B1G Rivalry Week On Tap for Softball

Spartans (15-24, 3-8 B1G) vs Michigan (29-11, 11-1 B1G) vs. Ohio State (25-14, 9-5 B1G)

Dates	Tuesday April 16 vs. Michigan; April 19-21 vs. Ohio State
Location	East Lansing, Mich.; Secchia Stadium
Tickets	Spartan Ticket Office \| Saturday: Family Four Pack Sunday: Four Seats, Four Treats
Gameday Links
Michigan, Friday, 6 pm	Live Stats Watch: B TN2Go ($) Listen: SpartanSportsNetwork.com TV: BTN
OSU Game One: Friday, 6 pm	Live Stats Watch: B TN2Go ($) Listen: SpartanSportsNetwork.com
OSU Game Two: Saturday, 11 am	Live Stats Watch: BTN2Go ($) Listen: SpartanSportsNetwork.com TV: BTN
OSU Game Three: Sunday, 1 pm	Live Stats Watch: BTN2Go ($) Listen: SpartanSportsNetwork.com
Promotions	Saturday: Ebonee Echols Senior Day, Strike Out Cancer Sunday: Kaitlyn Eveland Senior Day All Games: Kids Run the Bases (postgame) Tuesday, Saturday & Sunday: Post-game Autograph Session
Big Ten Softball	Schedule/Results Standings Statistics
Game Notes	Michigan State \| Michigan \| O hio State
MSU Softball Social Media	Facebook \| Twitter \| Instagram

THE WEEK AHEAD
• Michigan State plays seven of its next eight games here at Secchia Stadium, and begins that stretch with a Tuesday night game vs. archrival Michigan. This weekend, MSU will entertain Ohio State in a three-game Big Ten series.

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

• All of MSU's Big Ten games, will have a webstream via BTN2Go. Links for all games can be found on the softball schedule page of MSUSpartans.com, or on the BTN2GO live events page at www.btn2go.com/schedule.

• Tuesday's game against the Wolverines (6 pm)and Saturday's contest against Ohio State will both air live on Big Ten Network.

• Spartan Sports Network continues its coverage of Spartan softball in 2019. The broadcast of the remainder of MSU's games - both home and away - will be available exclusively at SpartanSportsNetwork.com and on the network's 24/7 app for mobile devices (available on iTunes and Google Play). Matt Tjapkes is back for his fifth season calling all the Spartan softball action.

• The Spartan softball program does not have a traditional "Senior Day" with all of its seniors honored before the final home game of the season. Instead, each senior gets her own "day" where she is honored on the field with her family prior to a home game of her choosing. This weekend, the program has the honor of celebrating two seniors - Saturday, the program will honor Ebonee Echols, and on Sunday, Kaitlyn Eveland.

THE MATCHUPS
• MSU's opponents this week - Michigan and Ohio State - played a three-game Big Ten series last weekend, with Michigan taking the series win, 10-3, 6-2, 1-2.

• Michigan State and Michigan meet for the 121st time on Tuesday, and MSU trails the all-time series by a 29-90 margin. Thirteen of MSU's victories over the Wolverines have come here at the Old College Field complex.

• In the 2018 meetings, The Spartans fell to the Wolverines in a pair of regular-season matchups - a 1-0 loss in Ann Arbor on April 11 and an 8-0 run-rule loss at Secchia Stadium on May 2. MSU, however, earned its second straight win over Michigan in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals, knocking out UM by a 7-0 score. MSU won a 5-4 decision in the 2017 quarterfinals in Ann Arbor, which was the 800th career victory for head coach Jacquie Joseph.

• The Wolverines enter the week in second place in the Big Ten standings with an 11-1 mark in Conference play, the lone loss coming in the series finale against Ohio State last weekend. Michigan stands at 29-11 overall and was No. 21/18 in the NFCA and USA Softball national polls last week.
• Carol Hutchins is in her 35th season as the head coach at Michigan, and is a 1979 graduate of Michigan State and a member of the Spartans' 1976 AIAW National Softball Championship team.

• The Spartans and Ohio State series tips in favor of the Buckeyes by a 71-42 mark. OSU swept the season series in 2018 in Columbus, 10-2, 6-3, 6-5.

• Kelly Kovach Schoenly is in her sixth season as the Buckeye head coach in 2019. The Buckeyes are 25-14 overall, and sit at 9-5 in Big Ten play after dropping two of three to Michigan last weekend.

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 20 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 is coming off a 1-2 week, earning a 16-4 win over Central Michigan before dropping both ends of a Big Ten doubleheader to Minnesota on Sunday.

