Starr Throws a Complete-Game Shutout In Win Over Howard

Sunday, February 22

12 PM ET / 11 AM CT

Michigan State University

8-6

Howard

6-7

Howard

Michigan State

2/22/2026 1:53:00 PM | Softball

Box Score

East Lansing, Mich. – Michigan State closed out LSU's Purple and Gold Classic on Sunday with a 5-0 victory over Howard. MSU downed the Bison for the second time on the weekend and improved to 8-6 overall, while Howard falls to 6-7.

Freshman pitcher Alex Starr earned the victory in her first career start, facing just 28 batters and recording MSU's second complete-game pitching outing of the season (and the weekend). She scattered four base hits and struck out three.

MSU got a 2-for-4 effort from Zoie Bernard and doubles from Hannah Hawley and pinch hitter Lindsey Hooker. The double was Hawley's only hit of the game, as she walked in her three other plate appearances.

The Spartans head to Lexington, Kentucky, next weekend to participate in the John Cropp Invitational at UK. MSU will play both Murray State and Kentucky twice and complete the tournament with a game against Dayton on Sunday.

TOP PERFORMANCES

Alex Starr gave the Spartans a complete game in the circle, allowing four hits and striking out three. She faced just 28 batters in seven innings.
Zoie Bernard went 2-for-4 with a pair of infield singles in her first two at-bats.
Hannah Hawley walked three times and had an RBI double in the fifth.
Lindsey Hooker doubled to right center when she came on as a pinch hitter to lead off the fifth inning.
Kendall Smiley was 1-for-2, delivering an RBI single in the fifth after a walk and a sac bunt in her first two plate appearances.
Hannah Greer had an RBI single in MSU's five-run fifth inning.

NOTABLES

Alex Starr made her first career start in her seventh appearance of the year. It was MSU's second complete game of the season – the first came on Saturday when Jacey Schuler earned a 6-0 win over the Bison.
Bernard extended her hitting streak to seven games, tying the team's longest of the season (Sydney Doloszycki also had a seven-game streak earlier this season). It was her sixth multiple-hit game of the year and third of the weekend.
Hawley was walked three times and had an RBI double. It was the second time in her career that she walked three times in a game, tying for the second-most in program history.
Natalia Kenyatta made her third straight start at 3B, and over the weekend had a pair of hits and three runs scored.
Freshman Lindsay Hooker has three base hits and a walk in her four at-bats this season. She had her first career extra-base hit with her double in the fifth.

SCORING NUGGETS

The only scoring in the game came in the fifth inning. Freshman Lindsay Hooker led off the frame with a pinch-hit double to right center. Payton Conroy re-entered the game and came around to score on a Kendall Smiley single to left, and Hannah Hawley brought Smiley home on a double down the left field line. Howard made a pitching change after the two runs scored – but committed back-to-back errors with Doloszycki and Sophia Grillo at the plate to bring Hawley home. Greer followed with an RBI single, and Sophie Holverstott brought home Doloszycki on a groundout to push the score to 5-0.