Tuesday, April 5
East Lansing, Mich.
5 pm
Michigan State University
vs
Oakland
Michigan State Softball Set for Jam Packed Week
4/5/2022 12:10:00 PM | Softball
EAST LANSING, Mich. – Michigan State softball is set for another loaded week with five games on the docket. The Spartans open the week with a non-conference matchup against Oakland at 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, April 5 before travelling to Ann Arbor for a 6:00 p.m. game against No. 22-ranked Michigan on Wednesday, April 6. Michigan State returns home this weekend for a three-game Big Ten series against Nebraska, starting at 6:00 p.m. on Friday, April 8.
Wednesday's game against Michigan will be broadcast on the Big Ten Network with Lisa Byington and Elise Menaker calling the action from Chicago.
Dalton Shetler will have the radio call on the Spartan Media Network for all MSU home games. Listen live and follow along with live stats on the web at MSUSpartans.com.
THE SCHEDULE
Tuesday, April 5 – vs. Oakland
Time: 5:00 p.m.
Video | Radio | Stats
Wednesday, April 6 – at #22 Michigan
Time: 6:00 p.m.
Video | Stats
Friday, April 8 – vs. Nebraska
Time: 6:00 p.m.
Video | Radio | Stats
Saturday, April 9 – vs. Nebraska
Time: 2:00 p.m.
Video | Radio | Stats
Sunday, April 10 – vs. Nebraska
Time: 1:00 p.m.
Video | Radio | Stats
SPARTAN NOTES TO KNOW
With 167 strikeouts this season, Miller ranks 9th in program history for single season strikeouts. Miller is closely following #6-8 and could reach #6 all-time this week. Miller is #11 nationally in strikeouts (167), #17 nationally in shutouts (5) and #9 in ERA (0.82). Her K/7 ranks #36 at 9.8.
Single Season Strikeout Leaders
Sarah Ladd turned in the best start of her career on March 29, allowing just one hit and striking out 11 in a complete game shutout of Detroit Mercy. Ladd, Miller, Faith Guidry, and Ashley Martin combine as a pitching staff for the 10th lowest ERA in the country at 1.61.
Sophomore Alexis Barroso leads the team in RBI with 20 while ranking second on the team in batting average (.344). Junior Camryn Wincher has turned in a strong campaign with a .352 batting average, ranking second on the team in RBI with 18. Wincher has the most hits on the team with 38.
Jessica Mabrey has been a staple in the lead-off spot for the Spartans, hitting .293 with a team-high .449 on-base percentage. Mabrey leads the team with four home runs. Mabrey is hitting .523 when leading off an inning. Mabrey's 22 walks would have led the team during the 2021 season. Mabrey also leads the team in runs with 22.
Caitie Ladd is second on the team with eight stolen bases this season and ranks 5th all-time in doubles at MSU with 40. Freshman Macy Lee boasts a strong arm behind the plate and has caught five runners stealing this season. All three of freshman Kayleigh Roper's hits last week went for extra bases. Roper tripled in game one against Detroit Mercy before homering in game two. Roper also homered in game two of the Ohio State series.
Sophomore Zaquai Dumas has home runs in each of Michigan State's conference matchups this season, homering in game two of both the Northwestern and Ohio State series.
With 749 career wins at Michigan State, head coach Jacquie Joseph is approaching win #750 in the green & white. Joseph is the third-longest tenured head coach in the Big Ten Conference, behind Carol Hutchins (Michigan, 38th season) and Rhonda Revelle (Nebraska, 30th season).
Michigan State will have a pair of Senior Day celebrations this weekend against Nebraska, honoring the careers of Leah Shipp and Kendall Kates. Leah Shipp's celebration will take place on Friday, April 8th against Nebraska while Kendall Kates' celebration is the next day on Saturday, April 9th. Michigan State will have three more Senior Day celebrations this season to honor Abby Joseph, Caitie Ladd, Mackenzie Meech and Courtney Callahan.
THE OPPONENTS
Oakland
Oakland is just 10-8 this season after having a pair of Horizon League series postponed due to inclement weather. The Golden Grizzlies completed a sweep of Purdue Fort Wayne last weekend winning three straight. Oakland faced the Spartans on short notice on March 20th, with MSU coming away victorious, 9-0, in five innings. Oakland has twice finished as the Horizon League runner-up under fifth year head coach Lauren Karn.
Lauren Griffith leads the Golden Grizzlies in batting with a .373 averaging in 17 starts, along with a team-best 19 hits and eight doubles. Madison Jones and Cammie Brummitt are tied for the team lead in home runs with three each. Brummitt is the team RBI leader with 15.
Sydney Campbell is Oakland's leading pitching owning a 2.49 ERA in 18 total appearances and 12 starts. Campbell has pitched 11 complete games for the Golden Grizzlies, including the loss to Michigan State earlier this season when she allowed two earned runs over 4.2 innings of work, allowing nine hits and striking out three.
