March 15, 2008

Box Score vs. Elon
Box Score vs. Stetson

DeLAND, Fla. - Michigan State softball rebounded in its second game of the Stetson Invitational Saturday night, shutting out Stetson, 2-0, after dropping its afternoon game in nine innings, 5-4, to Elon. The Spartans saw action from three pitchers, with Lesley Noel picking up the victory against the Hatters. Megan Hair was the pitcher of record in the Elon loss, while Kelly Confer also saw action against the Phoenix.

"It's a shame we didn't get two wins today," said head coach Jacquie Joseph. "We were one out away from having a no-hitter [against Elon]. But I was pleased we were able to come back and beat a good Stetson team."

Against the Hatters, Kristen Aidem and Caitlin Mahoney tallied the RBI hits for the Spartans. Mahoney drove in Nikki Nicosia in the third, while Traci Nicosia scored when Stetson's second baseman committed a fielding error on Aidem's hit. The Nicosia runs would hold on to be the definitive margin as MSU picked up the win.

Noel finished the game pitching seven innings, allowing just one hit while striking out seven.

In the day's first game against Elon, Bianca Mejia drove the Spartans around the bases in the third inning when, with Jessica Bracamonte and Nikki Nicosia on base, she blasted her three-run dinger over the right-field fence, chalking up the second home run of her career.

The Spartans kicked off the first inning against the Phoenix with a one-run scoring drive, as Nikki Nicosia singled to first, then stole second before Kara Weigle pushed her to third with a sacrifice bunt. Mejia earned the first of her four RBI with a single to left field, driving in Nicosia to put MSU ahead 1-0 early in the game.

With a 4-0 lead after four innings, Confer entered the circle for the Spartans, making her first appearance at pitcher this season. After shutting down the Phoenix offense through two innings, Elon came alive in the bottom of the seventh and scored four runs on three hits and two MSU errors. Elon was no hit through the first six innings before the seventh inning rally.

Hair would return for the extra innings, and after an inning and a half of scoreless action, the Phoenix tallied the winning run in the bottom of the ninth to spoil Michigan State's four-run lead. Hair finished the day with five total innings, allowing just one hit while striking out seven. The one run scored on her watch was unearned. When Confer came out, she had thrown three innings, giving up four hits though none of the runs scored during her time on the rubber were earned.

The Spartans will continue tournament action tomorrow when they take on Elon in a 12 p.m. rematch, after facing Bowling Green at 9:30 a.m. Live stats for both games will be available at www.msuspartans.com.