MSU softball: Spartans Down Robert Morris on Getaway Day, 13-2
Michigan State softball got significant help from extra-base hits again on Sunday, rattling off a pair of home runs, two doubles, and a triple among its seven hits in scoring a 13-2 victory (five innings) over Robert Morris to conclude EMU's Madiera Beach Invitational Tournament. The Spartans went 4-1 on the weekend to improve to 7-2 overall on the season. Robert Morris falls to 1-8.
RMU's two pitchers combined to walk seven batters and surrendered seven hits, and the Spartans also had two sacrifice hits and a pair of hit batters on the afternoon to build to the sizeable lead that ended the game after five innings.
"We talked a lot about being the team that we know we are today," said head coach Jacquie Joseph. "The two losses we've had this year we felt like we got away from what we do and who we are. We responded immediately after giving up two early runs, and handled things in each inning. We're continuing to grow, but I think we really like the foundation we have moving forward."
Top performers
Ebonee Echols had a double and a triple with four RBI and a run scored.
Lea Foerster hit her third home run of the season, a grand slam in the fourth inning.
Kelcey Carrasco hit her team-leading fourth homer of the season in the bottom of the first inning, a three-run shot.
The Colonials jumped out in front in the top of the first, using a two-run homer by Olivia Lorusso and four hits overall to take a 2-0 lead. The Spartans countered immediately, loading the bases thanks to a base hit and a pair of walks. Ebonee Echols stepped up with a two-RBI double into center, and Kelcey Carrasco emptied the bases with a three-run shot to make it 5-2 after one inning.
In the bottom of the third, Sarah Gutknecht reached on a throwing error by the third baseman, bringing Echols to the plate. Echols sent a shot to left that rolled into the corner, scoring Gutknecht. She tried to stretch her triple into an inside-the-park home run, but she was nabbed at home by the closest of margins to end the inning - but not before giving MSU a 6-2 lead with the RBI.
An RBI double by Kaitlyn Eveland in the fourth followed by a Gutknecht sac fly tacked on a pair of runs with just one out in the bottom of the fourth, and once MSU loaded the bases, Lea Foerster jacked her third home run of the season, a shot to deep right center that cleared the bases and gave MSU a 10-2 lead. Thanks to four walks in the inning, MSU scored seven times in the home half of the fourth, pushing its lead to 13-2.
Celeste Wood (1.1 innings), Jordan Watson (1.2 innings) and Bridgette Rainey (2.0 innings) combined for the second straight staff outing on a Sunday, with Wood earning the win, her first of the year. Rainey struck out two and allowed just one hit in the final two innings of work.
Echols' triple in the third inning was the 11th of her career, moving her into a tie for seventh place in the MSU record book.
Michigan State Athletics communication department.