MSU Heads To Ohio For Final Non-Conference Tournament

Dates	March 16-17, 2019
Location	Oxford, Ohio; Miami Softball Stadium Game Day Information/Directions
Full Tournament Schedule	MiamiRedhawks.com
Tournament Schedule (MSU only)
*Saturday*	vs. Dayton, 11 am Live Stats Webstream (Facebook Live)
	at Miami, 4 pm Live Stats Webstream (Facebook Live)
Sunday	vs. Austin Peay, 12 Noon Live Stats Webstream (Facebook Live)
	vs. Dayton, 2:30 pm Live Stats Webstream (Facebook Live)
Game Notes	Michigan State \| Dayton \| Miami \| A ustin Peay
MSU Softball Social Media	Facebook \| Twitter \| Instagram

THE WEEK AHEAD
• Michigan State wraps its non-conference tournament schedule with four games at the Miami (Ohio) Invitational. The Spartans will play Dayton (twice), Austin Peay, and host Miami.

LOGISTICS
• Links for live statistics can be found on MSUSpartans.com on the Spartan schedule page.

• MSU's games will have a webstream via Facebook Live. Links for all four can be found on the softball schedule page of MSUSpartans.com.

• Spartan Sports Network continues its coverage of Spartan softball in 2019, and begins its coverage of MSU when Big Ten play begins on March 22 vs. Penn State. SSN will provide a live broadcast from every game, home and away, for the remainder of the season. Matt Tjapkes is back for his fifth season on the call.

THE MATCHUPS
• MSU takes on Dayton in the first and final games of the tournament. The Flyers are 8-10 on the season, with four of their losses coming at the Colorado State Classic last weekend. The Flyers also split a midweek doubleheader at Eastern Kentucky on Wednesday. MSU and Dayton have met twice previously, splitting a doubleheader in 2003 on the Flyers' home field - MSU rebounded from a 1-0 loss in the first game to post a 3-0 win in the nightcap.

• MSU and Austin Peay have met just once previously, a 1-0 Spartan victory on March 31, 1990. The Governors are 12-11 overall on the year, but have lost three of their last four coming into the weekend.

• Miami and Michigan State will meet for the 12th time in the program's histories on Saturday, with the Spartans holding a 10-1 overall record in the series. The last time the teams met was March 20, 2010, a 3-1 Red Hawk victory (their first in the all-time meetings).

• Miami assistant coach Stephanie Sanders is a four-year Spartan letterwinner, graduating in 2015. During her senior season, Sanders recorded career-highs in batting average (.288), at bats (153), runs (25), hits (44), RBI (32), doubles (7) and home runs (9).



TEAM NOTES
• The Spartans entered the 2019 campaign with five returning starters after losing six seniors to graduation at the conclusion of 2018. MSU carries 21 on its roster, including five returning starters: seniors 3B Kaitlyn Eveland and LF Ebonee Echols, junior Melanie Baccay, and sophomores RF Katie Quinlan and SS Caitie Ladd.

• Michigan State went 2-3 last weekend at the Auburn War Eagle Classic. The Spartans fell twice to the host Tigers (0-5, 2-3) and once to Louisville, (1-14), but downed Mercer by two identical 6-5 scores.

• MSU's schedule has been challenging, with eight games thus far vs. power-five opponents. The Spartan schedule has an overall rank of 46th nationally, which includes three games vs. non-conference top-25 opponents (No. 5 Alabama (L, 2-1) and two vs No. 19 Auburn, (L, 5-0, L, 3-2), all on the road. Five of MSU's eight Big Ten conference series come against ranked opponents: No. 19 Indiana, No. 21 Minnesota, No. 25 Michigan, RV Northwestern, and RV Ohio State.

• All 17 field players have had at least one plate appearance this season, 15 have started at least one game, and all four pitchers have seen action.

• The Spartans have drawn a total of 82 walks this season, good for the third-most in the Big Ten behind Northwestern (93) and Purdue (86).

• While MSU's team on-base percentage (.362) ranks eighth, the Spartans are also tied for seventh in triples (5), eighth in homers (15), and ninth in RBI (88).

• MSU is 21-for-26 on stolen base attempts, and went the first 10 games of the season without a runner being caught stealing. MSU's 21 stolen bases ranks eighth in the Big Ten. Indiana has 70, nearly twice that of second-place Rutgers (36).

• MSU's 45 walks allowed by its pitching staff this season is the fifth-fewest in the Conference. MSU's seven hit batters is also the second-lowest in the league; four teams have each hit six.

• Michigan State head coach Jacquie Joseph is in her 26th season at the helm of the Spartan softball program, and is the longest-tenured coach in program history, along with being the second-longest-tenured head coach in MSU's athletics department. She earned her 700th victory as the Spartan mentor on March 8 vs. Mercer.

• Joseph is the third-longest tenured head coach in the Big Ten Conference, behind Carol Hutchins (Michigan, 35th season) and Rhonda Revelle (Nebraska, 27th.)

• Joseph's staff consists of pitching coach Ben Sorden, hitting coach Corrie Hill, and volunteer Bruce Lenington. Sorden begins his second season with the Spartan pitchers, while Hill and Lenington joined the staff in the fall of 2018.

PLAYER NOTES - PITCHERS
• MSU's returning pitchers threw just 66.1 of 336 innings a year ago. The staff makeup is intriguing, however, as it features junior Jordan Watson, sophomore McKenna Gregory, redshirt freshman Leah Shipp, and JUCO transfer sophomore Alli Walker.

