Saturday, February 19
Jacksonville, Fla.
2:30 pm
Michigan State University
vs
Mercer
Softball Returns to Florida for Five Game Weekend
2/17/2022 4:00:00 PM | Softball
EAST LANSING, Mich. – The Michigan State softball team was back in East Lansing just briefly this week before heading back to the Sunshine State for five more games over the weekend. MSU will play doubleheaders at Jacksonville and North Florida on Friday and Saturday before playing a single contest against Mercer on Sunday.
Michigan State's weekend kicks off on Friday, February 18 with two games against Jacksonville at 5:00 and 7:30 p.m. The Spartans will head across town on Saturday, February 19 to face North Florida at 3:30 and 6:00 p.m. Michigan State wraps up its road trip with a neutral site game against Mercer at 10 a.m. on Sunday, February 19. Live stats and video will be provided at both play sites.
Live stats and video will be provided for free throughout the weekend in addition to inning-by-inning updates on Twitter at @MSU_Softball.
THE OPPONENTS
Jacksonville
Michigan State is 2-1 all-time against Jacksonville, losing the last meeting between the two teams 5-2 in 2013. Erica Ayers is in her fifth season as head coach of the Dolphins. Jacksonville is currently 0-6 heading into the weekend.
At the River City Leadoff, Jacksonville lost to NC State (8-0), Western Carolina (2-1, 4-3) and Campbell (18-0). The Dolphins were defeated by Florida (13-1, 8-0).
Allison Bratek is the team leader in batting average with a .294 average through six games. Bratek and Kailey Harrigan have each homered for the Dolphins. In the field, Jacksonville has committed 10 errors in six games.
In the circle, Skylar Whitty has a 7.27 ERA and Shelby Harpe has a 9.05 ERA, allowing opponents to hit .358 with a combined 2.43 WHIP.
North Florida
Michigan State is 1-0 all-time against North Florida, winning the lone matchup 10-2 (6) in 2017. Marcie Higgs is in her 14th season at the helm and has the Ospreys off to a 4-1 start to the season.
North Florida got wins over Campbell (4-2), Florida A&M (2-0) and Winthrop (4-0, 10-2) at the River City Leadoff last weekend. UNF's lone loss came against NC State, 6-5, in extra innings.
Shannon Glover had a strong start to her season, hitting .471 over the first five games with two doubles and a home run, along with a team-best four RBI. Kayla Harper (.375) and Paige Pfent (.333) also enter the weekend hitting above .300.
Morgan Clausen is the ace of staff for North Florida, holding a 0.43 ERA and a .61 WHIP entering the weekend. Clausen threw a pair of complete game shutouts against Florida A&M and Winthrop and has struck out 20 batters in 16.1 innings pitched. Erin Kyle is the #2, holding a 1.78 ERA and a 1.02 WHIP, with opponents hitting .240 against her.
Mercer
The series between Michigan State and Mercer is tied at 3-3, with MSU winning each of the last two meetings by a score of 6-5. Former Florida Gator Lindsay Fico is in her first year as head coach of the Bears after three years of coaching at Santa Fe College.
Mercer is off to a 1-5 start after playing at the Joanne Graf Invitational to open the season. The Bears dropped games against Loyola Chicago (6-5, 4-2), Florida State (12-0) and Kennesaw State (11-3). Mercer did get one back against Loyola, defeating them 4-3 on Sunday. The Bears were defeated by Georgia Tech, 9-1, on Tuesday.
Diamond Williams is hitting .375 in six games for Mercer this season and has hit the team's only home run. Williams owns a team-best three RBI. Mercer's defense has committed eight errors so far this season.
Three pitchers have made appearances for Mercer through six games. Riley Hickok has made four appearances along with three starts to the tune of an 8.25 ERA and a 2.33 WHIP. Hannah Pitts has made four appearances and two starts, owning an 8.31 ERA and a 1.48 WHIP, while leading the team in strikeouts with 11. Katie Rearley has an 18.00 ERA over one start and three total appearances.
SPARTAN NOTES TO KNOW
Ashley Miller threw three complete game shutouts over the first weekend of competition, highlighted by the third perfect game in program history on Sunday, Feb. 13 against Akron. Miller finished the weekend with a 0.00 ERA, a .52 WHIP and 29 strikeouts in 21 innings pitched.
Miller's perfect game is the first seven inning perfect game in program history. Megan Hair's perfect game in 2007 went six innings after the team run-ruled Saint Joseph's and Becky Gray/Jessica Beech combined for a perfect game in 2002. Miller's 14 strikeouts against Akron are tied for the most in program history in a regulation game. The only outings of more strikeouts went into extra innings. Beech struck out 16 batters in 18 innings against Northwestern on May 8, 2003, and struck out 15 in 10 innings against Virginia on Feb. 28, 2003.
The Spartans committed just one error in five games in Leesburg, playing clean defense all weekend. Catcher Kendall Kates caught two runners stealing this past weekend.