• Over the last two weeks (seven games), MSU has seen 31 of its 69 base hits go for extra bases - 17 doubles, 12 homers, and two triples. The Spartans have hit .356 in this stretch and also drawn 36 walks.

• The Spartans have drawn a total of 153 walks this season, good for the third most in the Big Ten behind behind Northwestern (166) and Purdue (157).

• On the season, the Spartans are fifth in on-base percentage (.384) among Big Ten schools, and sixth in slugging percentage (.452). The Spartans are eighth in batting average (.283).

• MSU's schedule has been challenging, with eight games throughout the non-conference schedule vs. power-five opponents. The Spartan schedule strength has an overall rank of 45th 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 Top-25 or receiving votes opponents, including a current three-week stretch against the teams that currently occupy the top four spots in the Conference standings.

• MSU has had several players miss games - or long stretches - with injury. No player has appeared in all 39 games - Kaitlyn Eveland has missed just one, starting and playing 38, while Caitie Ladd has played 38 and started 37. Riley Paxson is now done for the season due to a leg injury , and Joanna Bartz is rehabbing from an injury that had limited her role to pinch hitting until the last two weeks.

• MSU is 42-of-51 on stolen base attempts, and went the first 10 games of the season without a runner being caught stealing. MSU's 42 stolen bases has surpassed both its 2017 (35) and 2018 (36) totals. The 2016 team swiped 47 bases.

• MSU's 89 walks allowed by its pitching staff this season is the fifth-fewest in the Conference. MSU's 13 hit batters is also the third-lowest in the league; Penn State and Indiana's staffs have hit just nine.

• The Spartan pitching staff surrendered just nine earned runs in the Maryland series, and issued just eight walks over the three games.

• 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, and she owns 842 wins overall.

• 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.

• Walker ended up taking losses in both games at Minnesota, the first as the starter and the second in a relief role. On the season, she ranks sixth in the Big Ten in appearances (29) and ranks third in starts (23). She leads the pitching staff with a 4.24 ERA in 94.1 innings with 54 strikeouts, tossing two complete games and recording two shutouts.

• McKenna Gregory's 23 relief appearances this season leads the Big Ten - Kylee Lingenfelter of Penn State ranks second with 17. Her 26 appearances overall is tied for 12 in the Big Ten. She is second on the staff in strikeouts (32) and innings pitched (65.1).

• Jordan Watson pitched in relief against Minnesota, allowing one hit in 1.1 relief innings in the second matchup. On the year, she has thrown 48.0 innings, striking out 16 in 19 appearances, including seven starts. She owns a 4.38 ERA.

• Leah Shipp made a relief appearance vs. Minnesota, and earned the midweek win over Central Michigan. She threw 4.1 innings at CMU, her longest outing since the season opener. Hindered by a lingering injury this season, she has made just 15 appearances (38.1 innings), starting seven ballgames.

PLAYER NOTES - FIELD PLAYERS
• While five starters returned 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 Kaitlyn Eveland and Ebonee Echols are among MSU's top-10 all-time in several career categories. Eveland ranks sixth with a .338 career batting average, while Echols ranks ninth (.327). The duo ranks fourth (Echols, 124) and sixth (Eveland, 121) on MSU's all-time RBI list.

• Ebonee Echols is MSU's and the Big Ten record holder with 25 career triples. She also shares the Big Ten single-season record of 11, set in 2017. She has amassed 193 base hits in her career, good for 11th on MSU's all-time list, ranks third with 133 career runs scored, sixth in extra-base hits (70) and seventh in stolen bases (41).

• Ebonee Echols leads the team with 30 RBI (15th, B1G) and ranks second in batting average (.368, 15th), slugging (.632), on-base percentage (.449, 14th), hits (39), and triples (2; T-11th).

• Kaitlyn Eveland ranks third all-time at MSU in career walks (88). Brittney Green (2001-04) is the all-time career leader with 104, with Patti Raduenz (95) in second place. Her 23 homers is seventh all-time at MSU, and is one hit away from joining the top 25 all-time in that category among Spartan players.

• With 26 free passes this season, Kaitlyn Eveland leads the team, ranks fifth in the B1G, and 28th nationally. She has drawn 28 walks in each of the last two seasons, which ranks in a tie for eighth in a single-season at MSU; the school record is held by Patti Raduenz, who had 37 in 1996.

