Michigan State University
Indiana (DH)
Spartan Baseball Splits At Indiana
4/12/2003 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 12, 2003
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The Michigan State baseball team split a doubleheader against Indiana Saturday afternoon (April 12) at Sembower Field on the IU campus. The Spartans are now 8-20 (2-7 Big Ten) for the season, while the Hoosiers stand at 22-8 (7-4 BT).
MSU used a four-run first inning and strong pitching from starter Bryan Gale (Jr., Decatur) to take game one, 6-1. Gale (4-4) pitched a complete game while scattering six hits on three strikeouts to improve his Big Ten record to 2-1.
The Spartans jumped out for four runs on five hits in the first. Brady Burrill (Sr., Newhall, Calif.) and David Miller (Jr., Whitehall) each had run-scoring hits in the inning and Erik Morris (So., Orchard Lake) drove in two with a single. MSU added two in the fourth as Alan Cattrysse (Fr., Chatham, Ontario) and Brett Wattles (Sr., Rochester) each crossed the plate.
Indiana scored one in the first but only put two runners in scoring position the rest of the game. Gale controlled the Hoosiers the entire contest and never allowed more than one hit in an inning.
MSU lost a 6-5 heartbreaker in game two as IU scored two runs in the bottom of the seventh for the win. With the game tied at 4-4 after six, the Spartans appeared to score the game's winning run on a Burrill RBI single that plated Charlie Braun (Sr., Grosse Pointe) in the top of the seventh.
But it was the Hoosiers that provided the late inning heroics when Kevin Mahar drove home the winning run on a bases-loaded single with two outs and the game tied at 5-5.
Ryan Golem (Sr., Dearborn), who relieved MSU starter Tim Day (So., West Chester) in the seventh, retired the first two batters of the inning. But he then walked Mark Calkins and Vasili Spanos followed with a single. Corby Heckman tied the game with a single to left that brought home Calkins. Golem (2-1) walked the next batter to load the bases before Mahar won the game with his single to right.
The Spartans led the game 4-3 in the bottom of the sixth until Nick Evans of IU tied the game with a RBI single.
MSU took a 3-1 lead in the third on several gifts from Indiana. The Spartans scored three runs in the inning on two walks, a hit batter and two Hoosier errors.
Spanos, who hit a solo homer in the second, drilled his second homer of the game in the fourth to knot the game at 3-3.
David Miller gave the Spartans the 4-3 lead with a RBI double to left in the fifth.
MSU starter Tim Day fanned seven and scattered six hits in six innings of work. Chris Hynes did the bulk of the pitching for IU after starter Josh Lewis was lifted in the third. Hynes threw four innings and allowed two run, but Ryan Smith (4-1), who pitched to just one batter, got the win for Indiana.
Michigan State and Indiana finish the series with a single game tomorrow (Sunday, April 13) at 1 p.m.
SPARTAN POST-GAME NOTES:
* Brady Burrill went 5-for-8 with two RBI in the doubleheader to improve his team-best average to .411.
* Bryan Gale won his 21st game as a Spartan, tying him with Ron Perranoski for fourth on the all-time MSU wins chart.
* Charlie Braun played in the field at second base for the first time all season. Braun responded by collecting two hits and scoring two runs in game two.
* David Miller extended his career best hitting streak to 10 games by going 3-for-7 with two doubles and two RBI in the doubleheader.
GAME SUMMARIES
GAME ONE R H EMSU 400 200 0- 6 9 1IND 100 000 0- 1 6 1
WP: Gale-MSU (4-4)LP: Pegg-IND (2-3)
GAME TWO R H EMSU 003 010 1- 5 8 1IND 010 201 2- 6 9 2
WP: Smith-IND (4-1)LP: Golem-MSU (2-1)
