Friday, March 8
Auburn, Ala.
8 PM ET / 7 PM CT
Michigan State University
6-14, 0
6
vs
5
Mercer
10-12, 0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
Michigan State
1
1
1
0
0
3
0
6
12
1
Mercer
0
0
5
0
0
0
0
5
12
1
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Walker, Alli (3-3)
L: Bailey Pattison (4-5)
Batting:
2B: Ladd, Caitie 1 ; Quinlan, Katie 1
HR: Echols, Ebonee 1 ; Ladd, Caitie 1 ; Eveland, Kaitlyn 1
RBI: Echols, Charla 1 ; Echols, Ebonee 1 ; Ladd, Caitie 1 ; Eveland, Kaitlyn 1 ; Bartz, Joanna 1 ; Quinlan, Katie 1
SH: Meech, Mackenzie 1 ; White, Lexi 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Echols, Ebonee 1 ; Ladd, Caitie 1 ; Eveland, Kaitlyn 2 ; Joyner, Laney 1 ; Quinlan, Katie 1
Batting:
2B: Abby Walsh 1 ; Kenlie Harvey 1 ; Amanda Schwartz 1
RBI: Megan Lane 1 ; Danielle Castleberry 1 ; Abby Walsh 1 ; Kenlie Harvey 2
SF: Abby Walsh 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Micayla Rood 1 ; Megan Lane 1 ; Danielle Castleberry 1 ; Allie Jones 1 ; Amanda Schwartz 1
SB: Danielle Castleberry 1 ; Shaila Warren 1
CS: Briana Rodriguez 1
Game Leaders
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
AB
4
R
2
H
2
RBI
1
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
3B/C
/ Softball
C/3B
/ SoftballOF
/ Softball3B
/ Softball
RHP
/ SoftballSS/UTL
/ SoftballSS/UTL
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
RHP
/ Softball
DP
/ Softball
MSU Rallies for Victory Over Mercer
3/8/2019 10:50:00 PM | Softball
Joseph earns 700th victory as the Spartan head coach
SPARTAN SYNOPSISÂ Â Â
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Michigan State earned a 6-5 come-from-behind victory over Mercer on Friday, which stood as the 700th win for Spartan head coach Jacquie Joseph as the MSU head coach.Â
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Joseph, who has more than 800 victories overall in her career and is a member of the NFCA Hall of Fame, is in her 26th season in the Spartan dugout.Â
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The Spartans got on the board early, as MSU got solo homers in each of the first three innings.  Caitie Ladd, Kaitlyn Eveland, and Ebonee Echols each went yard.Â
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Meanwhile, the Bears (10-12) exploded for a five-run inning in the bottom of the third to turn a 3-0 deficit into a 5-3 lead on six base hits. Mercer threatened a big inning again in the fifth as it loaded the bases with no outs, but Alli Walker got a lineout, strikeout, and fielder's choice to get out of the inning with no damage; she then shut down the Bears in the final two innings to put her team in a position to win.Â
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MSU, (6-14), which had used the big blasts to score in the early innings, went to small ball to rally for three runs in the top of the sixth. The Spartans had a trio of singles, a double by Katie Quinlan, and a sac bunt by Lexi White to help fuel the rally, which allowed the Green & White to reclaim the lead.Â
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Walker threw the final three innings to earn the win and even her record at 3-3. She allowed just two hits, striking out one and walking one. Jordan Watson started the game and went 2.1 innings, surrendering four base hits and three earned runs. McKenna Gregory came on in relief and went 1.2 innings and gave up two runs before Walker finished up.
