Michigan State University
28-21, 0
Indiana
23-29, 0
Spartans Rebound With 6-5 Win At Indiana
5/7/2017 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Box Score | PDF Box : MSU 6, IU 5 
SPARTAN SYNOPSIS
Michigan State held off a furious late-game rally by Indiana to hold on for a 6-5 win in the middle game of the three-game series on Sunday. The Spartans are now 27-21 overall, 10-12 in Big Ten play, while IU is 23-29, 9-13 in Conference games.
Kristina Zalewski went the distance for MSU, scattering 10 hits and allowing five runs, striking out 10 to tie her career best, originally set as a sophomore against Ole Miss (March 1, 2015).
The Spartan bats came to life after a slow day on Saturday, delivering 14 base hits - including four doubles and a home run. However, MSU left the bases loaded in the fifth and stranded 10 runners overall. MSU took a 6-0 lead after three innings, but the Hoosiers scored three in the bottom of the third and one each in the fifth and seventh innings to chip away at the Spartan lead.
The 7-8-9 hitters for the Spartans (Lindsey Besson, Lexi White, and Melanie Baccay) combined for eight of MSU's 14 hits - White and Baccay each had three base knocks, one of White's a two-run homer in the third inning. Kaitlyn Eveland tied her career high with a pair of doubles which accounted for her two RBI.
The teams play game three on Monday at 1 pm.
TOP PERFORMERS
- Kaitlyn Eveland had two doubles and two RBI, .
- Lexi White and Melanie Baccay each had three hits, with White smacking a two-run homer
- Kristina Zalewski tied her career best with 10 strikeouts, scattering eight hits
QUOTABLE
" We came out really well and did what we need to do today. We let our foot off the gas after taking the lead, and Indiana took advantage, but we were able to hold on. Its not something you can do and expect to win a lot of ball games. I'm disappointed in our defensive play in the outfield and that's something that we absolutely need to shore up because we're giving up extra bases. Tomorrow is a big day - there's a lot on the line for both teams, so we're going to need to get things firing on all cylenders ."
-- Head Coach Jacquie Joseph
STATS AND STORYLINES
- Shut out on Saturday, MSU wasted no time getting on the scoreboard, getting doubles from McKenzie Long and Kaitlyn Eveland to open up a 1-0 lead. The Hoosiers led off the bottom of the frame with two straight singles, but Kristina Zalewski struck out the next three batters to keep the home team off the scoreboard.
- After stranding two runners in the second, MSU was more efficient in the third, as singles by Long and Kelcey Carrasco followed by a double by Eveland doubled the MSU lead. After an RBI single by Ebonee Echols that made it 3-0 MSU, Indiana made a pitching change and went to Emily Goodin. A double steal allowed Echols to move to third as Eveland waas caught in a rundown for the first out of the inning. After Goodin retired Gutknecht on a popup, Besson stepped in and delivered her second base hit of the day, a double down the left field line that scored Echols to make it 4-0. A Lexi White homer tacked on two more runs to end the inning with a 6-0 lead.
- IU got in on the offensive outbursts in the bottom of the third, rallying for three runs with two outs. Rebecca Blitz started it off with a double, and she came home on a Taylor Uden single. After Caramia Tsirigos walked, Rachel O'Malley tripled to cut the Spartan lead in half. Zalewski got Lacefield to line out for the third out of the inning, but not before the Hoosiers made it a 6-3 game.
- A two-out RBI single in the bottom of the fifth by Tsirigos cut the Spartan lead down to 6-4, but Zalewski worked out of a bases-loaded jam to keep it a two-run game.
- In front of its home crowd on senior day, the determined Hoosiers staged a rally in the bottom of the seventh inning, all with two outs. Zalewski got the first two outs - a ground ball by Blitz and a strikeout by Uden - before the senior Tsirigos doubled through the left side to keep the inning alive. O'Malley delivered a single to leave runners at the corners, and Lacefield singled to left - the third straight hit of the inning - to bring home Tsirigos and trim the MSU lead to 6-5. Zalewski retired Mathewson on a fielder's choice to end the game.
- Kelcey Carrasco is the owner of the team's longest hitting streak, extended to nine games with her 1-for-4 performance.
- Lexi White's homer in the third was her fifth homer of the season - nearly one-third of her 16 hits on the year. Her three-hit performance on the day was a career best, as is her five homers.
- Melanie Baccay established a new career high with three hits.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Zalewski, Kristina (6-6)
L: Emily Kirk (2-7)
Batting:
2B: Long, McKenzie 1 ; Eveland, Kaitlyn 2 ; Besson, Lindsey 1
HR: White, Lexi 1
RBI: Eveland, Kaitlyn 2 ; Echols, Ebonee 1 ; Besson, Lindsey 1 ; White, Lexi 2
SH: Baccay, Melanie 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Long, McKenzie 2 ; Carrasco, Kelcey 1 ; Echols, Ebonee 1 ; Besson, Lindsey 1 ; White, Lexi 1
SB: Echols, Ebonee 1
HBP: Foerster, Lea 1
Batting:
2B: Rebecca Blitz 1 ; CaraMia Tsirigos 1
3B: Rachel O'Malley 1
RBI: Taylor Uden 1 ; CaraMia Tsirigos 1 ; Rachel O'Malley 2 ; Katie Lacefield 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Gabbi Jenkins 1 ; Rebecca Blitz 1 ; Taylor Uden 1 ; CaraMia Tsirigos 2
SB: Gabbi Jenkins 2 ; Rebecca Blitz 1
HBP: Rachel O'Malley 1
