Michigan State softball falls in 2-1 series loss to Ohio State

Michigan State softball is currently 20-15 on the season, but is looking to turn things around against Oakland, Michigan and Nebraska this week.

In a pitchers’ duel against Ohio State on Friday night, junior Sarah Ladd took the loss, surrendering three runs in six innings. The Spartans weren’t able to get any runs across the plate. The Buckeyes’ Lexie Handley pitched seven innings and didn’t allow any runs. She struck out six batters, and the Buckeyes earned the 3-0 victory.

MSU’s star pitcher Ashley Miller, who threw a perfect game against Akron earlier this season, led the Spartans to a 2-1 victory on Saturday. She struck out 12 batters in the win, while the offense was supported by home runs from Kayleigh Roper and Zaquai Dumas.

Miller threw another seven innings on Sunday and allowed one earned run. To thank her, MSU’s offense mustered just one hit. That hit was converted into a run on a sacrifice fly, but the Spartans did not have anything else going against OSU’s Handley. The Buckeyes took the series finale by a final score of 2-1, and won two games out of three in the series overall.

Michigan State hasn’t had any problems with non-conference opponents, but its victory against Ohio State on Saturday is the lone Big Ten win this season. The Spartans are currently just 1-5 in conference play.

On Tuesday, the Spartans take on the Oakland Grizzlies. This year, Oakland is 10-8 and is coming off of a three-game sweep of Purdue-Fort Wayne. MSU is 6-2 historically against the Grizzlies. In the last matchup, on March 20, MSU took a five-inning victory, 9-0. The game against Oakland will stream on BTN+.

MSU will then head to the Wilpon Complex in Ann Arbor to face Michigan on Wednesday. The Wolverines are coming off of a series loss against Northwestern, losing two of the three games. Michigan, similarly to Michigan State, has 20 wins. Michigan is 1-4 in Big Ten play and has 11 losses overall. MSU’s game against Michigan will broadcast on Big Ten Network.

The weekend caps off with a three-game home set against Nebraska. The Cornhuskers are currently 25-9 overall haven’t lost a single Big Ten game thus far (5-0), taking sweeps against Michigan and Rutgers. Michigan State is 6-2 at home this season, and the team has four home games coming up this week.