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Micayla Rood, Danielle Castleberry, and Abby Walsh all had two base hits for the Bears, and Bailey Pattison went the distance in the circle, striking out two and allowing 12 base hits.Â
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MSU will play Mercer at 7 pm CT on Friday to wrap up Friday action, Â then take on Auburn (4:30 pm CT) and Mercer (7 pm CT) on Saturday.Â
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  QUOTABLEÂ
"We had a very, very difficult start to the day with everyone more than a little out of sync. We took the break between games to re-focus and get our minds right and obviously were much improved in the nightcap. We got some big swings from players who really wanted to break out offensively, and after we fell behind we were able to play small-ball to retake the lead. Some days with a young team you take steps backward after you've made progress, and that's what we had to work through this morning. The most important thing was how we responded tonight against Mercer." Â
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 TOP PERFORMERSÂ
•  Alli Walker tossed three innings of two-hit relief, keeping MSU in the game to allow for the sixth inning rally.Â
•  Caitie Ladd went 2-for-4 with a double and a home run, her second of the season.Â
•  Ebonee Echols and Katie Quinlan each went 2-for-3, with Echols knocking a home run and Quinlan a double.Â
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STATS AND STORYLINESÂ
•  The Spartans got on board in the top of the first when  Caitie Ladd hit a two-out solo homer over the wall in left field. It was her second homer of the season.Â
•  Kaitlyn Eveland led off the second with a homer to the gap in right center to push the Spartan lead to 2-0. Laney Joyner and Katie Quinlan both singled to left to put runners at the corners, but they were stranded.Â
•  Ebonee Echols gave the Spartans a third home run of the game when she led off the third with a shot into left, her third of the season.Â
•  Mercer got on the board in the bottom of the third. Amanda Schwartz led off the inning with a double, and Micayla Rood followed with a one-out single. Megan Lane stepped in and singled to bring home Schwartz. That spelled the end of Watson's outing, and MSU brought on McKenna Gregory. A single by Danielle Castlebury brought around another run to trim MSU's lead to 3-2. Allie Jones worked a walk to load the bases, and a sac fly by Abby Walsh tied the game at 3-3. A double by Kenlie Harvey followed, bringing home two runs for a 5-3 lead.Â
•  Mercer started off the home half of the fifth with consecutive singles, which led to a pitching change. Alli Walker took the circle after Gregory went 1.2 innings and allowed two runs, giving up six base hits and walking one. The first batter she faced was Harvey, who doubled in two runs in the third; Harvey walked to load the bases with no outs for Shaila Warren. Warren lined out to short, Walker struck out Schwartz, and Tori Ash grounded into a fielder's choice to get the Spartans out of the inning with no damage. Â
•  Eveland singled through the left side to lead off the sixth, and Joyner legged out an infield hit to put a pair of runners on base. Lexi White and Joanna Bartz each put down ground balls to move the runners, allowing Eveland to score easily. Quinlan stepped in and doubled to left, scoring Joyner with the tying run, and Charla Echols singled up the middle to bring Quinlan around to reclaim the lead at 6-5.  Â
•  A leadoff double for Caitie Ladd in the top of the seventh gave MSU a chance at some insurance on the scoreboard. Mackenzie Meech laid down a sac bunt to move Ladd to third, Â
•  Abby Walsh led off the bottom of the seventh with a double to center, but Kenlie Harvey lined out to Caitie Ladd, who turned the DP by stepping on second to get Walsh. Walker got the third out of the inning to secure the win.Â
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Michigan State earned a 6-5 come-from-behind victory over Mercer on Friday, which stood as the 700th win for Spartan head coach Jacquie Joseph as the MSU head coach.Â
Â
Joseph, who has more than 800 victories overall in her career and is a member of the NFCA Hall of Fame, is in her 26th season in the Spartan dugout.Â
Â
The Spartans got on the board early, as MSU got solo homers in each of the first three innings.  Caitie Ladd, Kaitlyn Eveland, and Ebonee Echols each went yard.Â
Â
Meanwhile, the Bears (10-12) exploded for a five-run inning in the bottom of the third to turn a 3-0 deficit into a 5-3 lead on six base hits. Mercer threatened a big inning again in the fifth as it loaded the bases with no outs, but Alli Walker got a lineout, strikeout, and fielder's choice to get out of the inning with no damage; she then shut down the Bears in the final two innings to put her team in a position to win.Â
Â
MSU, (6-14), which had used the big blasts to score in the early innings, went to small ball to rally for three runs in the top of the sixth. The Spartans had a trio of singles, a double by Katie Quinlan, and a sac bunt by Lexi White to help fuel the rally, which allowed the Green & White to reclaim the lead.Â
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Walker threw the final three innings to earn the win and even her record at 3-3. She allowed just two hits, striking out one and walking one. Jordan Watson started the game and went 2.1 innings, surrendering four base hits and three earned runs. McKenna Gregory came on in relief and went 1.2 innings and gave up two runs before Walker finished up.
