EAST LANSING-In the earliest home opener in the history of MSU baseball, the Spartans would come up short against the Michigan Wolverines by a score of 11-7. Michigan State was defeated in their inaugural Big Ten game of the season in a high scoring affair.
Sophomore pitcher Logan Pikur got the start on the mound for the Spartans, while freshman Grant Bradley got the nod for the Wolverines.
Pikur loaded the bases in the first inning but was able to get out of it with a groundout. Pikur would pitch just two innings, but would surrender just one hit and no runs, adding a strikeout. The Spartans got on the board first when junior shortstop Randy Seymour lined one into center just over the head of a diving graduate center fielder AJ Rausch. Two runs would score on the play, and Seymour would score on a single into right field by senior outfielder JT Sokolove.
Michigan got on the board in the fourth inning with a two-run homer into left by sophomore outfielder Colby Turner off of sophomore Gannon Grundman. However, it would be the fifth inning that would be the Spartans undoing.
After two straight walks to open the inning, sophomore Tate Farquhar took over on the mound. Junior infielder Mitch Voit tied the game with a base hit, and graduate infielder Jeter Ybarra gave the Wolverines a 4-3 lead. The Wolverines batted around before Voit emptied the bases with a three run double off of graduate pitcher George Viebrock III.
“That’s kind of been the theme in our losses, it’s been one bad inning. We’ve got 4 losses, we’ve given up 9 runs in two of those games, six runs in 2 of those games in one inning and you’re just not gonna win when that happens,” MSU manager Jake Boss Jr. said.
“We walked four guys in the inning and hit one, and that turns the base hits into RBI base hits. You give up 9 in an inning, you’re not gonna win,” Boss Jr. stated
With the Spartans down 11-3, they would respond by drawing closer in the bottom of the inning, putting up four runs. The big play of the inning was when junior outfielder Jonathan Kim dropped a flyball, allowing three runs to score. The 5th inning lasted over 50 minutes.
Garrett Brewer came out of the bullpen for the Spartans and shined despite the loss. Brewer pitched four innings in relief, giving up just two hits and no runs, while striking out three.
“Yeah, he did a great job. He’s a guy that’s certainly very talented but he’s had some consistency issues and he’s not the only one, and so it’s good to see him go out there and throw 4 scoreless, get out of a couple jams,” Boss Jr. said of Brewer. “He’s a guy that when he gets the ball again, he has to repeat it…Garrett was great today, and hopefully that’s a positive step moving forward.”
Neither team would add to the scoreboard over the final four innings. The Spartans best opportunity came in the seventh inning with runners on the corners, but a double play would kill the inning. The game would end when sophomore right fielder Parker Picot popped one up into the shallow outfield. The Spartans fell 11-7.
“I think we competed. I think they made some good big pitches when they needed to also, but I was proud of the way the guys competed. You put 7 up, you should feel pretty good… Our guys just figure out ways to get on base,” Boss Jr. said of his team’s offense. “The team batting average probably isn’t the gaudiest number, but we’re figuring out ways to get on base, the on base percentage is very good, and we’re figuring out ways to score.”
Freshman Josh Kasner got the win for Michigan, while Grundmann was given the loss. The Spartans fell to 12-4, while the Wolverines improved to 10-6. The Spartans travel to Iowa to take on the Hawkeyes this weekend for a three-game series.
