Rainey walked Sierra Lawrence to load the bases, and Sierra Romero reached on an error to bring home the second run of the inning. A wild pitch brought home the third run of the frame, unearned.

The Spartans got back-to-back two-out walks in the bottom of the sixth, the first inning that they had more than one baserunner. They couldn't capitalize, however, as a groundout ended the inning.

Michigan pitcher Megan Betsa struck out 13 Spartan batters on the day. MSU entered the game with just 22 strikeouts in nine previous Big Ten games, the fewest among Conference teams.