Softball Begins Seven-Game Homestand Wednesday


Spartan Softball Week Nine: vs Michigan; vs. Wisconsin
Dates	Wednesday, May 5, 5 pm - vs. Michigan Friday, May 7, 4 pm - vs. Wisconsin Saturday, May 8, 1 pm (doubleheader) - vs. Wisconsin Sunday, May 9, 1 pm - vs. Wisconsin
Facility	Secchia Stadium; East Lansing, Mich.
Fan Information	There is no general admission to this event
Television	None
Webstreams (BTN+)	Wednesday vs Michigan vs. Wisconsin: Friday \| Saturday - Game One Game Two \| Sunday
Live Statistics	Click Here
Radio (Spartan Media Network)	Wednesday \| Friday \| Saturday \| Sunday Dalton Shetler, pxp
Game Notes	Michigan State \| Michigan \| Wisconsin
Social Media	Facebook Twitter Instagram

The Week Ahead:
• Michigan State hosts seven games at Secchia Stadium over seven days, starting with a Wednesday game vs. Michigan followed by a four-game set with Wisconsin. Next Tuesday, MSU will host Penn State in a doubleheader.

• All five games will air live on BTN+, with links to the video webstream and live statistics available at MSUSpartans.com.

• The Spartans will honor two members of their senior class this weekend, as well as the lone 2020 senior. In lieu of a "Senior Day" at the last home game of the regular season, each student-athlete and their family select a date on which she is honored prior to a home game during the home schedule. MSU will honor both Katie Quinlan and Shae Schreckengost on Saturday, and will bring back Katelyn Hendershott for hers on Sunday. With the cancelation of the 2020 season due to Covid-19, Hendershotr was denied an opportunity for her senior day last season, so she and her family will return to Secchia Stadium this Sunday for her "day".

The Matchups:
• Carol Hutchins is in her 37th season at the helm of the Michigan program, and has guided her team to a 28-5 mark. Hutchins is a 1979 graduate of Michigan State and a member of the Spartans' 1976 AIAW National Softball Championship team.

• Michigan has won seven straight entering Wednesday's game, and won the game earlier this season (April 14) between the squads, 6-1. Sarah Ladd went five full innings and struck out seven, and Jala Wright gave up two base hits and struck out two. Meghan Beaubien and Alex Storako combined on the win in the circle for the Wolverines. Marissa Trivelpiece accounted for the Spartan run with her second homer of the season.

• MSU and Michigan meet for the 123rd time on Wednesday, and MSU trails the all-time series by a 29-93 margin. Michigan won both meetings in 2019, which came after a 7-0 Spartan win in the 2018 meeting in EL.

• Yvette Healy has guided her Wisconsin squad to a 15-17 mark this season, but the Badgers paused due to Covid-19 issues last weekend, which wiped out their series with Minnesota.

• MSU leads the all-time series with Wisconsin by a 28-14 margin, one of the fewest-played Big Ten rivalries. The two teams last met in the 2016 season, where the Badgers took two of three games in the series.

Team Notes:
• MSU played back-to-back weekends for the first time this season in series against Purdue (April 23-25) and Indiana (April 30-May 2). It was the first time the Spartans played consecutive weekends since last year's pre-Covid spring break trip, (Feb. 28-March 7, 2020).

• The Spartans were supposed to play four games against Michigan (April 2-4) and Penn State (April 16-18), but both series were postponed due to Covid-19 issues within those programs. Games against both schools have been rescheduled, but the series will be reduced to two games against each opponent. MSU will host the Wolverines this Wednesday (May 5), and will host Penn State for a doubleheader on Tuesday, May 11.

• At 29 games, MSU has played the fewest games this spring of anyone in the Big Ten. Penn State has played 31, and nine schools have played the maximum (36).

• The Spartans have seven home games remaining against three opponents, nearly as many as they have played so far this year (8).

• The Spartan pitching staff is averaging 1.90 walks per seven innings, which is the lowest number for the Spartans since 1.60 in 2004 and the first sub-2.00 since 2005. In addition, MSU's hurlers are combining for 7.04 strikeouts per seven innings, which would be a program record and the best since 6.64 in 2018.

• MSU's staff has three saves, tied with IU for third in the B1G. The Spartans have issued just 56 walks, the fifth-fewest among B1G schools, and its 13 homers allowed is the third-fewest among league staffs.

• MSU has 14 home runs on the season, and at 0.44 per game, ranks eighth in the Big Ten. MSU is also second in the B1G (16th nationally) in strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.71), behind only Michigan (6.67).

