The Spartans came into their Tuesday matchup against Central Michigan with a seven-game winning streak and their heads held high. However, after a sloppy game full of mistakes, they left with a one-game losing streak and a bad taste in their mouth.

“The way we played today is unacceptable,” MSU head coach Jake Boss Jr. said.  “It’s as embarrassing of a loss I think I’ve had here at Michigan State”

The Spartans outhit the Chippewas 10-4, but fell by a score of 10-1. A glaring irregularity in the scorebook was in the errors column for Michigan State.

“I’ve never seen a box score where the other team scores 10 runs on four hits,” Boss said. “It’s nothing that they did to beat us, it’s all self inflicted. Look at the box score, eight errors. It starts right there.”

The game began with a walk and then a wild pitch which put Nick Regnier in scoring position for the Chippewas before a ball had even been put in play. After two groundouts in a row to second baseman Johnny Nate, the Chippewas had an early lead that would last the duration of the contest.

Freshman Walter Borkovich started on the mound for the Spartans and was wild in his 4 1/3 innings, throwing two walks, four wild pitches, and hitting one batter.

“Very lackluster performance from the get go,” Boss said. “Walk a couple guys and they score early…we had a chance to put some numbers up on the board in the first inning and didn’t.”

That chance for some run support for Michigan State came after an error, passed ball and two walks loaded the bases for the Spartans. However, with two outs, senior Joel Fisher flew out to right field to end the inning.

The only Spartan run came with two outs in the sixth, when right fielder Jimmy Pickens sent a pitch over the right field fence, splashing into the Red Cedar River.

Another missing beat for Michigan State came on the basepaths, where the Spartans did not even attempt a steal. This marks the first game since their two losses against Ohio State that the team leading the Big Ten in steals was not able to snatch one. Cam Gibson did however get picked off at first base to secure the first out in the fourth.

The Spartans have a chance for redemption against Central Michigan later this season at Comerica Park on May 13. However, there are plenty of mistakes that need correcting before attempting to beat their in-state foe.

“It’s my job to address all the mistakes we made in the ball game and try to right the ship, and we made a lot of them,” Boss said. “Good thing is, we got a game tomorrow. We don’t have to sit on it all week.”

The team will attempt to fix their mistakes tomorrow as they host another in-state opponent, Western Michigan, with a first pitch set for 3:05 p.m. Chase Rihtarchik is expected to get the nod for the Spartans.

Brett Kast is the co-host of Warning Track for Impact Sports

Photo: Jonathan Yales/Impact Sports