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Micayla Rood, Danielle Castleberry, and Abby Walsh all had two base hits for the Bears, and Bailey Pattison went the distance in the circle, striking out two and allowing 12 base hits.Â
Â
MSU will play Mercer at 7 pm CT on Friday to wrap up Friday action, Â then take on Auburn (4:30 pm CT) and Mercer (7 pm CT) on Saturday.Â
Â
  QUOTABLEÂ
"We had a very, very difficult start to the day with everyone more than a little out of sync. We took the break between games to re-focus and get our minds right and obviously were much improved in the nightcap. We got some big swings from players who really wanted to break out offensively, and after we fell behind we were able to play small-ball to retake the lead. Some days with a young team you take steps backward after you've made progress, and that's what we had to work through this morning. The most important thing was how we responded tonight against Mercer." Â
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- Head Coach Jacquie Joseph
 TOP PERFORMERSÂ
•  Alli Walker tossed three innings of two-hit relief, keeping MSU in the game to allow for the sixth inning rally.Â
•  Caitie Ladd went 2-for-4 with a double and a home run, her second of the season.Â
•  Ebonee Echols and Katie Quinlan each went 2-for-3, with Echols knocking a home run and Quinlan a double.Â
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STATS AND STORYLINESÂ
•  The Spartans got on board in the top of the first when  Caitie Ladd hit a two-out solo homer over the wall in left field. It was her second homer of the season.Â
•  Kaitlyn Eveland led off the second with a homer to the gap in right center to push the Spartan lead to 2-0. Laney Joyner and Katie Quinlan both singled to left to put runners at the corners, but they were stranded.Â
•  Ebonee Echols gave the Spartans a third home run of the game when she led off the third with a shot into left, her third of the season.Â
•  Mercer got on the board in the bottom of the third. Amanda Schwartz led off the inning with a double, and Micayla Rood followed with a one-out single. Megan Lane stepped in and singled to bring home Schwartz. That spelled the end of Watson's outing, and MSU brought on McKenna Gregory. A single by Danielle Castlebury brought around another run to trim MSU's lead to 3-2. Allie Jones worked a walk to load the bases, and a sac fly by Abby Walsh tied the game at 3-3. A double by Kenlie Harvey followed, bringing home two runs for a 5-3 lead.Â
•  Mercer started off the home half of the fifth with consecutive singles, which led to a pitching change. Alli Walker took the circle after Gregory went 1.2 innings and allowed two runs, giving up six base hits and walking one. The first batter she faced was Harvey, who doubled in two runs in the third; Harvey walked to load the bases with no outs for Shaila Warren. Warren lined out to short, Walker struck out Schwartz, and Tori Ash grounded into a fielder's choice to get the Spartans out of the inning with no damage. Â
•  Eveland singled through the left side to lead off the sixth, and Joyner legged out an infield hit to put a pair of runners on base. Lexi White and Joanna Bartz each put down ground balls to move the runners, allowing Eveland to score easily. Quinlan stepped in and doubled to left, scoring Joyner with the tying run, and Charla Echols singled up the middle to bring Quinlan around to reclaim the lead at 6-5.  Â
•  A leadoff double for Caitie Ladd in the top of the seventh gave MSU a chance at some insurance on the scoreboard. Mackenzie Meech laid down a sac bunt to move Ladd to third, Â
•  Abby Walsh led off the bottom of the seventh with a double to center, but Kenlie Harvey lined out to Caitie Ladd, who turned the DP by stepping on second to get Walsh. Walker got the third out of the inning to secure the win.Â
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A Road Less Traveled | Spartans All-Access
Thursday, April 17
A Higher Standard | Spartans All-Access
Tuesday, February 11
Spartans All-Access: Jenae Wash
Thursday, April 11
Spartans All-Access: Coach Sharonda McDonald-Kelley
Thursday, April 20