Softball Earns Sweep on Day One of Maverick Invitational
ARLINGTON, Texas – Michigan State softball put a pair of wins in the record book on Friday afternoon at the Maverick Invitational, defeating DePaul (8-0) and Kansas City (13-2). MSU racked up 16 hits in game two against Kansas City, a program-best during the Coach Sho era.Several Spartans turned in impressive performances on Friday. Senior Collette Allen went 5-for-6 with two home runs, a double, a walk and five RBI. Freshman Jaeya Butler was 4-for-5 at the plate with a home run, a double and an RBI. Sophomore's Sydney Doloszycki and Britain Beshears each hit a pair of home runs with two RBI. Senior Alexis Ross and junior Macy Lee both finished the day with three hits.
In the circle, senior Liv Grey pitched five shutout innings and struck out nine while earning the first win of her Spartan career.
Game One – Michigan State 8, DePaul 0
Senior Liv Grey (1-3) started in the circle and tossed a gem allowing just two hits and striking out a season-high nine batters through five innings. Grey was relieved by senior Ashlyn Roberts who pitched a 1-2-3 sixth frame.
MSU collected six hits in the contest and drew a trio of walks. Senior Collette Allen turned in a multi-hit performance with a two-run home run and an RBI single. Freshman Jaeya Butler, sophomore Sydney Doloszycki, sophomore Britain Beshears and junior Macy Lee all collected base knocks. Doloszycki, Butler and Beshears all homered for the Spartans. Senior AJ Militello drove in the run-ruling RBI on a sac fly.
Butler got the scoring started with a first pitch swinging solo home run to dead center field to lead off the second inning. A single through the left side of the infield by Lee put one on base for Allen, who followed up with her first Spartan home run beyond the right field fence, putting MSU ahead 3-0.
Michigan State continued to extend its lead in the third when Doloszycki hit her first career long ball, a solo shot to left. Beshears extended MSU's advantage in the fourth with her second home run of the season as the Spartans continued to show off their strength.
A three-run sixth inning concluded game one by run rule as Allen tallied her third RBI of the morning on a single to shortstop to put MSU ahead 6-0. A bases loaded wild pitch score Lee from third before a Militello sac fly ended things.
Game Two – Michigan State 13, Kansas City 2
Junior Madison Taylor (1-1) took the ball in game two tossing 4.2 innings, allowing one earned run and striking out three. Fellow junior Faith Guidry made her way to the circle in relief pitching 1.1 innings, striking out two and earning her third career save.
Butler kept her day going in game two with a first inning RBI single that scored Ross. Kansas City was quick to tie things up in the home half of the first using a pair of Spartan errors to their advantage.
Michigan State added to its tally with a three-run fourth. A two-out, two-run Beshears homer to center started the rally for MSU before Militello doubled to the wall in right-center to score Allen from first.
Kansas City cut MSU's advantage to two in the fourth after a double down the left field line plated one Roo runner.
After back-to-back base hits to lead off the inning, a timely two-out bases loaded single by Conroy in the fifth pushed Michigan State's lead back to three. It was the first RBI of Conroy's career. Kansas City looked to do some damage in the home half of the fifth, but Guidry induced a weak pop out to end a bases loaded threat.
A Hawley single started an eight-run Spartan rally in the sixth as walks from Butler and Lee loaded the bases. Hawley came around to score on a passed ball before a Beshears ground out plated Butler. With two down, Allen slugged her second home run of the day to right, putting MSU ahead 9-2. Things started to spiral for Kansas City after Militello reached on a two-out error. Ross drove in one on a single to right before Doloszycki unloaded on a ball to deep left that cleared the outfield berm. The three-run homer was Doloszycki's second of the day and the second of her career.
Long Ball Paces Softball to Two Wins Saturday
ARLINGTON, Texas – Michigan State softball's offense was rolling for the second-straight day on Saturday as the Spartans took down Boise State (8-5) and UT Arlington (9-1) on day two of the Maverick Invitational.MSU is now 4-0 on the weekend and improves to 4-5 overall on the season. Michigan State's offense hit .354 on the day (22-for-62) with six home runs. The Spartans have now hit 13 home runs this weekend.
Game One – Michigan State 8, Boise State 5
Junior Madison Taylor started in the circle and took a no decision, striking out three in 3.1 innings of work. Earning the win was junior Faith Guidry (1-1) who struck out two and allowed just one hit over 3.2 frames. Senior Ashlyn Roberts also pitched in relief.
Michigan State posted another big offensive performance with 12 hits and eight runs going against the reigning National Pitcher of the Week, Taylor Caudill. Senior Alexis Ross led the Spartans with three hits, while sophomore Hannah Hawley, freshman Jaeya Butler and junior Macy Lee each added two. Butler and Lee homered, with Ross, Hawley and sophomore Sydney Doloszycki reaching on doubles. Freshman Payton Conroy put herself on base twice with a single and a walk.
Taylor staved off several Bronco threats early on, including a bases loaded situation in the first that ended in a Taylor strikeout. Boise State broke through first however, scoring on a single to short in the third inning.
