March 23, 2007
Spartan Tournmament Notes
Miami Invitational Tournament Website
EAST LANSING, Mich. - The Michigan State softball team travels to its final tournament of the spring season this weekend, competing at the 2007 Miami (Ohio) Invitational. MSU joins host Miami, Purdue, Toledo and Youngstown State at the three-day event. State will only compete on Saturday and Sunday.
FAU Parents Weekend Tournament Recap
Michigan State posted a 3-2 record at the FAU Parents Weekend Tournament, March 16-18. The Spartans dropped consecutive 3-0 decisions to No. 3 Texas A&M and host FAU, before defeating Quinnipiac, 2-0, and UMass, 8-3, to finish pool play. State defeated UMass, 8-6, in the tournament playoffs Sunday. Sophomore catcher Kara Weigle led the Green and White with five hits and six RBI.
Scouting This Week's Opponents
Miami - The Redhawks enter weekend action with an 8-19 overall record. Miami posted a five-game winning streak earlier this season, but have dropped eight of their last nine games. Hallie Popson leads the way at the plate with 30 hits, while Shalise Lugo paces the Redhawk pitchers with a team-best 1.83 ERA.
Purdue - The Boilermakers are 13-21 entering play at the Miami Invitational. Ashley Hall ranks second in the Big Ten and leads Purdue with 40 hits on the year, while pitcher Brooke Baker ranks second in the conference and leads the team with 10 victories in the circle.
Toledo - The Rockets are just 2-12 in 2007 and have lost six straight heading into weekend play. Leslie Strong is the only Rocket to post double-digit hit totals this season with 15, while Stephanie Moore has tossed a team-best 36.1 innings in the circle.
Youngstown State - The Penquins have played just four games this season, posting a 3-1 record. Becky Hibner leads the way at the plate with seven hits, while pitcher Karlie Burnell has two wins this season.
Series Histories
Michigan State holds a dominating 9-0 lead in the all-time series with Miami. The teams last met during the 2003 season with MSU winning both sides of a doubleheader, 8-0 and 6-3.
The Spartans defeated Purdue, 8-2 and 1-0 during the 2006 season at Old College Field. MSU holds a slight 15-14 edge in the all-time series with the Boilermakers.
MSU defeated Toledo, 13-2, earlier this season in the season opener for both teams at the Hampton Inn Bama Bash on Feb. 16. UT leads the all-time series with MSU, 11-9.
Youngstown State won the only other meeting between the Penquins and Spartans during the 1990 season. YSU stole a 4-3, eight-inning victory against the Green and White.
Big Ten Statistics
In the most recent Big Ten statistics (March 20), Michigan State is ninth in team batting with a .258 average. The Spartans are sixth in team pitching with a combined 2.75 ERA. Sophomore Kara Weigle is eighth in individual batting (.386) while she also leads the league with six triples.
Spartan Honor Roll
Sophomore catcher Kara Weigle earned her first career Big Ten Player of the Week award on Feb. 20. Weigle hit .667 (10-for-15) with four triples and two home runs to earn all-tournament honors at the Hampton Inn Bama Bash. She is the first MSU Player of the Week honoree since the 2005 season. Junior outfielder Traci Nicosia joined Weigle on the Hampton Inn Bama Bash All-Tournament Team. Nicosia contributed seven hits, including three doubles and five RBI for the Spartans.
Perfect Hair Day
Behind Megan Hair's first-career perfect game, the MSU softball team won its sixth straight, and improved to 9-6 with a non-conference doubleheader sweep (9-0, 8-0) of Saint Joseph's on March 6 at the EC Moore Complex. Hair's flawless game was the first in the Big Ten Conference this season, and the first individual perfect-game performance in MSU history, as the only other recorded perfect outing was a combined effort by Becky Gray and Jessica Beech against IPFW during the 2002 season.
This And That
Through the first 27 games of the season, junior Nikki Nicosia has posted the longest individual hitting streak at nine games, and holds the longest current streak at two along with Gina Mondo, Traci Nicosia and Caitlin Mahoney.
