Michigan State University Athletics
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May 16, 1997
Michigan State Drops 1-0 Game to Central Michigan
ANN ARBOR, Mich. - The 13th-ranked Michigan State softball team opened the NCAA Region 6 Tournament play today with a 1-0 loss to Mid-America Conference Champion Central Michigan. The Spartans, who are making their first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance, will play the loser of the Michigan and Cleveland State game at 12:30 p.m., on Saturday, May 17.
Central Michigan scored the lone run of the game in the fifth inning when pitcher Tina Kinney led off the inning with a single to right field. Pinch runner Christian Hart advanced to second on a wild pitch. Catcher Merne Colla hit a grounder to shortstop to advance Hart to third. When MSU first baseman Stacey Phillips attempted to throw Hart out at third, the ball skipped off the third baseman and went out of play, sending Hart home with the eventual game-winning run.
Kinney improved to 19-9 with the complete-game shutout. She allowed just four Spartan hits, walked two and struck out just one batter. MSU freshman Carrie Fry went 2-for-4 to lead the Spartans.
"I'm obviously disappointed with our offensive effort," MSU head coach Jacquie Joseph said. "We had so many opportunities to score and we didn't and that has been a problem of ours as of late. At this level, you have to play errorless defense until you have an opportunity to score. But you also have to have someone to step up offensively and we haven't had that.
"Central made two errors and we failed to capitalize and that was the difference in the game," said Joseph. "When you look at the line score, either team could have won. The difference is they capitalized on our error and we didn't capitalize on their errors."
MSU's best chance to score was in the fourth inning when Stephanie Noffsinger reached base on an error by CMU's shortstop. Noffsinger stole second base and advanced to third on the sacrifice by Stacey Smith. The next two Spartans grounded out, ending the MSU scoring opportunity.
Smith suffered the loss for Michigan State, going five innings and allowing just three hits. She walked one batter and struck out five. Noffsinger threw the final two innings for the Spartans, allowing just one hit, walking one and striking out four.
The Spartans are 46-21 overall, while the Chippewas improved to 39-20.
Postgame Quotes
Michigan State Head Coach Jacquie Joseph:
"I felt any pitcher on our staff could have beaten Central Michigan. It's (the loss) not about our pitching. We only managed four hits.
" knew it was going to be a very good game. It hurts losing the game. It really hurts that we lost 1-0 and our pitcher only gave up four hits.
"It's important for us to continue to get here (Regional Championships) and learn. We'd like to get to the World Series, but it's rare to bust out that big."
Michigan State pitcher Stacey Smith:
"I think I could have finished the game, but I respect her (Coach Joseph) decision to pull me. I am getting over being sick.
"We're there (Regional Championships), we just need to get the bats going. Hopefully we'll come back strong tomorrow and stay in the tournament."
Central Michigan Head Coach Margo Jonker:
"It seems like we've had a lot of squeekers recently. We had another today. It was an excellent defensive game for both teams. We came up with some key defensive plays with runners in scoring position.
"The fact that most of our kids have been to Regionals and we have a tight Mid-America Conference tournament helped us in being ready for this tournament."
Central Michigan 1, Michigan State 0 Central Michigan 000 010 0 - 1 4 2 Michigan State 000 000 0 - 0 4 1
MSU: Stacey Smith, Stephanie Noffsinger (6) and Molly Hugan. CMU: Tara Kinney and Meme Colla.
2B: Lisa Poskey (CMU), Keri Lemasters (CMU).
WP: Tara Kinney (19-9). LP: Stacey Smith (28-12).