Sotball Prepares for Non-Conference Tilt with MSU

EASTERN TAKES ON BIG TEN OPPONENT: The Eastern Michigan University softball team (9-26, 0-8 MAC) is set to make the short trek to East Lansing, Mich. to go up against Big Ten Conference foe Michigan State University (9-28, 2-12 B1G). First pitch of the single game from Secchia Stadium is slated for 5 p.m.
   Following the non-conference tilt at MSU, Eastern will return to the friendly confines of Varsity Field for a weekend doubleheader against Western Michigan University, April 18, before taking on Nothern Illinois University is two single games, April 19-20.

FINDING THE GAME AT HOME: Fans can follow along with the action in East Lansing, Mich. by heading to msuspartans.com. The Spartans will provide live stats as well as radio for the mid-week single game.
   Fans are also encouraged to follow @EMUSB on twitter for live updates and can join in on conversation using #timetoshine.

EAGLES FALL SHORT IN BUFFALO: The Green and White was unable to come away with a Mid-American Conference victory over the University at Buffalo after its doubleheader against Kent State was cancelled. The Eagles were shut out, 7-0, by the Bulls with ace pitcher Tori Speckman tossing a two-hitter with 10 strikeouts.
   In the rematch contest, EMU and UB went into extra innings after being tied 4-4 at the end of the seventh. A walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth caused Eastern to take the 6-4 loss. Abi Clark and Mady Hostetler led the Eagle offense with two hits apiece, while Clark, Amanda Stanton and Jenn Lucas each tallied a RBI.

STILL LOOKING FOR THE RIGHT FIT: Head Coach Melissa Gentile has continued to switch up the lineup in all 35 games the Eagles have played as she has only handed in the same card on five occasions.
   Junior Jenn Lucas has made the most appearances in the leadoff spot with 16, while Abby Davidson has batted in the three spot on 14 occasions. Junior pitcher Lindsay Rich has also made 14 appearances on the lineup card in the clean up spot, while senior Amanda Stanton has hit in both the third and fourth spot 10 times.
   Stanton is the only Eagle to have started all 35 games in the field at the same position, while Davidson has made 30 starts at third base. Senior Lindsay Smith has made 33 starts in the field for EMU, 20 in center and 13 in left field, while Mady Hostetler has made an appearance in all three outfield positions, the most coming at center field with seven.

EAGLES FIND SUCCESS IN ADVANCING THE RUNNER: The Green and White offense has had success at advancing the runners during the 2014 campaign. Senior Amanda Stanton is hitting a whopping .655 with the chance to advance the runner, while the trio of Mady Hostetler, Lindsay Smith and Alyssa Huntley are all hitting .500 or better.
   As a team, EMU is hitting at a .464 clip, advancing 212 runners on 457 opportunities. Only five players on the EMU roster are hitting below .400 with the opportunity to advance the runner, while 12 are hitting above .400.

ALL-TIME AGAINST THE BIG TEN: Eastern Michigan is 33-113 all-time versus the Big Ten Conference. EMU has has the most success against Michigan State, winning 13 games. Wednesday's contest will be the first time the Eagles square up with a B1G opponent in the 2014 season.
   Last season, EMU took on four opponents from the Rosemont, Ill.-based conference, going 1-3. Eastern's lone victory came against Michigan State when the Eagles defeated the Spartans, 6-4, at the FAU Tournament in Boca Raton, Fla., March 7, 2013.

CLIMBING THE ALL-TIME RANKINGS: The pitching duo of Lauren Wells and Lindsay Rich is making its way up the Eastern Michigan all-time pitching lists.
   Wells's 329 career strikeouts rank fourth all-time at Eastern Michigan, while her 351 innings of work rank 12th in EMU laurels. The senior left-handed hurler needs just 46 strikeouts in the Green and White's final 15 contests to break into the top three in strikeouts and tie with former EMU ace Jenna Ignowski.
   Rich has been making a name for herself this season as the Eagles' ace pitcher with a team-high 28 appearances and 12 starts. The junior right-hander has thrown 109.1 innings this season and has tallied 63 strikeouts to bring her career total to 187. Those 187 strikeouts rank 11th all-time in EMU laurels.

SCOUTING THE SPARTANS: Michigan State has had a tough year on the field, coming into the mid-week contest with a 9-28 overall record and a 2-12 Big Ten record. The Spartans are looking to secure their first home win of the 2014 season, previously dropping all five contests at Secchia Stadium.
   MSU is led by redshirt-junior Stephanie Sanders who is the only Spartan hitting over .300. Sanders has played in 32 games, starting 18 as mainly the designated player with 17 hits and 16 RBI for a .304 batting average. Freshman Sarah Gutknect has had a breakout season for the Spartans, leading the team in various hitting categories including: Hits (28), RBI (23), doubles (8), home runs (6) and slugging percentage (.505). As a team, the Spartans are hitting at a mere .227 clip, while opponents are hitting .328 against the MSU pitching staff.
   Senior Kelly Smith and freshman Valerie Kaff has split the majority of the pitching duties for MSU this season as they have made 25 and 23 appearances, respectively. Smith and Kaff have each made 17 starts for the Green and White, while Smith has pitched nine complete games compared to Kaff's eight. Both pitchers hold ERAs over 5.00 as Kaff has a 5.06 ERA and Smith carries a 5.74 ERA into Wednesday's contest. Freshman Kristina Zalewski has pitched 33.1 innings for the Spartans this season with a team-best 3.78 ERA, while the staff holds a combined 5.15 ERA.

ALL-TIME SERIES: Michigan State holds a 27-13 lead over Eastern Michigan in the all-time series between the two programs. Last season, EMU split two contests agains the Spartans, grabbing a 6-4 victory at the FAU Tournament in Boca Raton, Fla., March 7, 2013. The Eagles dropped their second meeting with MSU as the Spartans shut out Eastern, 3-0, in East Lansing, Mich., May 1, 2013.
   In the first meeting, Katy Blaharski and Jenn Lucas led the EMU offense with a pair of hits each, while Amanda Stanton, Amanda Herron, Courtney Loe and Mady Hostetler each tallied a RBI in the win. Lindsay Rich grabbed the win for EMU, while Kelly Smith pitched 2.1 innings for MSU.
   MSU came away with the win on its home turf using just three hits to propel it to victory over the Eagles. The Spartans used just one inning to score all three of its runs on a double, two EMU errors and a wild pitch.

ON DECK: Following the non-conference tilt at MSU, Eastern will return to the friendly confines of Varsity Field for a weekend doubleheader against Western Michigan, April 18, before taking on Nothern Illinois is two single games, April 19-20.
   The Eagles' doubleheader against Western Michigan will hit the airwaves of Eagle All-Access with Greg Steiner on play-by-play.

Eastern Michigan Athletics

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