Michigan State University Athletics
Michigan State University
Indiana Tech
Michigan State Tops Indiana Tech, 10-4
3/29/2004 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 29, 2004
Michigan State's impressive play at Kobs Field continued Monday, March 29, with a 10-4 victory over Indiana Tech. The Spartans improved to 4-0 at home and 8-10 overall while the Warriors fell to 8-12.
State's starter, Scott Koerber, (Harper Woods, Mich.) opened the game by retiring the side in the first inning and then helped himself out in the bottom half. After Oliver Wolcott (Plymouth, Mich.) placed a double in the left-center field gap, Koerber extended his hitting streak to seven games with a bomb over the left field fence - his first of the year - to give MSU a 2-0 lead. Koerber returned to the mound in the second and almost let the lead slip away. With two outs, he walked the next two hitters and gave up a single to right field to load the bases. Fortunately, Django Whittington failed to drive anyone home, popping up to catcher Kris Morris to end the inning.
State continued its momentum in the second with seven runs, including two homers. Ryan Basham (Lowell, Ind.) led off the inning with a double and stole third following a strikeout to Morris. ITU's Matt Brew put runners at the corners with a walk to Adam Tripp (Saugus, Calif.) and then threw a wild pitch to give State two men in scoring position. Troy Krider (Coldwater, Mich./DeKalb, Ind.) took advantage of the situation with a single down the left field line, scoring Basham and went to second on the throw home. Alan Cattrysse (Chatham, Ont.) made it 4-0 with a sacrifice fly to right that scored Krider from third. Wolcott was next in line and got on base when third baseman Brady Glass' throw pulled first baseman Jake Stambazze off the bag, also allowing Krider to advance to third. Travis Gulick (East Lansing, Mich.) made the Warriors pay with a three-run dinger to left, increasing State's lead to 7-0. The shot extends Gulick's hitting streak to 14 consecutive games.
Even though Indiana Tech was only one out away from stopping the bleeding, Koerber continued the offensive pressure. Knocking a single to right center, his second hit of the day gave way to a James Moreno (Holt, Mich.) two-run blast as well as a 9-0 Spartan advantage.
Koerber stayed in through the fifth and kept ITU off the scoreboard, posting career-highs of seven strikeouts and five innings pitched while giving up only four hits. The victory marks the first of the season for the senior co-captain as his record moves to 1-3 on the year.
State's final run came in the fourth, led by a Wolcott triple to right field. When Gulick followed with a walk, Brew attempted a pick-off play that got past Stambazze, allowing Wolcott to touch home.
Indiana Tech managed a single run in each of the final four innings but it was not enough to put a scare into the Spartans. Chris Toepper (Portage, Mich.) and Ryan Kurtz (Toledo, Ohio) helped close out the game by pitching two innings apiece as State completed the win with a total of 10 hits while making no errors in the field.
Michigan State gets back on the diamond Tuesday, March 30, for a 2 p.m. showdown with Siena Heights at Kobs Field.
