Michigan State University
12-4
No. 16 Georgia
19-3
Early Georgia Lead Proves Insurmountable vs. No. 16 Bulldogs
3/5/2017 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Box Score | PDF Box : UGA 8, MSU 0 (5) 
SPARTAN SYNOPSIS
MIchigan State dropped a five-inning decision to No. 16 Georgia on Sunday. After a battle that went down to the very last at-bat on Saturday evening, the Sunday rematch with the Bulldogs was decided in the early innings as the hosts built a 6-0 lead after two innings and finished off the win in five frames.
Things looked promising for the Spartans early, as they loaded the bases in the first inning against starter Brittany Gray. Gray got out of the inning without allowing a run, and settled in to post a shutout of the Spartan offense.
Celeste Wood had a single and a double, but those would be the lone hits for the Spartans, who fall to 12-4 on the season.. Cortni and Sydni Emmanuel each had two hits for the homestanding Bulldogs, who benefitted from three Spartan errors on the afternoon. MSU also had a pair of wild pitches.
Michigan State has an off-day on Monday, then has back-to-back midweek tilts at Georgia State (Tuesday) and Georgia Tech (Wednesday)
TOP PERFORMERS
- Celeste Wood had both Spartan hits, and also tossed two innings of relief in the circle. She allowed two runs on three hits, with one strikeout and one walk. .
- Bridgette Rainey took the loss, getting the start and allowing six runs to fall to 5-3 on the year. Two of her three losses on the year are to the Bulldogs. .
QUOTABLE:
"We didn't have a particularly sharp start to the day in game one, and this game got away from us early. This is a quality Georgia team that will take advantage of every small error, and the mistakes we made led to runs that allowed this one to get out of hand quickly. We will have a day to regroup mentally and physically before we have a pair of midweek games, and I would like to see us be much sharper."
- Head Coach Jacquie Joseph
STATS AND STORYLINES
- Michigan State loaded the bases in the top of the first, as Lea Foerster was hit by a pitch and moved to second on a one-out single by Wood. Kelcey Carrasco grounded out to move both runners into scoring position, and Sarah Gutknecht walked to load the bases. Gray got Echols to ground out to end the Spartan threat.
- A leadoff walk to Cortni Emmanuel quickly became a 1-0 deficit for the Spartans, as she stole second and came home on a single by Sydni Emmanuel. A sac bunt by Burton moved her to second, and then she came home on a Alyssa DiCarlo single through the left side to make it 2-0 in favor of the home team.
- Three walks, two wild pitches, and a Spartan error helped lead to a four-run second inning for the Bulldogs, coming on just two base hits (a single by Chelsi Emanuel and a double by Lacey Sumerlin) that made it 6-0.
- MSU went to Wood in the circle for the third. After a leadoff strikeout of Febrey, a pair of errors helped Georgia push two more across the plate to create an insurmountable 8-0 lead in the bottom of the third.
- Wood laced a double to right center in the third, and MSU got Echols to third in the fourth inning - but neither could get across the plate to create a run for the Spartans. MSU went down in order in the fifth to end the game.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Gray (12-1)
L: Rainey, Bridgette (5-3)
Batting:
2B: Wood, Celeste 1
Base Running:
HBP: Foerster, Lea 1
Batting:
2B: Sumerlin 1
RBI: Emanuel, C. 1 ; Emanuel, S. 2 ; DiCarlo 1 ; Sumerlin 2
SH: Burton 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Emanuel, C. 2 ; Emanuel, S. 1 ; Burton 1 ; DiCarlo 1 ; Milz 2 ; Bryan 1
SB: Emanuel, C. 3 ; Burton 1 ; Holliday 1 ; Bryan 1