Michigan
Michigan is 20-11 this season and 1-4 to start Big Ten action. The Wolverines dropped a pair of games against Nebraska to open conference play and went 1-2 in a three-game series at Northwestern last weekend. Michigan comes into the week ranked #22 in the Coaches Poll.
Grad transfer Kristina Burkhardt is Michigan's leading batter with a .423 average through 31 games. Burkhardt has a team-high 44 hits, which includes 16 doubles and three triples. Her 20 runs batted in ranks second on the team.
Lexie Blair is second on the team in batting average (.314) but did not appear in the final two games of the series against Northwestern. Annabelle Widra is third on the team with a .309 batting average but has not appeared since the Nebraska series
Sierra Kersten leads the team in home runs with five, while Hannah Carson is the team RBI leader with 25. Melina Livingston swung a hot bat in the Northwestern series going 4-for-9 with four runs scored and a pair of RBI.
Alex Storako is one of the top pitchers in the conference with a 1.57 ERA and 175 strikeouts over 107.1 innings of work. Storako has made 20 total appearances and 16 starts for the Wolverines, including 11 complete games and six shutouts. Meghan Beaubien works as the teams #2 pitcher with a 2.37 ERA over 59 innings of work, including 70 strikeouts.
Nebraska
Nebraska is 25-9 this season and enters the weekend on a 10-game winning streak that includes series sweeps of Michigan and Rutgers. The Cornhuskers won a pair of games by run rule in the Rutgers series, winning 12-4 in game one and 9-0 in game three.
Nebraska boasts one of the top offenses in the country, led by the powerful bat of Billie Andrews who has 17 home runs this season along with a team-best 38 RBI and 13 stolen bases. Rutgers opted not to pitch to Andrews and walked her eight times. Andrews has a .515 on-base percentage this season.
Mya Felder leads the Cornhuskers in batting average at .422, while the lineup also includes the strong play of Abbie Squier (.357, 7 homers), Cam Ybarra (.350, 6 homers) and Sydney Gray (.346, 8 homers).
Olivia Ferrell and Courtney Wallace have thrown a near equal amount of innings for Nebraska, with Ferrell possessing a 2.11 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP in 21 total appearances over 102.2 innings. Wallace has made 20 appearances with a 3.60 ERA and a 1.60 WHIP in 95.1 innings pitched. Ferrell has struck out 115 batters to Wallace's 67.
Wednesday's game against Michigan will be broadcast on the Big Ten Network with Lisa Byington and Elise Menaker calling the action from Chicago.
Dalton Shetler will have the radio call on the Spartan Media Network for all MSU home games. Listen live and follow along with live stats on the web at MSUSpartans.com.
THE SCHEDULE
Tuesday, April 5 – vs. Oakland
Time: 5:00 p.m.
Video | Radio | Stats
Wednesday, April 6 – at #22 Michigan
Time: 6:00 p.m.
Video | Stats
Friday, April 8 – vs. Nebraska
Time: 6:00 p.m.
Video | Radio | Stats
Saturday, April 9 – vs. Nebraska
Time: 2:00 p.m.
Video | Radio | Stats
Sunday, April 10 – vs. Nebraska
Time: 1:00 p.m.
Video | Radio | Stats
SPARTAN NOTES TO KNOW
With 167 strikeouts this season, Miller ranks 9th in program history for single season strikeouts. Miller is closely following #6-8 and could reach #6 all-time this week. Miller is #11 nationally in strikeouts (167), #17 nationally in shutouts (5) and #9 in ERA (0.82). Her K/7 ranks #36 at 9.8.
Single Season Strikeout Leaders
| 1. | Jessica Beech (2004) | 264 |
| 2. | Jessica Beech (2003) | 235 |
| 3. | Kelly Smith (2013) | 222 |
| 4. | Kristina Zalewski (2016) | 209 |
| 5. | Stacey Smith (1997) | 189 |
| 6. | Lauren Kramer (2010) | 177 |
| 7. | Becky Gray (2002) | 174 |
| 8. | Kristina Zalewski (2018) | 170 |
| 9. | Ashley Miller (2022) | 167 |
| 10. | Rachel Turney (2005) | 160 |
| Erica Strutz (1999) | 160 |
Sarah Ladd turned in the best start of her career on March 29, allowing just one hit and striking out 11 in a complete game shutout of Detroit Mercy. Ladd, Miller, Faith Guidry, and Ashley Martin combine as a pitching staff for the 10th lowest ERA in the country at 1.61.
Sophomore Alexis Barroso leads the team in RBI with 20 while ranking second on the team in batting average (.344). Junior Camryn Wincher has turned in a strong campaign with a .352 batting average, ranking second on the team in RBI with 18. Wincher has the most hits on the team with 38.
Jessica Mabrey has been a staple in the lead-off spot for the Spartans, hitting .293 with a team-high .449 on-base percentage. Mabrey leads the team with four home runs. Mabrey is hitting .523 when leading off an inning. Mabrey's 22 walks would have led the team during the 2021 season. Mabrey also leads the team in runs with 22.