• Gregory earned a spot on the All-Tournament Team at the Crimson Classic during the first weekend of Spring Break, and has led the staff in IP over the last three weekends. The sophomore appeared in all five games at the War Eagle Classic, throwing 10.2 innings and striking out seven.

• All 15 of Gregory's appearances this season have come in relief. She leads the league in relief appearances and is tied for seventh appearances overall. She has also gunned down four runners trying to steal, which is tied for sixth in the B1G.

• Jordan Watson made four appearances in the five games at Auburn, throwing a combined 10.1 innings. She took a pair of losses (both to No. 19 Auburn) in three starts. Her four innings vs. the Tigers on March 9 was her longest since a five-inning stint vs. Boston College on Feb. 15.

• Walker made two starts at Auburn (9.1 innings) earned both wins vs. Mercer. She surrendered just nine base hits and surrendered just six runs (four earned) for a 3.00 ERA. She threw 5.1 no-hit innings in the second game against Mercer, but five MSU errors allowed the Bears to get back into the game in the sixth and seventh innings.

• Walker lowered her season ERA to 3.97, and she owns a 4-4 overall record in a staff-best 47.2 innings. She is tied for seventh in the B1G in appearances (15), 15th in innings pitched, and is tied for ninth with 10 starts.

• Leah Shipp did not pitch in the weekend at Alabama and threw just two-thirds of an inning at Auburn, without allowing a base hit and walking one. She has a 5.54 ERA in 24.0 innings, striking out 10 and walking six.

PLAYER NOTES - FIELD PLAYERS
• While five starters return to the 2019 lineup, the Spartans are still a youthful bunch with just two seniors among those five: LF Ebonee Echols and 3B Kaitlyn Eveland.

• Both Eveland and Ebonee Echols are among MSU's top-10 all-time in several career categories. Eveland ranks third with a .346 career batting average, behind school recordholder Patti Raduenz (.372, 1993-96) and 2018 graduate Lea Foerster (.368, 2015-18); Echols ranks 11th (.322). The duo ranks eighth (Echols, 109) and 10th (Eveland, 106) on the all-time RBI list in the Spartan annals.

• Ebonee Echols is MSU's and the Big Ten recordholder with 24 career triples. She also shares the Big Ten single-season record of 11, set in 2017.

• Ebonee Echols has amassed 174 base hits in her career, good for 20th on MSU's all-time list, ranks fifth with 120 career runs scored, eighth in extra-base hits (63) and stolen bases (37).

• Ebonee Echols owns a .351 batting average on the season, is second on the team in RBI (15) and ranks 13th in the Big Ten rankings in slugging percentage (.632). She also shares the most multiple-RBI games (4) of any player on the team in 2019.

• Eveland now ranks seventh all-time at MSU in walks (78). She drew a team-best three walks over the weekend at Auburn, and with 16 this season, she ranks in a tie for second in the Big Ten. Overall on the year, she is hitting .333 with a 20 base hits, three homers, nine RBI and is a perfect 5-for-5 on stolen bases.

• Eveland is the only player to appear in all 22 games this season for the Spartans, and has started all 22 (21 at 3B, one at DP). Katie Quinlan has played and started 21, and Caitie Ladd has played 21, starting 20.

• Eveland shares the team lead in multiple-hit games (6), owns the longest reached base streak (seven games), and the second-longest overall streak of the season (14 games). Charla Echols holds that mark with 17 straight games.

• Center fielder Katie Quinlan hit .500 (5-for-10) with a double in the five games at Auburn and on the year is batting a team-best .355and leads the team with 22 base hits. She has walked eight times and is 8-for-10 on stolen bases; she ranks fifth in the league in both steals and steal attempts.

• Mackenzie Meech is the Spartan team leader in RBI (16), which is good for 13th in the Big Ten rankings. On the season, she is batting .241, with two doubles, three homers, and has added three walks. She has seen time both at 1B and in RF,.

• Charla Echols is third on the team with a .345 batting average and is also ranked among league leaders in doubles (7, sixth) and runners caught stealing (5, third).

• Sophomore Laney Joyner continues to improve her offensive approach and it led to a .333 average (7-for-21) over the nine games of spring break. In those games, she has a pair of doubles, thre RBI, and three walks. She has upped her season batting average to .233, and this spring has had her first career doubles, triple, and home run.

• Sophomore shortstop Caitie Ladd has had a slow start to the season but is still a dangerous offensive presence. She has five doubles, two triples, and two home runs on the year, and is third on the team in RBI (12). Ladd is tied for fourth in the B1G in triples and is tied for second with two sac flies.

• Senior Lexi White is batting .244 on the year with a double, a home run, and three RBI. She has started 14 of her 17 games at DP.

• Abby Joseph saw action in all five games at Auburn, earning a start against Louisville. She is hitting .154 and has appeared in 19 of 22 games.

• Kelly Zackrison is versatile, able to play in any outfield position and has provided key pinch hits off the bench. She has appeared in 11 games this season (three starts) and has a double in 18 plate appearances.

• Melanie Baccay is a two-year starter in the middle infield and has started the last seven games at 1B after nine starts at 2B early in the season. She boasts a .966 fielding percentage with just three errors in 87 chances, and is hitting .171 with seven walks.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Melanie Baccay

Charla Echols

Ebonee Echols

Kaitlyn Eveland

Lea Foerster

McKenna Gregory

Abby Joseph

Laney Joyner

Caitie Ladd

Katie Quinlan

Leah Shipp

Alli Walker

Jordan Watson

Lexi White

Kelly Zackrison