EAST LANSING- Over the weekend, Michigan State bested the Wolverines in a 2-1 series win. MSU would win on Friday and Saturday, but the loss on Sunday denied the Spartans their third series sweep ever against Michigan in a full series at McLane Stadium. MSU has not won a series against the Wolverines since 2016, pushing MSU to 9-9 in the conference.
To start the weekend for the Spartans, Both teams clocked in a run in the first inning. For the first Spartan run, Junior outfielder Nick Williams forced a 2-out walk, moving to third base by a single play from Greg Ziegler. Ryan McKay racked in his first RBI of the day to get Williams home to tie up the ball game.
After four innings of action, Michigan State infielder Dillon Kark broke the tie with a solo shot home run to put the Spartans up in the bottom of the fifth. The Wolverines came back quickly, with a lead-off double to even the score which led to a late-inning battle.
In the 10th inning, N. Williams would walk off with an RBI fly to get Randy Seymour home, giving the Spartans a 3-2 win on the first day of the series.
For the second game of the series, Spartan fans celebrated Alumni Day, where the 1954 College World Series team was honored with 1,954 fans in attendance.
“It feels good, you try to win every game, try to win every series, they are all equally important, but to win on Friday and Saturday, at home, in front of a great crowd here, against your rival, it really doesn’t get a whole lot better than that,” said MSU head coach Jake Boss Jr.
Michigan State racked in three home runs during the game, including two in the bottom of the eighth inning, with the Spartans starting to pull away.
Jack Frank, the lead-off hitter for the Spartans, hit a go-ahead home run as well as an opposite-field solo home run in the eighth inning.
To close out the game for Michigan State, Kark hit a single to get on base. Nick Williams then knocked in a double to move Kark to third, and Senior outfielder Greg Ziegler hit a three-run home run to left field that gave Michigan State the 12-8 lead and the win.
This would be Ziegler’s fourth home run on the year, as he leads the team with a .383 batting average after only playing in 26 games.
Michigan State led the series 2-0 against their rivals, but in a 12-inning outing, the Spartans could not complete the sweep. Sunday’s game was similar to the previous day, a high-scoring shootout between the Wolverines and the Spartans.
MSU would go up 4-1 with Jack Frank slashing a home run to center field, followed by Sam Busch, Sam Thompson, and Ziegler crossing the plate. In the fourth, Michigan rallied its way back with four home runs in the fourth inning, claiming the lead 5-4 to end the inning.
The two teams traded runs in the fifth inning, leading to an 8-6 Spartan lead. Michigan bounced back and regained control with one run at the top of the 6th and one run at the top of the 9th to extend the match.
Michigan outfielder Joe Longo hit a single on the left side, having Stephen Hrustich scoring the run, and ending the series sweep chance for Michigan State.
The Spartans end the series with a 21-23 overall record, with a 9-9 record in conference play. If the season ended today, MSU currently holds the 7-seed for the Big Ten Tournament in an 8-team tournament with Maryland on their trail with one more loss on the season.
Michigan State resumes league play with their final regular season road trip, heading to Minneapolis to play the Golden Gophers in a three-game series. The Spartans wrap up the season on May 16 taking on Nebraska at McLane Stadium, in a three game series home stand.
With the Spartans season coming to a close, tournament talks begin to arise. Michigan State looks to hold onto the 7-seed and secure a trip to the Big Ten Tournament on May 21.