Macy Lee and Alexis Barroso are tied for the team-high in RBI with three each. Lee hit .429 in her first five games as a Spartan while Barroso hit .357. Camryn Wincher was one of the most consistent hitters on the team over the weekend with a .417 batting average across 12 at-bats.
Michigan State's weekend kicks off on Friday, February 18 with two games against Jacksonville at 5:00 and 7:30 p.m. The Spartans will head across town on Saturday, February 19 to face North Florida at 3:30 and 6:00 p.m. Michigan State wraps up its road trip with a neutral site game against Mercer at 10 a.m. on Sunday, February 19. Live stats and video will be provided at both play sites.
Live stats and video will be provided for free throughout the weekend in addition to inning-by-inning updates on Twitter at @MSU_Softball.
THE OPPONENTS
Jacksonville
Michigan State is 2-1 all-time against Jacksonville, losing the last meeting between the two teams 5-2 in 2013. Erica Ayers is in her fifth season as head coach of the Dolphins. Jacksonville is currently 0-6 heading into the weekend.
At the River City Leadoff, Jacksonville lost to NC State (8-0), Western Carolina (2-1, 4-3) and Campbell (18-0). The Dolphins were defeated by Florida (13-1, 8-0).
Allison Bratek is the team leader in batting average with a .294 average through six games. Bratek and Kailey Harrigan have each homered for the Dolphins. In the field, Jacksonville has committed 10 errors in six games.
In the circle, Skylar Whitty has a 7.27 ERA and Shelby Harpe has a 9.05 ERA, allowing opponents to hit .358 with a combined 2.43 WHIP.
North Florida
Michigan State is 1-0 all-time against North Florida, winning the lone matchup 10-2 (6) in 2017. Marcie Higgs is in her 14th season at the helm and has the Ospreys off to a 4-1 start to the season.
North Florida got wins over Campbell (4-2), Florida A&M (2-0) and Winthrop (4-0, 10-2) at the River City Leadoff last weekend. UNF's lone loss came against NC State, 6-5, in extra innings.
Shannon Glover had a strong start to her season, hitting .471 over the first five games with two doubles and a home run, along with a team-best four RBI. Kayla Harper (.375) and Paige Pfent (.333) also enter the weekend hitting above .300.
Morgan Clausen is the ace of staff for North Florida, holding a 0.43 ERA and a .61 WHIP entering the weekend. Clausen threw a pair of complete game shutouts against Florida A&M and Winthrop and has struck out 20 batters in 16.1 innings pitched. Erin Kyle is the #2, holding a 1.78 ERA and a 1.02 WHIP, with opponents hitting .240 against her.
Mercer
The series between Michigan State and Mercer is tied at 3-3, with MSU winning each of the last two meetings by a score of 6-5. Former Florida Gator Lindsay Fico is in her first year as head coach of the Bears after three years of coaching at Santa Fe College.
Mercer is off to a 1-5 start after playing at the Joanne Graf Invitational to open the season. The Bears dropped games against Loyola Chicago (6-5, 4-2), Florida State (12-0) and Kennesaw State (11-3). Mercer did get one back against Loyola, defeating them 4-3 on Sunday. The Bears were defeated by Georgia Tech, 9-1, on Tuesday.
Diamond Williams is hitting .375 in six games for Mercer this season and has hit the team's only home run. Williams owns a team-best three RBI. Mercer's defense has committed eight errors so far this season.
Three pitchers have made appearances for Mercer through six games. Riley Hickok has made four appearances along with three starts to the tune of an 8.25 ERA and a 2.33 WHIP. Hannah Pitts has made four appearances and two starts, owning an 8.31 ERA and a 1.48 WHIP, while leading the team in strikeouts with 11. Katie Rearley has an 18.00 ERA over one start and three total appearances.
SPARTAN NOTES TO KNOW
Ashley Miller threw three complete game shutouts over the first weekend of competition, highlighted by the third perfect game in program history on Sunday, Feb. 13 against Akron. Miller finished the weekend with a 0.00 ERA, a .52 WHIP and 29 strikeouts in 21 innings pitched.
Miller's perfect game is the first seven inning perfect game in program history. Megan Hair's perfect game in 2007 went six innings after the team run-ruled Saint Joseph's and Becky Gray/Jessica Beech combined for a perfect game in 2002. Miller's 14 strikeouts against Akron are tied for the most in program history in a regulation game. The only outings of more strikeouts went into extra innings. Beech struck out 16 batters in 18 innings against Northwestern on May 8, 2003, and struck out 15 in 10 innings against Virginia on Feb. 28, 2003.
The Spartans committed just one error in five games in Leesburg, playing clean defense all weekend. Catcher Kendall Kates caught two runners stealing this past weekend.
Macy Lee and Alexis Barroso are tied for the team-high in RBI with three each. Lee hit .429 in her first five games as a Spartan while Barroso hit .357. Camryn Wincher was one of the most consistent hitters on the team over the weekend with a .417 batting average across 12 at-bats.
Players Mentioned
1B
/ Softball
C
/ Softball
RHP
/ Softball
3B/SS
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