Thursday, February 6
Tucson, Ariz.
7 PM ET
Michigan State University
0
at
15
Arizona
Photo by: Erica Lee
Softball Hangs With #16 Arizona on Opening Night
2/7/2025 12:28:00 AM | Softball
TUCSON, Ariz. – The 2025 softball season got underway on Thursday night with Michigan State dropping a pair of opening night contests to No. 16-ranked Arizona, 15-0 and 10-9, at Hillenbrand Stadium.
Michigan State opens its season 0-2 and looks to get into the win column tomorrow afternoon when it meets No. 11-ranked Alabama and Western Michigan for day two of the Candrea Classic.
Game One - #16 Arizona 15, Michigan State 0
Senior Mik Anthony and sophomore Kendall Smiley tallied base knocks for Michigan State in game one, while four pitchers saw action in the circle for MSU.
Senior Madison Taylor (0-1) made her first start of the season lasting 1.2 innings before giving way to freshmen Carsyn Cassady and Ella Cunningham out of the bullpen for their collegiate debuts. Sophomore Ava Mullen recorded the final two outs of the game for the Spartans.
After a scoreless first inning, Arizona broke the game open with a seven-run second inning, while adding five runs in the third and three in the fourth. The Wildcats got great production out of the middle of their batting order with six home runs.
Game Two - #16 Arizona 10, Michigan State 9
The Spartans quickly erased game one from their memories, taking a 2-0 lead in the top of the first of game two when junior Kaelin Cash sent a two-run single to the wall in center field that scored juniors Hannah Hawley and Britain Beshears.
Cash, who missed the entire 2024 season due to injury, posted a multi-hit effort in her second game as a Spartan.
Arizona cut MSU's lead to one in the bottom of the first on an error and looked to add more, but a runner's interference call ended the frame in Michigan State's favor.
Michigan State broke the game open with a high-scoring second inning when Beshears sent a two-out bases loaded ball over the left field fence for a grand slam. Graduate student Jenae Wash doubled down the left field line to open the second before advancing to third on a walk by junior Sydney Doloszycki and Hawley hit by pitch.
Freshman Jacey Schuler made her collegiate debut in the circle to start game two and started strong with a 1-2-3 second inning that featured her second strikeout of the night. Schuler ran into trouble in the third however when a two-out Arizona rally resulted in seven Wildcat runs. Senior Faith Guidry (0-1) came on in relief of Schuler and had a strong outing for MSU pitching scoreless fourth and fifth innings. Guidry allowed just two earned runs over 3.1 innings of work but was tagged with the loss.
More two-out Michigan State magic put the Spartans ahead 9-8 in the sixth after Doloszycki started a rally with a single to center. Hawley punished her first home run of the season to dead center field, a two-run shot, before Beshears followed up with her second home run of the night.
A Spartan throwing error put two runs on the board for Arizona in the home half of the sixth and proved to be the deciding factor in Thursday night's outcome.
Michigan State opens its season 0-2 and looks to get into the win column tomorrow afternoon when it meets No. 11-ranked Alabama and Western Michigan for day two of the Candrea Classic.
Game One - #16 Arizona 15, Michigan State 0
Senior Mik Anthony and sophomore Kendall Smiley tallied base knocks for Michigan State in game one, while four pitchers saw action in the circle for MSU.
Senior Madison Taylor (0-1) made her first start of the season lasting 1.2 innings before giving way to freshmen Carsyn Cassady and Ella Cunningham out of the bullpen for their collegiate debuts. Sophomore Ava Mullen recorded the final two outs of the game for the Spartans.
After a scoreless first inning, Arizona broke the game open with a seven-run second inning, while adding five runs in the third and three in the fourth. The Wildcats got great production out of the middle of their batting order with six home runs.
Game Two - #16 Arizona 10, Michigan State 9
The Spartans quickly erased game one from their memories, taking a 2-0 lead in the top of the first of game two when junior Kaelin Cash sent a two-run single to the wall in center field that scored juniors Hannah Hawley and Britain Beshears.
Cash, who missed the entire 2024 season due to injury, posted a multi-hit effort in her second game as a Spartan.
Arizona cut MSU's lead to one in the bottom of the first on an error and looked to add more, but a runner's interference call ended the frame in Michigan State's favor.
Michigan State broke the game open with a high-scoring second inning when Beshears sent a two-out bases loaded ball over the left field fence for a grand slam. Graduate student Jenae Wash doubled down the left field line to open the second before advancing to third on a walk by junior Sydney Doloszycki and Hawley hit by pitch.
Freshman Jacey Schuler made her collegiate debut in the circle to start game two and started strong with a 1-2-3 second inning that featured her second strikeout of the night. Schuler ran into trouble in the third however when a two-out Arizona rally resulted in seven Wildcat runs. Senior Faith Guidry (0-1) came on in relief of Schuler and had a strong outing for MSU pitching scoreless fourth and fifth innings. Guidry allowed just two earned runs over 3.1 innings of work but was tagged with the loss.
More two-out Michigan State magic put the Spartans ahead 9-8 in the sixth after Doloszycki started a rally with a single to center. Hawley punished her first home run of the season to dead center field, a two-run shot, before Beshears followed up with her second home run of the night.
A Spartan throwing error put two runs on the board for Arizona in the home half of the sixth and proved to be the deciding factor in Thursday night's outcome.
Players Mentioned
3B
/ Softball
1B
/ Softball
1B
/ Softball
RHP
/ Softball
LHP
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
RHP
/ Softball
3B/C
/ Softball
RHP
/ Softball
P/UTL
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
LHP
/ Softball
OF
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