2004 Big Ten Softball Tournament -- Game 7 Recap
5/15/2004 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Beech, Spartans Complete Run to Big Ten Tournament Title
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Alumni Field)
Event: Big Ten Conference Tournament (Championship Game)
Result: Michigan State 7, Illinois 5
Records: #2 seed Illinois (41-18-1), #8 seed Michigan State (34-24)
Key Plays
In the top of the fourth inning, Michigan State third baseman Brittney Green connected for her second home run of the contest, a three-run blast that tied the game at four runs apiece. Then in the top of the fifth, two singles, an error and an intentional walk helped the Spartans take a 5-3 lead.
Peak Performers
Brittney Green, 3B, Michigan State -- Green had a phenomenal performance, going 3-for-3 with two home runs, four RBI and two runs scored. She accounted for all of Michigan State's first four runs.
Jessica Beech, P, Michigan State -- After pitching a complete game earlier in the afternoon, Beech came back in the championship game to throw another seven innings. She gave up five runs on 12 hits and struck out six.
Lindsey Hamma, SS, Illinois -- The shortstop went 3-for-4 with three RBI and one run scored and belted a monster two-run homer in the bottom of the third.
N O T E S
Michigan State's conference tournament crown is its first Big Ten title (regular season or tournament).
Eighth-seeded Michigan State had the most difficult road possible on the way to the title, defeating the No. 1 seed (Michigan), the No. 4 seed (Northwestern) and the No. 2 seed (Illinois).
Jessica Beech, who pitched all 21 innings for the Spartans in the tournament, notched her 70th career victory, the most for any MSU pitcher.
Illinois suffered its first loss of the season when scoring four or more runs.
Q U O T E S
Michigan State Head Coach Jacquie Joseph
On the win ... "I felt really good about our kids' mental approach to the plate. When this team has the right mental approach at the plate this team believes there is not a pitcher in the country that they can't hit. This is the first team I've had that's led the Big Ten in hitting. You saw a little of that today."
On seeds in the Big Ten ... "Numbers don't matter, they certainly don't. The Big Ten is just very, very good."
On advancing to NCAA regionals ... "Well, I hope we can recover emotionally, give it a day or two, then ride it right into (next) weekend."
On the tournament ... "We couldn't have succeeded without all three phases of the game. Jessica (Beech) alone wouldn't have done it, the hitting alone wouldn't have done it, the defense alone wouldn't have done it. We had to have all three, and all three were around this weekend."
MSU Senior Third Baseman Brittney Green
On winning the championship ... "It feels great! Our team is like on an all-time high right now. It's amazing!"
On winning as the No. 8 seed ... "We don't consider ourselves an eight seed, so I guess numbers don't really matter."
On the comeback ... "It just shows how strong we really are. We just come out to play the way we normally do, or the way we try to do."
Illinois Head Coach Terri Sullivan
On the game ... "Most definitely we have to take our hats off to Michigan State. What a weekend for them to come into the tournament as the eighth seed and end up in the championship game. They really came out hitting the ball well and it was exciting. We were hitting the ball and they were and each team was grabbing the momentum at different times. You need to have a perfect game across the board and we had a couple of mistakes that cost us. Usually that is one our strong points. Again, they hung in there and had a really strong finish."
On the turning point in the game ... "They had the big hit to rightfield. It was a shot and our rightfielder had a little trouble with it so they scored on and got a triple as well. That gave them some momentum. The home runs that Brittney Green had were huge. To get back in the game with one swing of the bat gives a team a lot of confidence, and I think it gave a lot of confidence to Jessica Beech. She is a terrific pitcher and that is all she needed."
