April 28, 2005

EAST LANSING, Mich. -

Complete Softball Notes in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader

State Wraps Up Big Ten Play Against
No. 15 Northwestern And No. 1 Michigan
April 29-30, May 1, 2005
(Live Stats Available At www.msuspartans.com)
4/27 vs. IPFW - MSU 5-2 & 7-0
4/29 & 30 at #15 Northwestern - 3 p.m. CT (Fri.) &
     Noon CT (Sat.) - Sharon J. Drysdale Field
5/1 at #1 Michigan - 1 p.m. (DH) - Alumni Field
Doubleheader at Michigan will be televised by
Comcast Local as well as broadcasted live
on the internet.

UP NEXT
Michigan State concludes the Big Ten portion of its schedule by playing the top two teams in the conference. State travels to No. 15 Northwestern Friday (3 p.m. CT) and Saturday (noon CT) and then heads to Ann Arbor Sunday for a double-dip against No. 1 Michigan beginning at 1 p.m. Gametracker will be available for each of MSU's games this weekend at www.msuspartans.com.

IN-DEPTH COVERAGE
Michigan State's doubleheader with Michigan will be getting substantial coverage Sunday. Comcast Local will televise the games on tape-delay with air times to be determined (originally scheduled to be live), and subscribers can check them out on channel 18 in East Lansing and Haslett. They will also be broadcasted free over the internet at www.msuspartans.com with Scott Moore handling play-by-play and Brian Ormiston serving as the color analyst. Moore currently serves as the public address announcer for MSU home games while Ormiston is the team's media relations representative.

IPFW RECAP
Michigan State combined for 20 hits in a doubleheader sweep over IPFW Wednesday. MSU tied a season high with five stolen bases in game one's 5-2 victory as Rachel Turney retired all 12 batters she faced and Christy McGrew earned her first career save by maintaining MSU's lead in the final three innings. Lesley Noel and McGrew combined for the shutout in game two, as State was led by a three-run homer by Traci Nicosia in the fifth. The 12 Spartan hits in the second game tied a season high as well.

LAST WEEK'S ROUND-UP
The duo of Rachel Turney and Lesley Noel outshined one another April 19 when the Spartans swept Oakland 4-0 and 5-0 in a doubleheader. Turney struck out eight in the first game, scattering five hits and not issuing a free pass while all six MSU hits came from six different players. Janette Hurtado gave the Green and White a 2-0 lead in the third with a two-out, two-run double. Victoria Morache boosted the advantage to 3-0 in the fifth with a triple that scored Meghan Darhower, and Nikki Nicosia drove Morache in with a bunt single to complete the scoring. In the 5-0 victory, Noel gave up only three hits and struck out four for the freshman's first shutout in an MSU uniform. Hurtado was 3-for-4 in the contest with two RBI and a run scored as State was helped out by six Oakland errors. After picking up a run in the top of the first, MSU posted four more in the third, care of four hits, three errors and a wild pitch.

The string of great weather came to a sudden halt Friday, April 22, right when Michigan State was welcoming Iowa to town. After playing three-plus innings and with the scored tied at 2-2, the first game with the Hawkeyes was halted due to heavy rain. The two teams came out Saturday to try and resume the contest as well as play the series finale, but the rain, wind and temperatures forced the cancellation of both games. Later that evening, snow developed and blanketed East Lansing, which caused MSU's doubleheader with Illinois on Sunday to be wiped out as well.

MORE ON OAKLAND AND THE WEATHER
+ The two shutouts against Oakland marked the first time since the 2002 season that MSU blanked the same opponent in a doubleheader (April 6 at IPFW, 2-0 and 17-0).
+ Michigan State has now had 12 total games affected by weather, including three doubleheaders. Its first game of the year Feb. 18 vs. Iowa State in Las Vegas was cancelled due to rain as well as contests with Florida Atlantic (Feb. 27 at NFCA Leadoff Classic) and Wagner (second game March 9 in Orlando). From March 24-31, State then saw home dates with Central Michigan and Loyola-Chicago and a road meeting with Valparaiso be rescheduled due to unplayable field conditions.

