EAST LANSING— The sixth inning began with zeroes across the scoreboard, with not a single Spartans’ hit through the first five innings. But with the bases loaded and a 1-2 count, sophomore Parker Picot turned the game around, launching a grand slam to deep left field to cap off a seven-run inning for Michigan State.
“The whole approach the whole at-bat was to go out there and do my job,” Picot said. “I got a few pitches I liked, fouled a few off, and just kept fighting and one clicked for me, and it felt good.”
With a mix of excellent pitching and a late offensive surge, MSU took care of Northwestern 10-0, ending the game early in the eighth inning and earning its first win after a five-game losing streak.
“This team’s capable of a lot,” Picot said. “We started the season really good, it’s been a little rough patch recently, but it’s all in us.”
In a game where the Spartans scored 10 runs over three innings, it started as a pitcher’s duel between MSU’s junior Joseph Dzierwa and the Wildcats’ freshman Christian Forniss.
“We’re trying to make him as uncomfortable as possible out there,” MSU head coach Jake Boss Jr. said. “So, when we had an opportunity to get a base runner … we’re trying to move him up any way that we can.”
Dzierwa’s perfect game attempt ended with Northwestern picking up a leadoff single to start the third inning. A minor setback for the junior as he would retire the next three batters.
Through seven innings, Dzierwa allowed only three hits while racking up eight strikeouts on his way to his sixth win of the season. He dominated the first four innings with six strikeouts, accounting for half of the Spartans’ outs to that point.
“The night before I go to bed, I always say when Joe’s on the mound, it’s a guaranteed win tomorrow,” Picot said. “He deserves what we gave him today. He’s worked his butt off all year, and we know every time he steps on the mound, he gives up his all.”
MSU’s pitching may have been dominating from the start, but its hitting was quite the opposite. Wildcat’s pitcher Forniss held a perfect game through 4.1 innings until it was broken up by a walk drawn by sophomore Ryan McKay.
“He (Forniss) had us off balance,” redshirt-senior Sam Busch said. “For a couple of his pitches our scouting report wasn’t really accurate to what he was throwing.”
Forniss may have lost his perfect game in the fourth but continued to hold MSU hitless until the freshman Dayton Murphy started the bottom of the sixth with a leadoff single. A hit that ignited the Spartan offense for the rest of the game.
“Murphy got us going with the big hit,” Boss Jr. Said. “I think everybody relaxed a little bit more at that point.”
Then, Busch stepped up again, as he has all season, and hit a single through the infield, scoring the first runs of the game and making the score 2-0 Spartans.
That hit was huge for Busch on and off the field with plenty of family in attendance for MSU’s “Salute to Service” game with his brother being in the Marines.
“It’s always a special one for me and my family,” Busch said. “Luckily, last year, he was able to come and throw out the first pitch, so that was a really cool experience.”
His family also got to see him do something that he has not done in a game since high school, play the outfield.
“We had our team meal before the game and I was walking out, Coach Boss pulled me aside and told me I was playing left and I was like, serious.” Busch said. “I’ll do anything to help the team win and that was one of them.”
Two batters later, the bases were loaded once again after the Wildcats hit another Spartan giving them a 3-0 lead.
This time, Picot had some fun, sending a deep fly ball to left field for a grand slam that capped off MSU’s seven-run offensive explosion.
The sophomore would finish the game 2-4, leading the team with four RBIs on the day.
“He’s a talented kid,” Boss Jr. said. “He’s got a lot of power. He’s got a good arm. He runs well, but consistency is something that we’re still working on with him. And he can have a day like today and is certainly what he’s capable of.”
From the sixth inning on, the Spartans continued to see the ball well, picking up an additional run in the seventh before scoring two more on a bases-loaded double from graduate Caleb Berry, ending the game via the mercy rule after eight innings.
MSU will look to win the series against the Wildcats Sunday in the finale at 1:02 p.m. with junior Nolan Higgins on the mound.
“Tomorrow is the biggest game of the year.” Boss Jr. Said. “Not because the series is tied one to one, and not because we’re playing Northwestern, it’s because it’s the next game.”
