EAST LANSING – Coming off a five-game home stand, the Michigan State softball team prepares to take the road for a three-game series versus Penn State in University Park.
The Spartans sit last in the Big Ten standings, at 1-9 in conference play and 14-23 overall, while the Nittany Lions boast a 7-2 conference record and a 28-8 overall record, assisting for the second-best record in the Big Ten.
MSU is coming off a single game 4-3 victory over Western Michigan on Wednesday, as Madison Taylor took the circle for the Spartans and allowed only three hits.
The Nittany Lions, however, are coming off a 2-1 series victory against Nebraska (23-15, 6-2). The Sunday victory ensured Penn State’s best start to a Big Ten Conference campaign since the 2016 season when they started 8-2 in league play.
Penn State is led by Bridget Nemeth, who is one of the best pitchers in the country as a freshman ranking 18th in ERA and 42nd in strikeouts.
Nemeth is 17-1 with a 1.17 ERA, .90 WHIP, and 114 strikeouts in 113.2 innings. Opponents have batted .191 against her this season.
Mady Volpe leads the team in pitching appearances (27) with a 3.83 ERA in 80.1 innings of work. Opponents have hit .237 against her.
For MSU, graduate student Liv Grey is grouped among the best pitchers in the nation to start the season. Through 111.1 innings Grey has accumulated a 2.39 ERA, a 1.13 WHIP, with batters averaging .220 against her.
So far this season Grey is off to 125 strikeouts, ranking 26th nationally, despite ranking 68th in innings pitched. Grey’s 7.9 strikeouts per game is 49th nationally. Grey was named B1G Pitcher of the Week on March 4, the eighth Spartan all-time to achieve the honor.
Batting for MSU, sophomore outfielder Sydney Doloszycki has started to come into her own. Doloszycki now has the Spartans’ longest individual hitting streak of the season, previously held by Alexis Ross with a seven-game stretch.
Over her last seven games, Doloszycki is hitting a team-high .450 (9-for-20) with three home runs, seven runs scored, five RBI, and five walks. In that stretch, Doloszycki leads Michigan State in batting average (.450), OBP (.560), SLG (.950) and OPS (1.510).
MSU has now hit 38 home runs through 37 games, which marks the most home runs by the program since the 2019 season (44 in 50 games).
In 2024, Michigan State ranks No. 36 nationally in home runs per game (1.03). The Spartans are now tied for No. 7 in program history for single-season home runs.
A battle-tested conference opponent will be in store throughout the weekend, as the Nittany Lions await to host the Spartans.
The first of three matchups on Friday is set for 5 p.m. EST at Nittany Lion Softball Park. All games throughout the weekend will be streamed on B1G Plus.
