Michigan State University
Bethune Cookman
Baseball Drops Wild Game to Bethune-Cookman, 11-9
3/7/2009 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 7, 2009
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - The Michigan State baseball team fell to Bethune-Cookman, 11-9, Saturday night (March 7) in what turned out to be a wild game. Despite the Wildcats racing out to a 10-3 lead, the Spartans fought their way back into the game with six runs in the sixth and seventh innings, combined.
Chris Roberts (2-for-4) and Eric Roof (2-for-5) led the way offensively for the Spartans as each drove in three runs.
MSU took the lead in the first with a Roberts sacrifice fly to left field that scored Brandon Eckerle who reached on a walk. Bethune-Cookman followed in the bottom half of the first and took a 2-1 advantage off two hits.
After the first two batters walked for MSU in the top of the third, Roberts got his second RBI of the day with a scorcher up the middle that scored Andy Johnson. The Spartans regained the lead, 3-2, one batter later when Eric Roof drove in another run.
Bethune-Cookman regained the lead in the third as they sent 12 batters to the plate and scored eight runs keyed by a three-run homer from Ryan Durrence to make the score 10-3.
With the score 11-3 in the top of the sixth, Andrew Carpenter knocked in a run to cut the lead before a five-run Spartan outburst in the seventh chopped the BCU lead to just 11-9. Again it was Roberts that got the scoring going, this time with an RBI double that was followed by Eric Roof's two-run single to second base. A Jonathan Roof double and Carpenter sacrifice fly scored the last two runs of the inning.
Max Miller and Kurt Wunderlich came on in the sixth and eighth innings, respectively, and combined to keep the Wildcats off the bases and the Spartans within striking distance heading into the ninth.
MSU was able to get two runners on in the ninth but Carpenter struck out to end the game.
A.J. Dunn (0-2) pitched 2.1 innings in his third start of the year and struck out a season-high three. BCU starter Eric Thomas went 6.1 innings with seven strikeouts to earn his first win of the year.
The Spartans wrap up the Bethune-Cookman Tournament by taking on the Wildcats again on Sunday (March 8) at noon.
