Sunday, February 9
Miami, Fla.
12:30 pm
Michigan State University
0-4
1
vs
5
Syracuse
2-1
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
Syracuse
0
0
1
0
4
0
0
5
7
0
Michigan State
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
1
5
2
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: A. Romero (2-0)
L: Ladd, Sarah (0-3)
Batting:
RBI: A. Kaiser 3 ; CasaresMaher 1 ; T. Martin 1
SF: A. Kaiser 1
Base Running:
RUNS: J. Gregg 1 ; G. Teran 1 ; P. Woods 1 ; A. Acevedo 1 ; J. Barta 1
SB: G. Teran 1
Batting:
2B: Ladd, Caitie 1
RBI: Ladd, Caitie 1
SH: Holt, Erica 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Wash, Jenae 1
SB: Snyder, Brooke 1
HBP: Wyllie, Kennedy 1
Game Leaders
AB
2
R
0
H
2
RBI
0
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
1
AB
2
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
2
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
OF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
SS/UTL
/ Softball
LHP
/ Softball
1B/UTL
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
INF
/ SoftballSS
/ SoftballC
/ Softball
Fifth-Inning Rally Propels Syracuse to 5-1 Win Over MSU
2/9/2020 2:40:00 PM | Softball
Miami, FL --Â Michigan State dropped the finale of the Felsburg Invitational to Syracuse on Sunday afternoon, falling 5-1 to the Orange.Â
A four-run fifth inning for Syracuse broke open a tie ballgame, and MSU had the bases loaded with no outs in the bottom of the fifth but saw relief pitcher Kaia Oliver come on and retire the next three batters in order to work out of the jam she inherited and maintain a 5-1 lead.  MSU couldn't get anything going offensively in the late innings to counter the Orange rally, and dropped its fourth straight (0-4).
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Freshman Erica Holt entered in the third inning as a defensive replacement and went 2-for-2 with a sac bunt, and adding a pair of diving catches in center field to round out her day. Classmate Sarah Ladd went 4.1 innings in the circle in her longest outing of the season, striking out a season-best four and scattering five hits. Alli Walker tossed 2.2 innings in her fourth straight relief appearance, allowing two hits.Â
Michigan State now heads to the ACC/Big Ten Challenge next weekend. MSU takes on Pitt and Clemson in Clemson, SC.Â
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QUOTABLE
"There's a lot to process from the weekend – we have a lot of young players that are either playing new roles or are in their first season of college softball. We tried some different looks, gave people opportunities, and will continue to do that over the next few weeks. Its important to put as much stock into the positives and growth we've seen as it is the corrections we have to make. We knew that there would be some growing pains with a young team and we're prepared to keep working"
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TOP PERFORMERS
STATS AND STORYLINES
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A four-run fifth inning for Syracuse broke open a tie ballgame, and MSU had the bases loaded with no outs in the bottom of the fifth but saw relief pitcher Kaia Oliver come on and retire the next three batters in order to work out of the jam she inherited and maintain a 5-1 lead.  MSU couldn't get anything going offensively in the late innings to counter the Orange rally, and dropped its fourth straight (0-4).
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Freshman Erica Holt entered in the third inning as a defensive replacement and went 2-for-2 with a sac bunt, and adding a pair of diving catches in center field to round out her day. Classmate Sarah Ladd went 4.1 innings in the circle in her longest outing of the season, striking out a season-best four and scattering five hits. Alli Walker tossed 2.2 innings in her fourth straight relief appearance, allowing two hits.Â
Michigan State now heads to the ACC/Big Ten Challenge next weekend. MSU takes on Pitt and Clemson in Clemson, SC.Â
Â
QUOTABLE
"There's a lot to process from the weekend – we have a lot of young players that are either playing new roles or are in their first season of college softball. We tried some different looks, gave people opportunities, and will continue to do that over the next few weeks. Its important to put as much stock into the positives and growth we've seen as it is the corrections we have to make. We knew that there would be some growing pains with a young team and we're prepared to keep working"
- Head Coach Jacquie Joseph
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TOP PERFORMERS
- Erica Holt was 2-for-2 a sac bunt. Â Â
- Sarah Ladd went 4.1 innings, striking out a season-best four and allowing three runs.
STATS AND STORYLINES
- Freshman Kennedy Wyllie picked up MSU's first base hit in the bottom of the second with one out, putting a blooper up the left field line.
- Syracuse scored the first run of the game in the top of the third. Jamie Gregg legged out an infield single, and Catie Teran reached on a fielder's choice, and came around to core on a fly ball to center by Alexis Kaiser.
- MSU got the run back in the home half of the third. Cam Wincher was issued a four-pitch walk, and pinch runner Jenae Wash moved to second on a nice sac bunt. Caitie Ladd doubled to the left-field corner to plate Wash, and moved to third on the throw home to knot the score. With two outs, Mackenzie Meech stepped in and hit a bouncer to third, and the Rebecca Clyde made an impressive play to nab Meech at first to end the inning.Â
- Syracuse led off the fifth with a pair of infield hits – an exceptionally-placed bunt that refused to roll foul, and a single to third that gave no chance at catching either runner. A one-out single up the middle by Alexis Kaiser brought home both runners for a 3-1 Orange lead. MSU went to Alli Walker in the circle after Syracuse took the lead, and back-to-back singles made it 4-1. A diving catch by Erica Holt in center saved another base hit, but it still brought home a fifth run on the sac fly for a 5-1 lead.Â
- In the home half of the fifth, MSU looked to get back in the game. Pinch hitter Abby Joseph led off with a walk, and Camryn Wincher and Erica Holt followed with their first collegiate base hits to load the bases.  Kaia Oliver came in to pitch for the Orange, and she got a strikeout and a fielder's choice to put two quick outs on the board, and worked out of the jam with a ground ball to second to leave the bases loaded.Â
- The Spartans tried to get something going again in the seventh when Holt legged out a base hit, but couldn't get her around.Â
- Sarah Ladd had her longest outing of the season, going 4.1 innings, scattering five hits, and allowing three runs, striking out four. Â
- Erica Holt recorded her first and second collegiate base hits and made two diving catches in center field today after entering in the third inning.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