Michigan State University
Penn St
Spartan Baseball Blasts Penn State Twice
5/18/2002 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 18, 2002
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. - On a cold, blustery day that more resembled a typical first weekend of the baseball season than the last, the Michigan State baseball team shook off the conditions to dominate a pair of games at Penn State. Temperatures hovering around 40 degrees and a soggy field couldn't cool off the Spartan bats or MSU pitchers as Michigan State rolled to 16-0 and 14-0 wins against the Nittany Lions that guaranteed MSU a spot in next week's Big Ten tournament.
MSU (35-17, 15-12), which has outscored Penn State 46-7 in the first three games of the four-game series, amassed a whopping 33 hits, including six home runs, while blanking Penn State (23-29, 11-18) on 12 hits. Nine Spartan batters had at least two hits for the day, while three pitchers combined to shut down the Nittany Lions.
Every MSU starter had at least one hit in game one as MSU banged out 20 hits while scoring 16 runs for the second straight game. Scott Koerber (So., Harper Woods) led the way with four hits and a pair of runs batted in, while Bob Malek (Jr., Canton) and Charlie Braun (Jr., Grosse Pointe) had three hits each. Braun scored three times and Malek had three runs batted in.
MSU jumped on Penn State starter Clayton Hamilton for six runs in the second inning. Koerber started the scoring with an RBI single through the middle, then MSU took advantage of a Penn State miscue. With two outs and the bases loaded, Braun's grounder was fielded by the shortstop, whose throw to second base sailed into right field scoring two runs. Malek followed with a bad-hop two-run single to right, and after Malek stole second, Chris McCuiston (Sr., Birmingham) lined a single to right-center field to cap the rally.
That was more than enough for Tim Day (Fr., West Chester, Ohio), who went the distance to improve to 10-3. Day's tenth victory allowed him to tie the MSU single-season win record, which he now shares with three other pitchers. Day allowed seven hits and walked only one while striking out two to record his second shutout of a Big Ten opponent this season.
Jared Koutnik (Sr., Milwaukee, Wis.) blasted his 11th home run leading off the fourth inning, and Braun followed with a double and later scored on a McCuiston ground out, pushing the advantage to 8-0.
The Spartans ripped Nittany Lion pitching for six more runs in the fifth, and again five runs were unearned. The big blows were a two-out RBI single from Kyle Geswein (Sr., Dayton, Ohio) followed by a three-run home run by James Moreno (So., Holt).
MSU finished the scoring with two more in the top of the seventh. Koerber singled home David Miller (So, Whitehall), who had doubled, and Travis Gulick (Fr., East Lansing), who had singled, scored on a passed ball.
In game two, Braun had three more hits, pushing his season batting average to .401, while four other Spartans had two hits each as MSU outhit Penn State, 13-5.
Geswein put MSU on the board first in the second game, singling home Koutnik and Malek with a two-out hit.
MSU had its third six-run inning of the day in the third. McCuiston singled in Braun, Moreno drew a bases-loaded walk, and Gulick followed with his second grand slam in as many days, giving the Spartans a comfortable 8-0 edge.
Malek added a long, solo shot to right center in the fourth, collecting the third of his four runs scored in the game.
Jim Duffy (Fr., Carleton) started the sixth inning with a solo home run over the 405-foot sign in center field. Later in the inning, McCuiston singled home another run, then Miller ripped a three-run homer to right field, making the score 14-0.
Jon Huizinga (Sr., Wayland) pitched five shutout innings to improve to 2-0. Huizinga allowed five hits and two walks while striking out two. Ryan Golem (Jr., Dearborn) pitched the final two innings, fanning two while walking one and not surrendering a hit.
Michigan State not only outhit and outpitched Penn State, but the Spartans did not commit an error all day.
MSU will conclude the regular season with one more game at Penn State, Sunday at 1 p.m.
Michigan State 16, Penn State 0WP- Day (10-3)LP- Hamilton (2-8)Score By Innings R H EMichigan State 060 260 2 16 20 0Penn State 000 000 0 0 7 2
Michigan State 14, Penn State 0WP- Huizinga (2-0)LP- Tressler (4-4)Score By Innings R H EMichigan State 206 105 0 14 13 0Penn State 000 000 0 0 5 1
