Spartans Drop 3-2 Decision in Nightcap

Friday, March 30

Secchia Stadium

4:00 PM

Michigan State University

13-17, 1-4

Indiana

12-21, 5-0

Indiana

Michigan State

3/30/2018 12:00:00 AM | Softball

Box Score

March 30, 2018

Box Score PDF Box: Indiana 3, MSU 2

SPARTAN SYNOPSIS

A second straight strong pitching performance wasn't enough for MSU on Friday, as it fell 3-2 in the nightcap of a doubleheader against visiting Indiana.

The Spartans, who fell by an identical 3-2 score in game one of the doubleheader, fell to 13-17 with the loss, and 1-4 in the Big Ten. Indiana won its sixth straight contest and improved to 5-0 in Conference play, and is 12-21.

Bridgette Rainey, who was honored before the game with her Senior Day, had a good outing -- she struck out eight and surrendered just six hits, walking five.

Lea Foerster tied her career-best with four hits on the day, including solo homers in the first and seventh innings in addition to a pair of singles. Foerster had the fourth four-hit outing of her career and her first since April 30, 2017 at Rutgers. It was also her second career two-homer game, the other coming on March 20, 2016 vs. Western Illinois.

Emily Goodin went six innings before being replaced by Josie Wood, but re-entered in the seventh with one out and one on after Foerster had brought MSU within a run with her second home run of the day. She got out the only two batters she faced, stranding the tying run on first base.

Three of IU's six base hits came in the third inning when it plated all three of its runs, with the others coming in the fourth and a pair in the top of the seventh.

MSU stranded two runners in both the third and sixth innings and left the bases loaded in the fifth. MSU stranded nine runners in the nightcap after 10 left on the bases in the first game.

The teams will play the series finale on Saturday at 1 pm.

TOP PERFORMERS

Lea Foerster hit her fourth and fifth homer of the season and added a pair of singles to give her multiple hits in each end of the doubleheader.

Ebonee Echols was 2-for-4.

Bridgette Rainey struck out eight and scattered six hits in her complete-game effort, her sixth of the season.

QUOTABLE
"We were right there in both games -- the tying run was on base in the seventh inning in the second game. We pitched well enough to win both games but didn't capitalize when we had runners on base. We're still looking for that consistency of producing offense and strong pitching performances."

Head Coach Jacquie Joseph

STATS AND STORYLINES

In the home half of the first inning, Lea Foerster led off the game with a homer to dead center for her fourth home run of the season.

Rainey kept the Hoosiers off the scoreboard through the first three innings, not allowing a hit and striking out four.

MSU got something going in the bottom of the fourth, as Foerster led off with a single, moved to second on a ground ball out, and then to third on a single by Kaitlyn Eveland. Eveland stole second, but both runners were stranded.

The Hoosiers got on the scoreboard in the top of the fifth. Taylor Lambert led off the inning with a single, and Gabbi Jenkins reached on a Spartan error on a sac bunt. Back-to-back singles by Rebecca Blitz and Maddie Westmoreland brought home three runs, all without an out. Rainey got the next two outs on a popped-up bunt attempt that she handled herself and a ground ball to third, then struck out Rachael O'Malley for the third out of the inning.

In the home half of the fifth, the Spartans rallied for base hits from Foerster and Echols with two outs on the board, and then pitcher Emily Goodin walked Kaitlyn Eveland to load the bases. Goodin worked a full count on Laney Joyner before getting her to go down swinging.

The Hoosiers made a pitching change in the bottom of the sixth inning when Josie Wood came on in relief of Goodin after she gave up a leadoff single to McKenzie Long.

As she did in the first inning, Foerster led off the seventh with a home run to dead center to cut the Hoosier lead to 3-2. Ebonee Echols followed with a single to put the tying run on base, but Emily Goodin re-entered the game and shut down MSU's hope of extra innings or a walk-off win.