• Charla Echols had two homers vs. Central Michigan, while her sister Ebonee smacked two homers in the finale of the Maryland series just two days prior. That tied the school record for home runs in a game (2) - it had been accomplished earlier in the season by Caitie Ladd (vs. Indiana, March 29). Among current players, Kelly Zackrison (April 28, 2018 vs. Rutgers), Lexi White (May 8, 2017 vs. Indiana) and Kaitlyn Eveland (April 8, 2017) have also accomplished the feat.

• Charla Echols leads the team with a .378 batting average, which is 10th among Big Ten players. She is also seventh among B1G leaders in on-base percentage (.481), and doubles (12). She leads the team in runs scored (30) and hits (42).

• Sophomore shortstop Caitie Ladd has pushed her batting average up to .290, and boasts a team-best .645 slugging percentage. Ladd has already surpassed her freshman year totals in runs (16/28), doubles (7/11), triples (0/3), homers (3/7), and RBI (16/29). Her 21 extra-base hits this season is four shy of a top-10 performance in a single season at MSU.

• Over the last 10 games, Charla Echols and Ladd's offense has led the Spartans. Echols has a .452 average and Ladd .429 in that span, as each has smacked four doubles and three homers in this span, and walked six times. Ladd has 15 RBI in the last 10 and Echols nine.

• Center fielder Katie Quinlan is third on the team with a .321 batting average and is also third in base hits (34), and has four doubles in addition to 12 walks. She has also swiped a team-best 13 stolen bases, which ranks ninth in the Big Ten.

• Melanie Baccay has returned to play second base over the last six games after playing 14 of the previous 16 at first. She is currently hitting .272, contributing two doubles, two triples, two homers, 15 walks, and a career-best 15 RBI.

• Mackenzie Meech ranks third on the team in RBI (24), and is batting .286, with seven doubles and four homers. She has seen time both at 1B and in right field, and was at first in each of the last seven games over two weeks.

• Senior Lexi White is batting .250 on the year with three doubles, a home run, and six RBI. She has started 29 of her 34 games at DP, including the last two vs. Minnesota.

• The Spartans got three pinch hits in the fourth inning of the second game against Minnesota on Sunday. Pinch hitter Laney Joyner and Katie Quinlan reached on consecutive two-out singles, and Joanna Bartz came off the bench to punch a two-run double into right single to give the Spartans back the lead, 4-3. Kelly Zackrison delivered a third pinch hit for the Spartans in the inning to bring home Bartz to give MSU a two-run lead.

• In other pinch hitting news, Laney Joyner smacked a grand slam at Central Michigan last week in a pinch hitting role.

• Joyner continues to improve her offensive approach and has improved on all of her freshman year numbers. On the year, she has walked 12 times - good for fifth on the team and three times the number she drew last year as a freshman (4). She is batting .229 with 10 runs scored, 16 hits, and 10 RBI. This spring she has had her first career doubles, triple, and home run.

• Zackrison missed some of the early Big Ten games but been cleared to return to action after suffering an injury at Miami. She celebrated her senior day against Maryland on April 6 by driving in the game-winning run in the bottom of the eighth inning. She has appeared in 17 games this season with four runs scored and six RBI.

• Sophomore Joanna Bartz has been battling an injury that had limited her playing time to pinch hitting opportunities. Over the last five games, Bartz has been coming around as her physical health improved, and has hit .375 (3-for-8) with a double and three walks, and four RBI.

• Redshirt sophomore Shae Schreckengost has started each of the last seven games behind the plate over the last two weeks After smacking her first career home run against Oakland (April 3), the catcher has a pair of base hits and two walks in her nine at-bats.

• The road back from a 2018 season-ending injury has been a long one for 1B Katelyn Hendershott. She has started to see more regular pinch-hitting assignments and cam on as a defensive replacement in the Minnesota doubleheader.

• Freshmen Abby Joseph and Courtney Callahan have been valuable assets for the Spartans. Joseph (2309 gp) and Callahan (24 gp) have both gotten starts in right field, and are used liberally as pinch runners. Joseph has scored 13 runs, and Callahan two.

• Sophomore Riley Paxson will miss the remainder of the season with an injury. First suffering the injury in the offseason, she had been battling to get back into form over her 19 appearances this season, where she had five base hits, four walks, three HBP (still the team lead) and a pair of RBI.

Players Mentioned

Melanie Baccay

Joanna Bartz

Courtney Callahan

Charla Echols

Ebonee Echols

Kaitlyn Eveland

McKenna Gregory

Katelyn Hendershott

Abby Joseph

Laney Joyner

Caitie Ladd

Riley Paxson

Katie Quinlan

Shae Schreckengost

Leah Shipp

Alli Walker

Jordan Watson

Lexi White

Kelly Zackrison

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