THIS WEEK'S OPPONENTS
Northwestern
The Wildcats have posted numerous important victories this year, but also lost some key games en route to a very respectable 34-11 record and a No. 15 national ranking. NU is 8-2 against ranked opponents, including victories over then-No. 2 California and then-No. 3 Stanford. However, it has dropped decisions to Bethune-Cookman, Illinois State, Bowling Green and Illinois-Chicago. Currently, Northwestern has won 16 of its last 18 games and remains undefeated in the Big Ten (14-0). Penn State almost gave NU its first conference loss last weekend, but gave up a 1-0 lead when Stephanie Churchwell hit a two-run home run in the seventh for the 2-1 Wildcat win.

In the circle, Courtnay Foster is 16-6 with seven shutouts and a 1.22 ERA in 137.1 IP while Eileen Canney is 17-4 with four blankings and a 1.21 ERA in 144.1 IP. The difference is in the K column where Foster has racked up 200 strikeouts compared to 124 by Canney. At the plate, NU has outscored its opponents 234-80 on the season and holds a .298 team average. In Big Ten games, Churchwell (.490), Garland Cooper (.472) and Jamie Dotson (.425) are all batting over .400. Cooper, meanwhile, leads all Big Ten hitters with an overall average of .448. NU is coming off a 4-3 loss to Notre Dame Tuesday where the Irish scored all of their runs in the final inning. The last time MSU and NU met was when State defeated the Wildcats, 2-0, in last year's semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament.

Michigan
Add to the fact that Michigan has been one of the most dominate teams in collegiate softball this year, the MSU-UM rivalry may appear a bit lopsided for the 2005 edition. The Wolverines have 10 seniors and juniors total compared to the Spartans' four while MSU has 15 freshmen and sophomores to UM's nine. Michigan also claims the No. 1 national ranking and a stunning 46-4 record. However, it seems anything goes in this match-up and last year proved that, as the Spartans won two of three meetings, including a 5-1 upset of the No. 1 seed in the Big Ten Tournament (and went on to win the tournament championship).

The Wolverines did lose their first regular season and Big Ten games of the year in a 7-6 defeat to Baylor and a 5-2 loss to Iowa, respectively. Between those upsets, UM strung together a school-record 32-game winning streak and acheived the top ranking after defeating then-No. 1 Arizona 6-2 in March. Michigan ranks first in the Big Ten with an amazing team ERA of 0.83 as all three pitchers hold an ERA of less than one. With the bat, Michigan has hit a mind-boggling 77 homers and have outscored opponents 306-61.

A SCARY DUO
As travel partners, Northwestern and Michigan have been breezing through the Big Ten, combining for a 25-2 record. In week two, Wisconsin and Minnesota were both swept by the Wildcats and Wolverines and in week three, Indiana and Purdue suffered the same fate as both teams went 0-4 vs. the conference's top-two squads.

FACING THE BEST
This weekend's match-up with top-ranked Michigan marks what is believed to be the first time that a Michigan State team has ever faced two different No. 1 programs in a single season. Way back on Feb. 20, the Spartans dropped a 13-0 decision to then-No. 1 California in Las Vegas.

TIME CHANGE
MSU's final home date May 8 vs. Miami-Ohio has been moved from 1 p.m. to noon.

GET ON THE BOARD EARLY
When MSU's bats jump on opposing pitchers early this season, the Spartans have been very intimidating. When State has scored in the first inning, it holds a 7-0 record, and went it scores first overall, MSU is 14-3.

PITCHERS ARE SUFFERING MOR ACHES IN THE CIRCLE
Victoria Morache has been one of State's most consistent hitters this season. Earlier in the year, the left fielder recorded MSU's then-longest hitting streak of 2005 by posting a hit in seven-straight games from Feb. 26-March 8. Recently, Morache is on an eight-game hitting streak entering the weekend and is tearing it up at the plate with at least one hit in 14 of her last 15 games. Over this stretch, she is 23-for-52 for a .442 average with 14 runs scored. Meanwhile, the senior has a hit in her last nine Big Ten games and is batting .366 overall in conference play.

PENINSULA SUPERIOR
Upper Peninsula native Lesley Noel picked up her first collegiate shutout against Oakland (April 19). The freshman from Escanaba gave up only three hits vs. the Golden Grizzlies while striking out four and not walking a batter for the victory. With a win in game two vs. IPFW (April 27), she has won six of her last eight decisions, and has not given up a run in her last 12 innings in the circle.

