Michigan State University
21-20
.png&width=60&height=60&type=webp)
Western Michigan
14-23
Joseph Earns 750th MSU Victory in Win Over Western Michigan
4/13/2022 8:52:00 PM | Softball
Michigan State performed well in every facet of the game on Wednesday as the team scored six runs on eight hits, sophomore Ashley Miller dominated in the circle, and the Spartans committed zero errors on the defensive end.
Miller was as good as she's been all season, striking out 11 of the 16 batters she faced and allowing just one hit in five innings of work. It's the 10th time that Miller has struck out double-digit batters this season as she increased her season strikeout total to 194. Miller, who improved to 11-10 on the season with Wednesday's win, moved up to fifth in program history for single season strikeouts, passing Stacey Smith who had 189 in 1997.
Offensively, the Spartans were led by senior Jessica Mabrey who went 3-for-3 at the plate with a pair of doubles and three RBIs. Junior Kennedy Wyllie reached three times for MSU, walking twice and singling in the third inning. Senior Courtney Callahan hit her first home run of the season; a two-run shot to right field.
Michigan State struck first on Callahan's third-inning home run as she brought Wyllie around to score with her to make it a 2-0 game.
B3 | MSU 2 - WMU 0
— MSU Softball (@MSU_Softball) April 13, 2022
Courtney Callahan gets ahold of one and sends a ball out of the park to right field for her first home run of the season! Michigan State takes a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the third.#GoGreen pic.twitter.com/R54rrc2joA
The Spartan lead doubled in the fourth when Mabrey's double off the bottom of the wall in left score Wyllie and sophomore Zaquai Dumas.
B4 | MSU 4 - WMU 0
— MSU Softball (@MSU_Softball) April 13, 2022
A double off the base of the wall in left field by Jessica Mabrey scores Zaquai Dumas and Kennedy Wyllie to give the Spartans a 4-0 lead!#GoGreen pic.twitter.com/NGXkOexEf9
MSU continued to score in twos, adding a pair of runs in the bottom of the sixth. A pinch hit double by senior Mackenzie Meech and a Wyllie walk put runners on the corers for the Spartans. Seniors Kendall Kates and Abby Joseph would both score as pinch runners in the inning, with Kates scoring from third on a wild pitch and Joseph scoring on a Mabrey double to center field.
B6 | MSU 6 - WMU 0
— MSU Softball (@MSU_Softball) April 13, 2022
Jessica Mabrey's second double of the game brings home Abby Joseph and the Spartans lead 6-0 in the sixth!#GoGreen pic.twitter.com/PGjeaGaikF
Western Michigan looked to mount a comeback in the seventh inning, scoring four runs on five hits, but junior Sarah Ladd came in to shut the door and earn her third save of the season. Ladd struck out one and forced a groundout to end the game.
UP NEXT: Michigan State will travel to Madison, Wisconsin this weekend for a three-game Big Ten series against the Badgers. Wisconsin is 20-11 overall and 5-4 in conference action. Game one of the series has already been moved up two hours to 4:00 p.m. ET due to forecasted weather.
With tonight's victory, head coach @MSUCoachJoseph earned her 750th win as head coach at Michigan State! Coach Joseph ranks 19th among active DI head coaches with 886 career victories.#GoGreen pic.twitter.com/NOmXve5OJy
— MSU Softball (@MSU_Softball) April 14, 2022
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Miller, Ashley (11-10)
L: Reily Galloway (9-12)
S: Ladd, Sarah (3)
.png&width=32&height=32&type=webp)
Batting:
2B: Cassidy Brendtke 1 ; Natalie Shuey 1
RBI: Jordan Kavanagh 1 ; Courtney Farrish 1 ; Natalie Shuey 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Alyssa Kramer 1 ; Cassidy Brendtke 1 ; Courtney Farrish 1 ; Taylor Wolfe 1
Batting:
2B: Mabrey, Jessica 2 ; Meech, Mackenzie 1
HR: Callahan, Courtney 1
RBI: Mabrey, Jessica 3 ; Callahan, Courtney 2
SH: Mabrey, Jessica 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Callahan, Courtney 1 ; Dumas, Zaquai 1 ; Kates, Kendall 1 ; Wyllie, Kennedy 2 ; Joseph, Abby 1
SB: Mabrey, Jessica 1
HBP: Roper, Kayleigh 1
