Michigan State University
Indiana
Baseball Blasts Indiana, 13-6
4/12/2002 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 12, 2002
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Not even a two-hour rain delay could cool the Spartan baseball team, which used a five-run first inning on their way to defeating Indiana, Friday (April 12), by a score of 13-6. With the win, MSU improved to 21-6, 5-3 in conference play, while IU fell to 24-7 and 6-3 in the league. As a team, the Spartans hit four home runs, bringing their season total to 54.
The Spartans blitzed the Hoosiers in the first, scoring five times to take a commanding early lead. Jared Koutnik (Sr., Milwaukee, Wis.) got the scoring started with a two-run homer to right field while Chris McCuiston (Sr., Birmingham) belted a run-scoring double down the left-field line two batters later. Charlie Braun (Jr., Grosse Pointe) closed out the scoring in the inning with a two-run triple to deep center field.
MSU kept pace in the second, as Brett Wattles (Jr., Rochester) and Koutnik, who finished the day 3-for-3, led off the inning with back-to-back solo homers to increase its lead to 7-0. With the score 7-1 in the fifth, Kyle Geswein (Sr., Dayton, Ohio) hit the Spartans' fourth homer of the day to bring MSU's lead to 8-1.
The Hoosiers threatened in the seventh, scoring twice to cut State's lead to 8-4. MSU pitcher Bryan Gale (So., Decatur) ended the threat however without any further damage, getting IU's Joe Kemp to ground out, leaving two players on base.
State responded in its half of the seventh, scoring four runs off four hits and then added another in the eighth. Indiana closed the scoring, putting two more runs up in the ninth, making the final, 13-6.
Gale (4-2) struck out nine batters in eight complete innings on his way to earning his fourth win of the season while Indiana starter Jacob Cary took the loss to go to 4-3.
The two teams will meet in a doubleheader, Saturday (April 13) at 1 p.m.
Michigan State 13, Indiana 6WP- Gale (4-2)LP- Cary (4-3)
Score By Innings R H EIndiana 001 001 202 6 13 3Michigan State 520 010 41x 13 13 0