TURN, TURN, TURN (QUICK NOTES ON Rachel Turney)
+ After tossing 12 complete games and coming so close to her first Division I shutout numerous times, Rachel Turney pitched marvelously against Wisconsin April 16, limiting the Badgers to only four hits while striking out four and not issuing a free pass. Turney faced two batters over the minimum of 21 in the 6-0 victory. She followed that performance April 19 with a five-hit shutout in MSU's game one win over Oakland, where she also did not allow a walk and struck out eight. In her last outing, Turney was perfect in her four innings of work in game one with IPFW April 27, sitting down all 12 batters she faced, striking out six of them.

+ Turney gave up a first-inning, unearned run in the first game with Penn State April 10, and then did not allow another Nittany Lion to touch home in her next 10 innings pitched. The 11.0 IP marked the longest outing by an MSU pitcher this season.

+ In 29 appearances, the sophomore transfer from Lansing Community College has struck out at least five batters 17 times and has at least one K in all but one appearance. Turney has racked up 140 strikeouts in her first year with the Spartans, which is already good enough for ninth on the all-time list.

+ Turney's amazing streak came to an end in the second game against Purdue April 3. For the first time in 2005 (19th appearance), she gave up more than three runs (six) in a game. In 65.1 innings pitched from March 8 to April 3, Turney allowed only seven earned runs for a 0.75 ERA.

HURTADO'S JOURNEY UP THE LADDER
With three more hits in the doubleheader vs. IPFW April 27, senior Janette Hurtado continues to climb Michigan State's all-time hit chart. For her career, the second baseman has racked up 128 hits, good for 20th place. Also, she has been issued 63 walks as a Spartan, tying her for fourth all-time with Becky Aimesbury. The record was set by Brittany Green (104 BBs) from 2001-04.

NOT JUST A QUICK CENTER FIELDER
Nikki Nicosia is making sure her early hitting slumps are forgotten. The freshman holds an overall average of .225 but leads the Spartans in Big Ten games with a .367 mark (11-for-30). Nicosia posted three hits against Wisconsin (4/16) and the second game vs. Purdue (4/3) while successfully completing four sacrifice bunt attempts.

JUST DOING MY JOB
A cast protecting her left wrist and arm has not been stopping freshman pinch-runner Jessica LeFevre. Though sitting out the doubleheader with Loyola April 5 due to the injury, she has entered 10 of the last 15 games and scored a run in three straight from April 15-17. The native of Saginaw, Mich., also stole a base in each of State's first three games while crossing home plate twice in the weekend with Indiana and Purdue. In the first game with the Boilermakers, LeFevre stole home, and added another SB in the second game with Oakland (4/19) to give her eight on the season.

NOW THAT IS CALLED PUTTING THE BALL IN PLAY
Traci Nicosia put together Michigan State's longest string of at-bats without striking out. Dating back to her second plate appearance vs. Eastern Michigan April 6, Nicosia went 31 official at-bats, not counting any walks or sacrifice hits, without falling victim to the K. The streak finally came to an end in game one vs. Oakland April 19.

PURE HONEY AT THE PLATE
Freshman Caitlin Mahoney racked up at least one hit in nine-straight games, marking a team high for 2005. Though the string ended April 13 against Central Michigan, Mahoney was 12-for-30 with three doubles for a .400 average. She also drove in four and scored three runs while walking twice.

SPREADING THE BALL OUT
With her three-run triple against Western Michigan April 12, shortstop Traci Nicosia moved into a five-way tie for fifth on MSU's single-season triple list with five. The Michigan State record is 12 set by Izzy Forester in 1980. Meanwhile, the MSU shortstop has two home runs on the year, both three-run dingers, as well as two doubles for a total of nine extra-base hits, which is tied for second on the team.

MMM, McSHUTOUTS
Sophomore hurler Christy McGrew has posted two shutouts on the year, giving her three for her career. In MSU's second game of the Stetson Tournament, McGrew tossed her second-career shutout vs. Bethune-Cookman (3/11) in a 1-0 victory. McGrew held the Wildcats to just three hits and did not give up a walk while adding one strikeout. And in the first game vs. Loyola (4/5), she struck out a season-high six in a two-hitter for shutout No. 3. Her first blanking came Feb. 27, 2004, when she struck out seven in a five-inning 9-0 win over Stony Brook.