A Conroy walk and a perfectly placed bunt single by Ross put two runners on with two outs for Hawley in the home half of the third. Hawley came through in the clutch for MSU rocketing a single up the middle to score both runners and give the Spartans a 2-1 lead. Hawley's two RBI on Saturday ties her career best.
Boise State gained an advantage in the fourth scoring four runs to lead Michigan State, 5-2.
The top of MSU's batting order continued to do work in the fifth, with base hits by Ross and Hawley setting the stage for Butler. Butler sent an 0-1 pitch over the center field fence to tie the game at 5-5, her second home run of the weekend.
Guidry settled in and pitched scoreless fifth, sixth and seventh frames to hold the Broncos at bay while the Spartan offense heated up. Doloszycki led off the bottom of the seventh with a double to put one runner in scoring position for MSU. Butler later drew an intentional walk due to her continued strong performance this weekend.
With two on in the bottom of the seventh, Lee powered a ball over the center field fence to walk it off with a three-run shot. It was Lee's first home run of the season and the third of her career. Her three RBI on Saturday is a new personal best.
Game Two – Michigan State 9, UT Arlington 1
Senior Liv Grey (2-3) made her second start of the weekend in game two and struck out nine in six innings. Grey threw five scoreless frames, allowing just one earned run on four hits. Junior Madison Taylor relieved Grey in the seventh and struck out a pair of Maverick batters.
Michigan State's offense kept up the momentum from game one, scoring nine runs on 10 hits (six extra-base). Sophomore's Hannah Hawley and Britain Beshears each finished the game with three hits. Hawley doubled and homered, while Beshears hit a pair of home runs for the second straight day. Freshman Payton Conroy hit her first career home run late and was second on the team with three RBI to Beshears' four. Also with hits were freshman Jaeya Butler, junior Macy Lee and senior Collette Allen.
Beshears broke the scoreless stretch in the fourth, slugging her third home run of the weekend to put MSU up 2-0. UTA got one back in the bottom of the fourth after a trio of singles pushed a run across.
A two-out rally saw the Spartans take a 5-1 lead in the sixth. Allen drew and walk and senior AJ Militello was hit by a pitch to put Conroy up to bat. Conroy unloaded on the first pitch she saw and placed it over the center field fence for her first career home run.
Another big inning saw Michigan State extend its lead to 9-1 in the seventh. Hawley hit a homer of the solo variety to start things. After a double by Butler, Lee singled down the left field line to put another run on the board. With one on after the Lee single, Beshears smashed her second home run of the game to extend MSU's advantage.
Coming in to close things out, Taylor induced a weak grounder before striking out the final two batters of the game.
Softball Drops Maverick Invitational Finale in Low-Scoring Affair
ARLINGTON, Texas – One run was the difference in Michigan State softball's 4-3 loss to Boise State to wrap up play at the Maverick Invitational on Sunday. The Spartans took a 3-0 lead early, but Boise State scored four unanswered to earn the victory.Michigan State finishes the weekend 4-1 and moves to 4-6 overall. Boise State, who is receiving votes in this week's NFCA Coaches Poll, improves to 6-2.
Senior Liv Grey made her second start of the weekend and struck out five batters through 2.2 innings in the circle. Grey allowed two earned runs before being relieved by junior Faith Guidry. Guidry (1-2) pitched 3.0 innings, striking out one and allowing one earned run. Junior Madison Taylor recorded the final out on the visiting side of the scoreboard.
Sophomore Hannah Hawley paced the MSU offense with three hits, including an RBI double in the second inning. Also with an RBI double was sophomore Sydney Doloszycki who drew a walk in the seventh. Junior Macy Lee and senior Collette Allen each tallied one base knock. As a team Michigan State out-hit Boise State, 6-5.
Two-out hitting continued to be a strong-suit of the Spartans early and that was evident in the second inning. Allen led-off the inning with an infield single before moving to third on a sac bunt and a wild pitch. After freshman Payton Conroy drew a walk on a pitch clock violation, Allen stole home on a double-steal situation for MSU's first run of the contest.
With Conroy on second and two outs, Doloszycki doubled her home and Hawley later traded places with her to put three on the board for Michigan State. Hawley's double to right hit the top of the fence and bounced back into play.
Boise State got one run back in the bottom of the second on a solo shot to right-center, and later tied the game in the third on a two-run homer to left. The Broncos used a two-out double to take a 4-3 lead over MSU in the fourth.
Down to its final out in the seventh, Michigan State put two runners on after Doloszycki walked and Hawley singled through the left side. There were no late-inning heroics on Sunday however as a fly out ended things.
Up Next
Michigan State starts its spring break trek through North and South Carolina next weekend when it heads to Durham, N.C. for the Duke Invitational on Feb. 23-25. The Spartans will also make single-game stops at Campbell (Feb. 27) and UNC Wilmington (Feb. 28). MSU concludes its trip at the Chanticleer Showdown in Conway, S.C. on March 1-3.
Recap courtesy of MSU Athletics.