• Spartan head coach Jacquie Joseph is in her 28th season at the helm of the Spartan softball program, and is not only the longest-tenured coach in program history, but is now the longest-tenured head coach in MSU's athletics department. She earned her 700th victory as the Spartan mentor on March 8, 2019 vs. Mercer, and she owns 844 wins overall.

• Joseph is the third-longest tenured head coach in the Big Ten Conference, behind Carol Hutchins (Michigan, 37th season) and Rhonda Revelle (Nebraska, 29th).

• Joseph's staff consists of pitching coach Ben Sorden, hitting coach Corrie Hill, and volunteer Erin Pond. Sorden begins his fourth season with the Spartan pitchers, while Hill joined the staff in the fall of 2018. Sorden and Pond both have previous Big Ten experience - Sorden was on staff at Indiana before coming to MSU, and Pond was a Penn State letterwinner. Hill spent 16 seasons as the hitting coach at Texas after serving as the head coach at UTSA from 1998-2005.

Player Notes - Pitchers:
• Freshman Ashley Miller went 1-2 in three appearances vs. Indiana, tossing 15.2 of the 25 innings of the weekend. She scattered just 12 hits and struck out 10, issuing just three walks and allowing two earned runs. She was the hard-luck loser in game one, a 1-0 decision in which she tossed a complete game; she came on in relief in the finale and threw 5.2 innings, sharing the shutout victory.

• On the season, Miller boasts a team-best 1.83 ERA, good for fifth in the Big Ten. She also ranks among league leaders in opponent batting average (.229, 9th), walks per seven innings (1.74, 13th). She leads the staff in innings pitched (76.2), and is 6-6 with two complete games, one solo and two shared shutouts.

• Sarah Ladd ranks fifth in the Big Ten in strikeout to walk ratio (70K, 14BB, 5.00) and is also fifth in strikeouts per seven innings (8.4). She owns a 4.13 ERA in 20 appearances, throwing 59.1 innings overall.

• Alli Walker made two appearances in the Indiana series, combining on 3.1 innings where she struck out three and allowed just two base hits. On the year, she owns a 3.50 ERA with 37 strikeouts in 32.0 innings, and her strikeouts per seven innings (8.3) is sixth in the Big Ten and 65th nationally. Her previous career best for a season in that category is 3.72 set as a sophomore.

Player Notes - Field Players:
• Only two players have started all 29 games - Jenae Wash and Caitie Ladd. Three others have appeared in all 29 games.

• Jenae Wash led MSU at the plate in Bloomington, with four base hits in the series (.308). Overall, she is third on the team with a .259 batting average, leading the team in RBI (12), triples (3) and ranks fourth in the B1G in triples per game (0.12).

• Junior Mackenzie Meech is hitting a team-best .337, with 28 base hits (three doubles) and has one homer. She hit .462 in the Purdue series with a pair of sac hits along with a 6-for-13 effort at the plate, and had three base hits in the four games at IU.

• Caitie Ladd ranks second on the team with a .306 average, leads the team with six doubles, and also shares the team lead in extra-base hits (8).

• With 33 career doubles, Caitie Ladd sits in 11th place in the Spartan record book, one away from moving into the all-time top 10.

• A trio of freshmen have worked their way into the starting lineup. Alexis Barroso has emerged as the starter at 3B, and delivered a walkoff RBI double in the finale of the Purdue series. On the year, she's hitting .224, with two doubles, two homers, and nine RBI and ranks second on the team in walks (8).

• Marissa Trivelpiece leads the team in walks (11) and is hitting .209 on the year two doubles, two homers, and four RBI. She played all four games in the IU series at short and made a series of excellent defensive plays in the finale to help preserve a 2-0 victory.

• Zaquai Dumas has started the last nine games for MSU, four at 2B and four in right. She hit her first career triple and home run in the Purdue series.

• Kennedy Wyllie picked up four base hits in the IU series and started the last two games at DP. She hit .571 in the four games in Bloomington.

• Courtney Callahan hit .500 in the Purdue series (6-for-12), boasting a triple and a homer, her first extra-base hits of the season. She is hitting .188 on the year in 25 starts and she has eight RBI, fourth on the team.

• Kendall Kates, MSU's transfer catcher, has started 28 games. She is hitting .215 with 10 RBI, two doubles and a homer to her credit. She is tied for third on the team with five walks.

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Players Mentioned

Alexis Barroso

Courtney Callahan

Zaquai Dumas

Katelyn Hendershott

Kendall Kates

Caitie Ladd

Sarah Ladd

Mackenzie Meech

Ashley Miller

Katie Quinlan

Shae Schreckengost

Marissa Trivelpiece

Alli Walker

Jenae Wash

Jala Wright

Kennedy Wyllie