Softball

Feb. 21, 2013

Tournament Central

EAST LANSING, Mich. – Michigan State softball will travel to Fort Myers, Fla., this weekend as part of the Florida Gulf Coast/La Quinta Inn at the Airport Spring Break Invitational.   The Spartans will first face St. Bonaventure at 8 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 22.  Then on Saturday, Feb. 23, Michigan State will continue their action against Albany at 11:15 a.m. and St. Bonaventure at 8:15 p.m.  At 11:15 a.m. on Sunday, Feb. 24, MSU will compete against Villanova and at 1:30 p.m. take on Florida Gulf Coast.

The Last Meeting Michigan State 12   Florida Gulf Coast 3 6 February 18, 2011 Fort Myers, Fla. Softball Continues Strong, Run-Rules FGCU, 12-3 The Michigan State softball team moved to 5-2 on the year with a 12-3 win over Florida Gulf Coast in its second game at the Homewood Suites/Hilton Garden Inn FGCU Tournament on Friday, Feb. 18. The game marked MSU's second run-ruled win of the day as it previously topped Saint Louis earlier in the day. Recap | Box Score

The Last Meeting Michigan State 1 Villanova 0 February 19, 2011 Fort Myers, Fla. Softball Blanks Villanova, Wins 1-0 The Michigan State softball team (7-2) closed out day two at the Homewood Suites/Hilton Garden Inn FGCU Tournament with a 1-0 win over Villanova on Saturday, Feb. 19. With the win, MSU brings its current win streak to four straight contests. Freshman Cassee Layne earned her third shutout win of the year in 7.0 innings of work. Recap | Box Score

“It was nice to see some success after working so hard,” said head coach Jacquie Joseph, “I thought we pitched well and defensively we played better.  This weekend we have a mix of teams from a climate similar to ours and a solid Florida Gulf Coast team to face.  We are working very hard on not paying attention to the jersey but paying attention to the game.  We want to see what the game dictates and go from there.”

Looking Back
MSU recorded a 4-1 record at the Littlewood Classic last weekend in Tempe, Ariz., defeating UIC twice, Illinois State and Northern Iowa.  Michigan State fell to No. 3 Arizona State on Feb. 15, 9-2.

Junior Kelly Smith leads the Spartans on the mound with a 2.12 ERA and 46 strikeouts in 36 1/3 innings pitched.  Smith notched a career-best 11 strikeouts against Northern Iowa on Sunday, Feb. 17.  Following Smith with a 3.71 ERA and five strikeouts is freshman Dani Goranson in 17 innings pitched.

Leading the MSU offense in RBIs is sophomore Ellie Stoffer with eight, along with one home run, five doubles and a .708 slugging percentage.  Senior Kylene Hopkins leads the team and ranks second in the Big Ten with a .548 batting average.  Stoffer’s five doubles leads the Big Ten.

St. Bonaventure
The Bonnies are 1-7 as they enter the tournament, compiling a team batting average of .229 and 8.65 ERA.  Jessenia Andujar posts a .333 batting average to lead St. Bonaventure on the plate.  Recording a team-high of seven RBIs is Katie Sinclair, who also produces a .737 slugging percentage.  Julia Pratt leads the pitching staff with 5.68 ERA and seven strikeouts in 25 innings pitched. 

Albany
Albany has yet to compete in the 2013 season; in 2012 the Great Danes went 36-14 and had a .290 team batting average and 3.35 ERA.  Returning for the Great Danes is Charlise Castro who notched 53 RBIs, 13 home runs and .461 batting average last season.  Alexa Toole also returns after tallying a .317 batting average and 31 RBIs in 2012.  The only returning pitcher for Albany is Brittany McGawn, who led the team last season with a 1.67 ERA and collected a record of 19-6.

Villanova
The Wildcats will see their first action of the season this weekend at the Spring Break Invitational. Last season, the team averaged a .292 batting average and 2.98 ERA.  Janie O’Hara was the team’s leading hitter last season, recording a .353 batting average and 15 RBIs.  Wildcats’ Molly Manning led the team, with 28 RBIs last season.  Returning on the mound is Kaity Sitzman with 32 innings pitched and a 2.79 ERA. 

 

Florida Gulf Coast
FGCU is 4-3 on the season and owns a .287 batting average and 1.19 ERA.  Leading the Eagles at the plate is Jessica Barnes with a .409 batting average, while Emily Lanier leads with eight RBIs.  Shelby Morgan leads the pitching staff with a 0.62 ERA in 22 innings pitched. 

Ranking in the Big Ten
The Spartans rank eighth in the Big Ten for batting average (.285) and second in doubles (15).  MSU and Penn State are the only schools that have notched a save this season. 

Senior Kylene Hopkins sits at second for batting average (.548); at first is Cassidy Bell of Penn State with a .600 batting average.  Junior Kelly Smith is third in the Big Ten with 46 strikeouts.  Hopkins also ranks at second for hits with 17. 

Next Up
Michigan State will compete in the Florida Atlantic Tournament March 2-9.  The Spartans will face Ball State, Jacksonville, Harvard, Florida Atlantic, Niagara, Eastern Michigan, Kansas and UL-Monroe in Boca Raton, Fla.

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