As the first Michigan State batter stepped up to the plate, senior right-hander Lauren Derkowski stood ready in the circle. Grounding out the first Spartans batter, and then forcing two consecutive strikeouts swinging, the Michigan softball team’s defense looked ready to pounce on its rivals.
However, in the sixth inning, Michigan State pushed back. And with newfound confidence, the Spartans stunned the Wolverines, snapping a 10-game losing streak along the way.
After the first inning went 1-2-3, Derkowski and the Michigan’s defense looked ready to extend the Wolverines’ defensive success. The outfielding trio of senior left fielder Ellie Sieler, sophomore right fielder Ella Stephenson and sophomore center fielder Jenissa Conway, coupled with ace Derkowski, prevented much offensive momentum from the Spartans early on in the game. Even when Michigan State left fielder Kendall Smiley hit a double in the top of third, she remained the only Spartan to have a hit that inning.
When Michigan State started the fourth inning with a homer from Spartans first baseman Kaelin Cash, the triplets in the outfield salvaged the inning and prevented an early collapse. Conway and Stephenson made three consecutive clutch saves, helping Michigan maintain its lead.
“They’re consistent, they’re dependable,” Wolverines coach Bonnie Tholl said of the outfielders. “They’re elite players. And so, we have to count on them to play good defense for us when the balls do happen to get to the outfield. Ellie Sieler had a really nice catch in left field, a slide under, and (Conway) made a couple nice catches out there.”
But that home run was the first crack in Michigan’s defense. While the Spartans went three-up, three-down again in the top of the fifth inning — the last out thanks to another catch by Conway in left-center field — the Wolverines entered the sixth inning frazzled.
Michigan State was bound to have success in its long ball approach at some point, and that point came in the sixth inning. The first batter for the Spartans hit the ball to senior shortstop Ella McVey, but a fielding error by McVey led to a single rather than a ground out. On the next batter, a passed ball due to a mistake by redshirt sophomore catcher Lilly Vallimont allowed the runner to advance to second base. And to top it off, Michigan State designated player Britain Beshears sent one flying over the left-center wall for the Spartans’ second home run of the day.
And to add to Michigan’s bleeding wound, a Michigan State one-run double not only gave the Spartans a three-run inning, but it also flipped the lead in their favor, 4-2.
“Starting the (sixth) inning off with an error — and errors are gonna happen — but (Michigan State) parlayed that into a home run,” Tholl said. “… We need to go back and attack hitters and make our pitches move through the zone and record the first out. But I think that we ended up putting the next person on base … and then another double scored somebody else. … We just did not do our part to stop the bleeding in that inning defensively and score more often.”
Even though Michigan stopped the Spartans from scoring more runs in the top of the seventh with another 1-2-3 inning, the damage was already done. The Wolverines spent the last two innings struggling to catch up, but couldn’t do enough on offense to recapture the lead.
As Michigan State celebrated a long-awaited win, Michigan was defeated at home against an opponent it was expected to do well against. While the Wolverines certainly have the opportunity to take the series, with a doubleheader on Saturday, their shocking sixth inning defensive collapse will be a stain on this weekend, no matter the outcome.
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