Michigan State University Athletics
Michigan State University
Michigan
Michigan State And Michigan Split Sunday Doubleheader
5/2/2004 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 2, 2004
ANN ARBOR, Mich. - The Michigan State and Michigan baseball teams split a doubleheader on Sunday afternoon at Ray Fisher Stadium in Ann Arbor. The Wolverines won game one 10-2, but the Spartans closed the afternoon with a 6-3 victory. MSU (23-20, 10-10 Big Ten) and UM (24-17, 12-8) split the four-game series.
The first game of the doubleheader was a seven-inning contest as the result of yesterday's postponed second game in East Lansing. Since the game was originally scheduled to be played at MSU, the Spartans were the home team. Michigan starter Paul Hammond controlled the normally potent Spartan offense, limiting Michigan State to just two runs and four hits.
The Wolverines jumped out to an early lead with one run in the first and three more in the second. The Spartans scored a single run in the second as Sean Walker (Fr., Round Lake, Ill.) doubled to lead off the inning. Alan Cattrysse (So., Chatham, Ontario) tripled off the top of the wall in left center, narrowly missing a home run, but scoring Walker. Cattrysse, however, was later thrown out at home on an infield groundout.
Leading 4-1, Michigan scored a single run in the third and added two more in the fourth to take a 7-1 lead. In the bottom of the sixth, Walker hit his eighth home run of the year, but that was all the scoring the Spartans could manage. The Wolverines closed the scoring with three runs in the top of the seventh.
Clay Kovac (Fr., Mundelein, Ill.) took the loss in his first start at Michigan State, allowing four runs on five hits and two walks in 1.1 innings of work. He falls to 1-1 on the season. Hammond improved to 3-0 with the victory, striking out five in a complete-game effort.
In the second game, Michigan State struck first as Erik Morris ( Jr., Orchard Lake, Mich.) hit his eighth home run of the season, scoring Cattrysse. Michigan evened the score in the fourth, as Jeff Kunkel drove the ball over the right field fence, plating A.J. Scheidt.
The Wolverines threatened in the bottom of the fifth, getting runners on first and third with one out. Kyle Bohm ripped a ground ball towards third base, where James Moreno (Sr., Holt, Mich.) dove to his left to make the stop. From his knees, he fired the ball over to second base to start a 5-4-3 double play, ending the scoring threat.
Michigan State took a brief 3-2 lead in the top of the sixth as Morris scored on a Moreno single. In the bottom half of the inning, the Wolverines tied the game as Schiedt led off the inning with a double and came around to score on a Brandon Roberts single.
The Spartans retook the lead in the top of the seventh. Ryan Basham (Fr., Lowell, Ind.) led off the inning with an infield single when the ball took a bad hop on the Michigan second baseman. Basham stole second, advanced to third on an infield groundout and came around to score on a Troy Krider (Fr., Coldwater, Mich.) sacrifice fly. In the bottom half of the seventh, Michigan loaded the bases with one out, but MSU reliever Adam White (Sr., Jension, Mich.) struck out the fourth and fifth place hitters to retire the side.
Moreno homered to left field in the top of the eighth, extending MSU's lead to 5-3. In the top of the ninth, Morris drove home pinch runner E.J. Daws (Fr., Bozeman, Mont.) with an infield single to take a 6-3 lead.
White earned the win to improve to 3-1 on the year. In 3.2 innings of relief work, he allowed no runs on two hits, walking four and striking out three. Chris Toepper (So., Portage, Mich.) started the game for MSU, allowing three runs on seven hits in 5.1 innings of work. He walked one and struck out two. Michigan's Michael Penn took the loss, allowing four runs, three earned, while giving up seven hits and striking out four.
Michigan State returns to action on Saturday, May 8 when it hosts Indiana in a four-game series.
