MSU roundup: Softball shuts out Loyola Marymount

Michigan State got strong pitching performances from starter Bridgette Rainey and Kristina Zalewski in relief and defeated Loyola Marymount 3-0 on Friday afternoon in Los Angeles. The pitchers combined for a six- hit, 11- strikeout performance to take the first game of the three-game series. The Spartans improve to 8-2 overall, and have won three straight.

Rainey continued her mastery in the circle, striking out eight (one shy of her career high) in her fifth start of the season, scattering four hits and leaving after the fifth inning without allowing a run. Zalewski, who is returning in a limited role after returning from an off-season injury, made her season debut when she replaced Rainey to start the bottom of the sixth. She struck out three and allowed two hits in her two innings of work.

"Its hard not to be excited for our two pitchers out there today - Bridgette put so much into her improvement in the off-season, and she is being rewarded for all of her hard work. Kristina Zalewski is making her way back to the field- we're not going to push her too hard or too fast, but three strikeouts in two innings of relief is a good indication to me that she's progressing nicely," said coach Jacquie Joseph.

Senior Sarah Gutknecht accounted for all three Spartan runs, driving in Lea Foerster with a RBI single in the first and smacking a two-run home run in the fifth inning, the 20th round-tripper of her career. She moves into a sixth-place tie with Gina Mondo (2006-09) and Brett Williams (2009-12).

The teams meet again at 4 p.m. Saturday to continue the three-game series.

Track & Field

TimEhrhardt wins Big Ten indoor pole vault title

The Michigan State track & field team highlighted the day with multiple personal and season-bests on the opening day of the Big Ten Indoor Track & Field Championships at the SPIRE Institute in Geneva, Ohio, on Friday. Through the first day of events, the Spartan women are in seventh with 20 points, while the men are in fifth with 16 points.

“I felt like we were in the fight the entire day,” said Director of Cross Country and Track and Field Walt Drenth. “What we want to see is a scrap, sometimes all you can do is get here and be a better version than what you’ve been all year and I felt like we were that on a lot of occasions today. From my standpoint, I felt we made some progress even though we didn’t score the points we wanted to. If we keep this mentality going forward it will help us get better and better down the road.”

Michigan State’s best finish came on the men’s side in the pole vault as redshirt junior Tim Ehrhardt was the lone Spartan to claim a first-place finish and become a B1G Champion on the first day. Ehrhardt cleared 5.49-meters, a height that was a personal record, and broke his own SPIRE Institute meet record.

“It’s rare in college meets to see people jump over 18 feet in the pole vault,” said Drenth. “That’s usually one of the first big milestones of someone who is going to be really good at something. 18 feet for Tim (Ehrhardt) is quite an accomplishment and hats off to him. He was an unbelievable competitor today. It was a great testament to his will, his competitiveness and his talent.”

The distance medley relay also found themselves on the podium with a third-place finish and a time of 9:41.69. The team in running order consisted of senior Sherod Hardt, senior David Washington, sophomore Justine Kiprotich, and sophomore Daniel Sims.

On the women’s side, redshirt senior Hannah Sailar battled through an injury and led the team with a third-place finish in the pole vault and season-best 4.15-meters.

Sophomore Asya Reynolds took fifth in the pentathlon with a final score of 3734 to tally four points for the Spartans at the beginning of the day. Reynolds took fourth in the 60-meter hurdles, fifth in the high jump, sixth in the shot put, fifth in the long jump, and 12th in the 800-meter run.

Senior Alexis Wiersma also garnered points for the Spartans with a fifth-place finish in the 3000 meter run on a time of 9:16.10.

Junior Katelyn Daniels concluded the scoring for MSU with a fifth-place finish in the shot put. Daniels furthest throw was 15.65-meters, which marked a season-best.

Day two of the Big Ten Indoor Championships take off at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 26, with the continuation of the men’s heptathlon. The full slate of events concludes at approximately 4:35 p.m. with the women’s 4x400-meter relay.

- MSU Athletic Communications