EAST LANSING, MI — Following a series loss to Illinois, the Michigan State softball team returned to Secchia Stadium to face Notre Dame in its final non-conference matchup on Tuesday.
Despite taking an early lead, the Spartans were topped by the Fighting Irish, 4-3.
“I challenged the team before the game to come out and really compete,” MSU head coach Sharonda McDonald-Kelley said. “I was glad to see them come out and compete. Make a few too many errors, I think hurt us a little bit, but I thought we pitched well.”
The Spartans captured their sole victory against the Illini on Saturday in a 7-5 triumph. MSU prevailed due to junior outfielder Sydney Doloszycki’s first-career two-homer day, while junior catcher Hannah Hawley reached base three times.
Meanwhile, the Fighting Irish entered the afternoon amid a three-game skid of their own after being swept by No. 12 Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va. The contest in East Lansing, though, proved to be a back-and-forth affair.
Hawley led off for the Spartans in the bottom of the first, and quickly put one on the board for MSU after hitting a mammoth solo home run to right field. The homer marked Hawley’s 34th hit and her team-high 10th home run of 2025.
The Fighting Irish rallied back into it in the top of the third, with two runners in scoring position due to a Spartan error, sophomore infielder Addison Amaral rocketed a two-run double to center field that Doloszycki could not hold onto.
The inning saw freshman right-handed pitcher Carsyn Cassady, the winning pitcher from Saturday’s clash, be replaced in favor of senior Madison Taylor as MSU called upon their bullpen early. Before being replaced, Cassady amassed four strikeouts and four hits in two and two-thirds innings of work, surrendering just one earned run.
“I thought she looked good from the start, and we had it by design today that we were gonna go on rotation,” McDonald-Kelley said. “It worked out that way at that point, but I thought she did a really nice job throwing a change-up for a strike early. I think it really kept them off balance.”
While Notre Dame pulled ahead 2-1, their time in the lead was short-lived, as sophomore shortstop Payton Conroy smashed a solo shot of her own to right. The visitors regained the lead soon thereafter, as freshmen Kaia Cortes and Rebecca Eckart put the Irish up 4-2.
An RBI single from sophomore Kendall Smiley in the bottom of the fourth cut the Spartans’ deficit in half, and Michigan State had momentum with Smiley and sophomore Hannah Greer on base with just one out. However, Conroy and fifth-year pinch-hitter Collette Allen could not take advantage, as a foul-out and a popout halted the rally.
Down 4-3 and in pursuit of a come-from-behind victory, McDonald-Kelley turned to freshman two-way player Jacey Schuler. Schuler pitched the final inning but was also called upon to bat with two outs in the bottom of the seventh. However, she grounded out to Amaral, as Notre Dame held on to win 4-3.
With the loss, Michigan State fell to 13-23 on the season, and will host Big Ten newcomer Washington in a three-game series this weekend.
