Spartans Split Sunday Doubleheader

Sunday, March 15

Greenville, S.C.

3:00 PM

Michigan State University

8-9

USC Upstate

7-10

USC Upstate

Michigan State

MSU's bullpen pitched five perfect innings on Saturday.

3/15/2015 12:00:00 AM | Baseball

Box Score

March 15, 2015

Box Score

GREENVILLE, S.C. - The Michigan State baseball team split its doubleheader on Sunday afternoon as part of the First Pitch Invitational in Greenville, S.C., losing to Connecticut, 3-1 before defeating USC Upstate 6-5. The Spartans wrap up their eight-game spring break trip with a 5-3 record and are now 8-9 on the season heading into Big Ten play.

Michigan State fell to Connecticut in the first game, but were led by a career-high 13 strikeouts from redshirt sophomore Cam Vieaux. The 13 Ks were the most by any pitcher in the Big Ten so far this season and were six more than his previous career high.

It was the Spartans that jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in in game one, beginning with a Cam Gibson leadoff bunt single. Ryan Richardson and Mark Weist each were put out on the play, but managed to advance Gibson before freshman Chad Roskelly came up with the big hit that plated the run. Roskelly took a 2-2 pitch the opposite way and into right field to bring home Gibson for his ninth RBI of the season.

Gibson led the Spartans against UConn, going 3-for-4 from the plate with two singles and a double.

Connecticut responded the next half inning with a leadoff double by Bobby Melley that allowed for him to advance to third after a passed ball to the next hitter. Bryan Daniello then brought the run home with a sac fly that tied that game at 1-1.

From there on out, Vieaux was untouchable, striking out five consecutive batters and allowing just three hits over the next five innings. Vieaux earned a no decision in the contest, pitching 6.1 innings, allowing no earned runs on four hits, with 13 strikeouts and three walks.

Joe Mockbee came on in relief for Vieaux in the seventh with runners on first and second and one out. The Huskies loaded the bases with a hard hit ball that lined off of Mockbee's back, which saved the possibility of the runner from second scoring on a ball hit to the outfield. Mockbee got the next hitter to ground out to first on a 3-2 pitch that stranded three runners and kept the game tied at one.

The Spartans best chance came in the eighth with runners and second and third and nobody out. Patrick Ruotolo came in for Connecticut with one out and retired the next two batters to gets the Huskies out of the jam.

Knotted up at 1-1 entering the ninth, Joe Deroche-Duffin hit a leadoff single to left to start the inning. With two outs and Duffin on second, the Huskies opened up a 3-1 lead with a two-run homer to left center by Jon Testani that would prove to be the game winner.

Rutolo sent the Spartans down in order in the ninth to earn his first win of the season, retiring all five Spartans he faced. Mockbee took the loss for MSU and is now 1-1 on the year.

The second game of the day was a back-and-forth match between MSU and Upstate, but it was Michigan State that came out ahead with the 6-5 win.

Trailing by one in the eighth, Salter came up with the go-ahead hit that would put the Spartans up for good for his 11th and 12th RBIs of the season. Cheky and Gibson both reached base to get things going, with the inning being kept alive by a USC Upstate error that would later come back to haunt them. Salter capitalized on the opportunity, slapping a two-out RBI single through the left side that scored both runners.

Freshman Andrew Gonzalez, who got the Spartans out of the eighth inning earned the decision, his first career win in the Green and White.

Gibson reached base and scored on a wild pitch to open another 1-0 lead in the first inning. The Spartans loaded the bases in the second and pushed across a run on an RBI single to right from Anthony Cheky to extend the lead to two. Following a Mark Weist RBI single that put MSU up 3-0, USC Upstate erased the deficit in the fifth when the first four guys that stepped up to the plate in the inning scored to take a 4-3 lead.

The Spartans loaded the bases with two outs in the seventh and managed to tie the game when Krieder came in to pitch to Roskelly and hit him on the second pitch of the at bat, bringing home Ryan Krill to tie the game up at four.

USC Upstate regained its last lead of the game in the top of the eighth with a Jake Beaver double to left that scored Charlie Carpenter, who singled earlier in the inning.

Michigan State kicks off Big Ten play next weekend with a series at Ohio State, starting on Friday at 5:05 p.m.