Michigan State University
Ohio St
MSU Baseball Pounds Out 12-5 Win Over Ohio State
5/10/2002 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 10, 2002
LANSING, Mich. - The Michigan State baseball team remained in third place in the Big Ten Conference with a convincing 12-5 victory over Ohio State on Friday night at Lansing's Oldsmobile Park. With the win, MSU improved to 31-15, 12-11 in the Big Ten, while OSU dropped to 29-16-1, 15-9. After struggling to score runs in recent Big Ten games, the Spartans exploded for 12 unanswered runs, including two five-run innings.
Ohio State opened the scoring in the first with a single run on a pair of Buckeye hits. Michigan State answered with one run in the bottom half of the frame as Charlie Braun (Grosse Pointe) scored on a wild pitch.
The Spartans would explode for five runs in the bottom of the second. Jared Koutnik (Milwaukee, Wis.) singled to drive in Travis Gulick (East Lansing). Two batters later, Bob Malek (Canton) homered to right field, scoring three. Chris McCuiston (Birmingham) followed with a home run of his own, this one to left field. For McCuiston, it was his team-leading 13th home run on the season, while Malek's blast was his 10th.
After a single run in the third on a David Miller (Whitehall) groundout, the Spartans were held scoreless in the fourth. The MSU bats exploded again in the fifth, scoring five more runs. Miller opened the scoring with a single to right field, scoring Geswein. Jim Duffy (Carleton) followed with a double to right field, scoring Gulick. One batter later, Koutnik tripled off the top of the wall in right-center field, missing a home run by inches. The hit scored Miller and Duffy. After a pitching change, Braun singled to center field, driving in Koutnik. At the end of the inning, MSU held a 12-1 advantage.
In the top of the sixth, Ohio State scored four runs to cut the Spartan lead to 12-5, but could not get any closer during the remainder of the game.
Bryan Gale (Decatur) pitched his fourth complete game of the season to improve to 6-4. Over nine innings, he allowed five runs on nine hits, while striking out seven. Ohio State's E.J. Laratta took the loss for the Buckeyes, falling to 6-4 on the year.
After going 1-for-his-last-18 at the plate, Malek broke out of his slump with a 3-for-5 hitting performance. In addition to his three-run home run, Malek added his 17th double of the year. Koutnik also finished the game with three RBI.
The four-game series between the Spartans and Buckeyes will resume on Saturday afternoon with a doubleheader, beginning at 4 p.m. at Lansing's Oldsmobile Park. The MSU senior class of 2002 will be honored between games. The series will conclude with a single game on Sunday at 1 p.m.
Michigan State 12, Ohio State 5WP- Bryan Gale (6-4)LP- E.J. Laratta (6-4)Score By Innings R H EOhio State 100 004 000 5 9 0Michigan State 151 050 00X 12 16 2
