Iowa 5 No. 5 seed

vs.

Michigan State 3 No. 4 seed

Score by Innings		1	2	3		4	5	6		7		R	H	E
Iowa (41-24-1)		4	0	0		0	0	0		1		5	9	1
Michigan State (39-21)		0	0	0		0	2	0		1		3	8	0

Boxscore and Play-By-Play

Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Alumni Field)
Event: Big Ten Conference Softball Tournament (Play-in Game)
Result: Iowa 5, Michigan State 3
Records: Iowa (41-24-1); MSU (39-21)
Next Iowa Game: Friday, May 14 -- vs. Michigan, 4 p.m.
Next MSU Game: MSU eliminated from tournament

Iowa Plays Long Ball in Win Over Michigan State

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Freshman Kristi Hanks of Iowa pitched a complete game, allowing one earned run, and helped her cause with a two-run home run in the first inning to lead the fifth-seeded Hawkeyes past No. 4 seed Michigan State 5-3 in the play-in game of the 1999 Big Ten Softball Tournament Friday (May 14). Iowa (41-24-1), which clubbed three homers, advances to face host and top seed Michigan at 4 p.m., while the Spartans (39-21) are eliminated from the tourney.

Two batters before Hanks' dinger, Hawkeye senior first basemen Shawnte Vallejo also ripped a two-run shot, her fifth homer of the year, over the left-centerfield fence to get Iowa on the board first with a 2-0 lead. Tammy Utley followed Vallejo's home run with a single, which knocked Michigan State starter Erica Strutz out of the game after only one-third of an inning. Strutz was replaced by Becky Gray, who struck out the first batter she faced before Hanks took her deep to give Iowa a 4-0 lead before Michigan State came to the plate.

Following the Hanks home run, Gray settled in to provide strong relief and give the Spartans an opportunity to get back in the game. Michigan State took advantage and broke into the scoring column in the fifth with the help of an Iowa error by second basemen Melissa Stuber as Michigan State pushed across a pair of unearned runs. Stuber's error was followed by a double off the bat of Michigan State senior centerfielder Carrie Carpenter, which drove in Michigan State's first run and put runners on second and third. Spartan junior Carrie followed with a sacrifice fly to cut Michigan State's deficit to 4-2.

Gray, who had allowed only one home run in the 123.1 innings pitched this season, was touched for her second round-tripper of the game in the top of the seventh by Iowa defensive replacement Megan Atkins, giving the Hawkeyes a 5-2 cushion heading into the bottom of the seventh.

Michigan State, which had stranded the tying runs on second and third in the sixth, got another rally going in its final at-bat. A walk and a single by Fry brought the tying run to the plate with one out, and Spartan Stacey Phillips responded with an RBI single that put runners on the corners and the go-ahead run at the plate. Hanks got the next batter to ground out to shortstop, putting the tying runs on second and third with two out. However, Michigan State's designated hitter Margaret Hollis flied out to centerfield to give Iowa the 5-3 victory.

Q U O T E S

Michigan State Head Coach Jacquie Joseph
"I felt the game hinged on the very first inning. It was certainly the defining moment of the game. Their big players stepped up right away, and in the bottom of the (first) inning, our players didn't. Iowa set the tone for the game, and we failed to answer."

"We played well enough defensively to win, and I felt we hit well enough to win. However, we didn't pitch well enough to win, and you have to have good pitching in championship play. We failed to execute and their players simply took advantage of our mistakes, which is what you would expect a team to do in the Big Ten Tournament."

"This was a very typical Iowa team - a team which plays with tremendous poise and emotion and knows how to make a championship run - which we all come to expect from a well-coached and disciplined Iowa team."

MSU's Shealee Dunavan
On battling back in the last three innings ... "I was confident enough that our team would come back and score. We were really pumped up, but in the end, we didn't get the job done."

Iowa Head Coach Gayle Blevins
"We had a great start to the game. We came out with a bang in the first inning and hit two two-run home runs. I think we took a lot of wind out of Michigan State's sails pretty quickly. ... They (MSU) did manage to come battling back in the fifth inning, and we did a good job of working out of what could have become a very big inning for them. I was very pleased to see us maintain our composure."

"I am just really glad to see the manner we started the game, and then how we handled the pressure throughout the rest of the game. We had some big hits, especially the home run late in the game. That really helped solidify our position."

"(Kristi) Hanks pitched a great game. She was hitting her targets and working good counts early. I though she did a very nice job."

Iowa Pitcher Kristi Hanks
"I didn't think we were going to see all the home runs. The runs we scored (earlier in the season against Michigan State) were all scored on base hits. I think we could have scored without the home runs. Good, solid contact was all we needed."

"My pitches were working all game. I was hitting my spots, so they were hitting the ball to shortstop and second base. If I got down, I just tried to regain my composure and go in there and hit my spots again."

N O T E S

Iowa

• The victory was career win No. 799 for head coach Gayle Blevins in 20 collegiate seasons. She currently has 498 wins in 12 seasons at Iowa and compiled 301 wins in eight seasons at Indiana. She is vying to become the sixth coach to record 800 career victories in NCAA softball history (all divisions).

Michigan State

• Sophomore Shealee Dunavan had two hits to reach 70 for the season. She is just the third player in MSU history to do so ... Dunavan extended her hitting streak to four games.

• MSU pitchers gave up a season-high three home runs. It is the sixth time this season Spartan pitchers have given up multiple home runs in a game.

Last updated: Friday, 14-May-1999 15:50:22 EDT