Late Spartan Rally Falls Short Against Toledo

East Lansing, Mich. – A late Michigan State rally fell short on Tuesday, as the Spartans fell to Toledo, 5-3, in its first home midweek game of the season.

Trailing 5-1 entering the seventh inning, MSU plated a pair of runs to pull within two and had the go-ahead run at the plate before relief pitcher Katie McDonald got the final out. She earned the save facing four batters in the seventh; starter Lexi Johnson went six innings, scattering six hits and striking out three. In the Spartan circle, Jacey Schuler tossed five innings, striking out two and allowing five hits without an earned run allowed. She faced a season-high 27 batters.

The Rockets scored two runs in the top of the first and added three in the top of the sixth, getting some help from Spartan defensive miscues. Neither of the Toledo runs in the first inning was earned, and in all, the Rockets stranded 13 batters. MSU stranded eight, including two on base as the game ended.

Zoie Bernard was 1-for-2 with a pair of walks and a run scored, while Hannah Hawley recorded a pair of RBI and a double, her sixth of the season. Kendall Smiley, Lyndsey Hooker, and Payton Conroy also had base hits.

Michigan State has its third Big Ten series of the season this weekend at Ohio State.

NOTABLES

Zoie Bernard walked twice and added a seventh-inning single.
Hannah Hawley had her sixth double of the year to reach base successfully in her sixth straight game. It is the team's longest active streak. She also drew a walk, her 15^th of the season, and had a pair of RBI.
Kendall Smiley delivered a base hit in the bottom of the fifth.
Lyndsey Hooker delivered a pinch-hit single in the sixth inning.
Payton Conroy legged out a bunt single to lead off the seventh inning and scored MSU's first of two runs in the frame.
Natalia Kenyatta entered as a defensive replacement. She was 0-1 with a walk and a run scored.
Jacey Schuler earned the start and went five innings, scattering seven hits. She faced a season-high 27 batters. Both runs scored against her (in the first inning) were unearned.
Alex Starr entered in the top of the sixth with the bases loaded and one out.
Toledo head coach Jessica Bracamonte is a 2012 Michigan State graduate and was a four-year softball letterwinner for the Spartans.

SCORING SUMMARIES

Toledo put a pair of unearned runs on the board in the top of the opening frame. It started with a one-out single by Samantha Bolding, followed by two errors that allowed Audrey Miller to reach base and pushed Bolding to third. A single to left and a fielder's choice followed to bring home both runners.
MSU got on the scoreboard in the home half of the third. Zoie Bernard drew her second walk of the day and came around to score on a Hannah Hawley double to right center.
Autumn Behlke came on to throw the sixth, and Toledo's leadoff hitter Eli Enriquez reached on an error. Bolding smacked a homer to center, plating two more runs. A double, a walk, and a single loaded the bases with one out, and the Spartans went to the bullpen to bring in Alex Starr. Starr surrendered a sac fly to right and got Aibley to pop out to end the inning and strand two, making it 5-1.
Payton Conroy put down a bunt and beat the throw with a head-first slide into first to start off the seventh inning with a baserunner. Natalia Kenyatta walked, and Bernard singled to left to bring home Conroy to make it 5-2. The Rockets made a pitching change, bringing on Katie McDonald; she got a pair of groundouts that scored Kenyatta and moved Bernard to third. McDonald walked Sydney Doloszycki to put runners at the corners, but got the final out of the game with the go-ahead run at the plate.