Michigan State University
Northwestern
Spartan Baseball Wins Two At Northwestern
4/6/2002 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 6, 2002
EVANSTON, Ill. - Strong pitching from Nick Bates (Sr., Blissfield) and Tim Day (Fr., West Chester, Ohio) helped the Michigan State baseball team put the brakes on a two-game skid, as the Spartans defeated Northwestern 3-1 and 9-1, Saturday (April 6) in Evanston, Ill. In game one, Bates improved his record to 7-0, while in game two, Day struck out three and surrendered just one run.
With a pair of wins, State improves to 19-6 overall, 4-3 in the Big Ten, while Northwestern drops to 8-15 and 2-5 in the conference.
A two-out, two-run single in the top of the third by Jared Koutnik (Sr., Milwaukee, Wis.), who finished the game 2-for-3, gave State an early 2-0 lead. Bob Malek (Jr., Canton) did his part to keep Wildcats' off the scoreboard in the bottom of the third, ending the inning by throwing out NU's Josh Lieberman at home with a laser-like throw from right field.
Kevin Crews (Sr., Hinckley, Ohio) increased State's lead to 3-0 in the fourth with a two-out RBI single to right field, scoring James Moreno (So., Holt).
The Wildcats made it 3-1 in the sixth and were able to put two runners on in the seventh but Bates spoiled the effort, striking out Steve Haake to end the game.
Bates, who improved to 7-0 on the season, fanned six batters and scattered six hits while pitching all seven innings. Ryan Bos also threw a complete game for the Wildcats, but took the loss to fall to 1-5.
Each team threatened early on in game two, combining to strand eight runners on base through the first three innings. MSU broke open the game in the fourth, generating seven runs, despite just three hits, along with the help of two errors by NU starting pitcher Dan Konecny. Charlie Braun (Jr., Grosse Pointe) opened the floodgates, reaching on an error and advancing to third, forcing in Kyle Geswein (Sr., Dayton, Ohio) and Moreno. Braun scored one batter later, as Crews drove him in with a base hit. Malek drove in two more runs with a triple down the right field line and would later score on a passed ball. Geswein closed the scoring in the inning with a single that forced in Brady Burrill (Jr., Newhall, Calif.).
MSU made it 8-0 in the fifth when Wattles singled in Braun and then added another in the seventh when Chris McCuiston (Sr., Birmingham) drove in Koutnik. Northwestern foiled State's bid for a shutout, scoring one run in the seventh, making the final 9-1.
With the win, Day bettered his record to 5-1 on the season in pitching his third complete game of the year. Dan Konecny (1-2) suffered the loss for NU.
The two teams will complete the four-game series Sunday (April 7) at 1 p.m. CST.
Game 1Michigan State 3, Northwestern 1WP- Bates (7-0)LP- Bos (1-5)Score By Innings R H EMichigan State 003 100 0 3 6 1Northwestern 000 001 0 1 6 3
Game 2Michigan State 9, Northwestern 1WP- Day (5-1)LP- Konecny (1-2)Score By Innings R H EMichigan State 000 710 1 9 11 0Northwestern 000 000 1 1 11 3
