MSU softball advances to NISC regional final
Michigan State downed IUPUI 7-1 on Wednesday afternoon in the second round of the National Invitational Softball Championship on the campus of Illinois State University.
Kaitlyn Eveland led the Spartans with a 3-for-4 performance with four RBIs, while Kristina Zalewski threw two innings of no-hit relief to secure the victory.
"I liked the way we responded today - we scored first, we scored in multiple innings, and we got outstanding pitching both from our starter and in relief," said MSU head coach Jacquie Joseph. "We are going to look for the same when we play again later tonight - just a focus on the task at hand."
More:Michigan State softball loses to Murray State in NISC opener
The game was an elimination contest, as both teams lost their first-round game Tuesday. The Spartans had baserunners in every inning, and rebounded from yesterday's extra-inning loss to Murray State to stay alive and improve to 32-23 on the year. IUPUI finishes its season with a 23-31 record.
MSU opened up a 2-0 lead in the first inning with some help from an Eveland RBI single, scored single runs as insurance in the fourth and fifth innings, then blew it open with a three-run homer from Eveland in the bottom of the sixth. IUPUI manufactured its only run in the top of the third, but could not solve the Spartan pitchers enough the rest of the way to add any more runs to the scoreboard.
MSU starter Bridgette Rainey (16-8) went five strong innings before leaving in the sixth when she was hit by a batted ball; Zalewski earned the save.
With her four RBIs on the day, Eveland established a new school single-season record - she now has 57, one more than Lindsey Hansen's old mark of 56, set in 2011. Meanwhile, Zalewski recorded her 11th career save, good for second all-time in MSU history; the record is 12, held by Erica Strutz (1997-2000).
Second game
Michigan State put together one of its patented late-inning rallies, putting 10 runs on the board in the sixth inning for a 10-6 victory over Murray State in an elimination game in the National Invitational Softball Championship (NISC).
WIth the win, MSU (33-23) advances to the regional championship round on Thursday to face host Illinois State. MSU must win twice on Thursday to advance to next week's Championship Round, as the Redbirds won each of their games the last two days.
The Spartans, who held a 6-0 lead over Murray State in Tuesday's game but allowed the Racers to tie the game in regulation and score the winner in the ninth inning, flipped the script from the day before.
MSU couldn't get its bats going early in the game, limited to just three hits over the first five innings. The Spartans made up for it by sending 12 batters to the plate in the sixth inning, rallying for nine hits and 10 runs. Murray State used four pitchers in the frame, as starter Mason Robinson gave up two runs, Amber Van Duyse lasted just one batter and walked in a run, and Thursday winner Haven Campbell came on to give up seven runs, including a moon shot over the left field fence by Kelcey Carrasco that made it 10-6. Robinson came back on and got the final two outs, but the damage had been done.
Starter Bridgette Rainey came back on for a 1-2-3 seventh inning to earn the save after starting and going 3.1 innings where she allowed just two hits, striking out three and walking four; Kristina Zalewski earned the win with 2.2 innings of relief work, scattering five hits.
Lea Foerster and McKenzie Long each went 3-for-4 in the game, while Kaitlyn Eveland was the only other Spartan with multiple base hits (2-for-4). Carrasco's homer was her 11th of the season, good for second on the team.
Brenna Finck was the leader offensively for Murray State, with a 2-for-4 effort at the plate, scoring twice.
Foerster became MSU's all-time doubles leader with her 53rd career double, while Carrasco also added to history with her 11th homer of the season, extending her freshman record.