Caitie Ladd is second on the team with eight stolen bases this season and ranks 5th all-time in doubles at MSU with 40. Freshman Macy Lee boasts a strong arm behind the plate and has caught five runners stealing this season. All three of freshman Kayleigh Roper's hits last week went for extra bases. Roper tripled in game one against Detroit Mercy before homering in game two. Roper also homered in game two of the Ohio State series.
Sophomore Zaquai Dumas has home runs in each of Michigan State's conference matchups this season, homering in game two of both the Northwestern and Ohio State series.
With 749 career wins at Michigan State, head coach Jacquie Joseph is approaching win #750 in the green & white. Joseph is the third-longest tenured head coach in the Big Ten Conference, behind Carol Hutchins (Michigan, 38th season) and Rhonda Revelle (Nebraska, 30th season).
Michigan State will have a pair of Senior Day celebrations this weekend against Nebraska, honoring the careers of Leah Shipp and Kendall Kates. Leah Shipp's celebration will take place on Friday, April 8th against Nebraska while Kendall Kates' celebration is the next day on Saturday, April 9th. Michigan State will have three more Senior Day celebrations this season to honor Abby Joseph, Caitie Ladd, Mackenzie Meech and Courtney Callahan.
THE OPPONENTS
Oakland
Oakland is just 10-8 this season after having a pair of Horizon League series postponed due to inclement weather. The Golden Grizzlies completed a sweep of Purdue Fort Wayne last weekend winning three straight. Oakland faced the Spartans on short notice on March 20th, with MSU coming away victorious, 9-0, in five innings. Oakland has twice finished as the Horizon League runner-up under fifth year head coach Lauren Karn.
Lauren Griffith leads the Golden Grizzlies in batting with a .373 averaging in 17 starts, along with a team-best 19 hits and eight doubles. Madison Jones and Cammie Brummitt are tied for the team lead in home runs with three each. Brummitt is the team RBI leader with 15.
Sydney Campbell is Oakland's leading pitching owning a 2.49 ERA in 18 total appearances and 12 starts. Campbell has pitched 11 complete games for the Golden Grizzlies, including the loss to Michigan State earlier this season when she allowed two earned runs over 4.2 innings of work, allowing nine hits and striking out three.
Michigan
Michigan is 20-11 this season and 1-4 to start Big Ten action. The Wolverines dropped a pair of games against Nebraska to open conference play and went 1-2 in a three-game series at Northwestern last weekend. Michigan comes into the week ranked #22 in the Coaches Poll.
Grad transfer Kristina Burkhardt is Michigan's leading batter with a .423 average through 31 games. Burkhardt has a team-high 44 hits, which includes 16 doubles and three triples. Her 20 runs batted in ranks second on the team.
Lexie Blair is second on the team in batting average (.314) but did not appear in the final two games of the series against Northwestern. Annabelle Widra is third on the team with a .309 batting average but has not appeared since the Nebraska series
Sierra Kersten leads the team in home runs with five, while Hannah Carson is the team RBI leader with 25. Melina Livingston swung a hot bat in the Northwestern series going 4-for-9 with four runs scored and a pair of RBI.
Alex Storako is one of the top pitchers in the conference with a 1.57 ERA and 175 strikeouts over 107.1 innings of work. Storako has made 20 total appearances and 16 starts for the Wolverines, including 11 complete games and six shutouts. Meghan Beaubien works as the teams #2 pitcher with a 2.37 ERA over 59 innings of work, including 70 strikeouts.
Nebraska
Nebraska is 25-9 this season and enters the weekend on a 10-game winning streak that includes series sweeps of Michigan and Rutgers. The Cornhuskers won a pair of games by run rule in the Rutgers series, winning 12-4 in game one and 9-0 in game three.
Nebraska boasts one of the top offenses in the country, led by the powerful bat of Billie Andrews who has 17 home runs this season along with a team-best 38 RBI and 13 stolen bases. Rutgers opted not to pitch to Andrews and walked her eight times. Andrews has a .515 on-base percentage this season.
Mya Felder leads the Cornhuskers in batting average at .422, while the lineup also includes the strong play of Abbie Squier (.357, 7 homers), Cam Ybarra (.350, 6 homers) and Sydney Gray (.346, 8 homers).
Olivia Ferrell and Courtney Wallace have thrown a near equal amount of innings for Nebraska, with Ferrell possessing a 2.11 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP in 21 total appearances over 102.2 innings. Wallace has made 20 appearances with a 3.60 ERA and a 1.60 WHIP in 95.1 innings pitched. Ferrell has struck out 115 batters to Wallace's 67.
Players Mentioned
3B
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
2B
/ Softball
RHP
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
C
/ Softball
2B
/ Softball
LHP
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
RHP
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
RHP
/ Softball
SS
/ Softball
RHP
/ Softball
1B
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