JOSEPH COLLECTS 500
Michigan State head coach Jacquie Joseph reached the 500-career win milestone April 5 with a home-doubleheader sweep over Loyola-Chicago. With the two victories, Joseph became the 37th active Division I coach to accomplish the feat and the third in the Big Ten (See the coaching staff page for a year-by-year look at Joseph's record).

REWARDING AN AMAZING PERFORMANCE
Sophomore outfielder Nicole Mercado broke out in a huge way in MSU's Big Ten openers. Mercado went a combined 5-for-7 in the four games April 1-3, driving in six runs, belting two triples, scoring a run, stealing a base, walking once and posting a sacrifice fly and a sacrifice bunt. The amazing statistics did not go unnoticed as the Big Ten honored her with a Big Ten Player of the Week accolade, her first as a Spartan.

CAN'T SCORE ANY EASIER
Catcher Amy Szawara was issued three walks against Indiana April 1 and she made the Hoosiers pay by scoring all three times. The three free passes marked only the 16th time that a Spartan has ever walked three or more times. The MSU record is four set by Sally Green in 1988 and Cheryl Weise in 1986.

A ROSIE WEEKEND
Sophomore Dana Rosenblatt had a career weekend at the FAU Tournament. As a freshman, Rosenblatt collected one hit in eight at-bats and did not crack the starting lineup. But March 19 against Florida International signified the first of three straight starts for the designated player. She concluded the tournament by going 3-for-7 with three RBI and two walks.

GOING HOME WAS FUN
Freshmen Nikki and Traci Nicosia dominated play during Michigan State's three-game win streak at the Florida Atlantic Tournament as each had at least one hit in all three of those wins. Against Tulsa, the duo, who hail from nearby Plantation, Fla., combined for four hits, three runs and two RBI as Traci drove in her sister in the third and fifth innings. Nikki then made a game-saving catch, a diving snag in the second inning, when Florida International had the bases loaded with two outs. At the plate vs. FIU, Traci had an RBI double and scored a run while Nikki picked up a SB. Finally against Florida Atlantic, Nikki tied an MSU record by stealing three bases in the game, marking only the eighth time a Spartan player has ever accomplished the feat.

I'LL HAVE TWO
Of Michigan State's 10 total hits in its second game with Bethune-Cookman March 12 (W, 3-2), half came by way of the double. Sophomores Dayna Feenstra and Victoria Morache both connected for two 2Bs while Elizabeth Peterson added one of her own. The doubles by Feenstra and Morache marked the 44th and 45th time a Spartan player racked up two two-baggers. It was also the third time Feenstra accomplished the feat in her career. The MSU record for doubles in a game is three, set by Shealee Dunavan March 6, 1999, vs. Mississippi State.

LIVING UP TO ITS PROMISE
Michigan State understood before the season started that its 2005 schedule would be tough and the Spartans were right. MSU has played in seven games that featured a ranked opponent, including then-No. 1 California, then-No. 10 LSU and twice against then-No. 12 Texas A&M. It also battled six teams that won their respective conference regular-season titles in 2004 (Southern Illinois, Florida State, Lehigh, Eastern Kentucky, Florida Atlantic and Central Michigan twice) and seven other schools who finished second (California, Central Florida, Texas A&M, Tulsa, Florida International, Temple and Western Michigan). One more non-conference team that finished in second place (Miami-Ohio) awaits MSU later this year and State will take on last year's Big Ten regular season champion in Michigan this weekend.

GATHER `ROUND FOR CHARON TIME
Freshman Heidi Charon picked up a perfect time to post her first career collegiate hit. In the fourth inning vs. BCC March 12, Charon came in as a pinch-hitter with MSU trailing 1-0. After the Wildcats made a pitching change, she blasted a single up the middle to score Amy Szawara from third and tie the ball game. State went on to defeat BCC, 3-2, in eight innings.

HOW SWEET IT WAS
Sophomore Meghan Darhower went a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate vs. Eastern Kentucky March 6 and posted 3 RBI and a run as well in the 5-1 MSU win. The three hits and three driven in marked career highs for Darhower.

WHAT A WAY TO OPEN A CAREER
In her first collegiate game and at-bat, freshman Traci Nicosia belted a three-run home run in the first inning to cap off a five-run frame for the Spartans in a 9-8 victory over Florida. She finished the game going 3-for-4 with three RBI and two runs scored.