Michigan State University
6-11
Niagara
3-10
Erla, Spartans Shut Down Niagara, 5-1
3/17/2018 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
EAST LANSING - The Michigan State baseball team topped Niagara, 5-1, on Saturday behind a solid performance from starting pitcher Mason Erla, who tossed seven scoreless innings and struck out a career-high nine batters. Erla improved to 3-0 with the win while the Spartans upped their record to 6-11.
"Mason was really good today," MSU head coach Jake Boss Jr. said. "This is his fourth or fifth start in a row where he's really been outstanding and he's been really good all year. He only allowed four hits in seven innings and was in command the whole way. He felt good and was cruising there for a while. We're very pleased with the effort he gave us today."
Royce Ando went 2-for-4 with two RBI and helped get the MSU scoring starting in the bottom of the first inning. After a sacrifice fly by Justin Antoncic, Ando followed with an RBI single into center field to give the Spartans a 2-0 lead.
Dan Chmielewski made it 3-0 in the bottom of the second with a two-out RBI triple that landed just inside the right field line, easily plating Bailey Peterson from second base.
The Spartans pushed their lead to 4-0 on an RBI single into center field by Bryce Kelley in the fourth inning.
Two singles, including Ando's second RBI base hit of the day, and two walks put the pressure on Niagara in the bottom of the seventh. But the Spartans settled for just a run as Purple Eagle reliever Matthew Grace squeaked out of the jam.
Erla started the day with three strikeouts in the first inning and then picked up two more in the second before navigating around a pair of singles in the third, stranding runners at the corners to keep it a 3-0 game at the time.
Erla retired eight consecutive until his first walk of the day with one out in the top of the sixth. An error and walk kept the inning alive for Niagara as they loaded the bases with two outs, mounting their first threat until the third inning. Erla was able to get out of trouble unscathed, however, getting Kyle LaPlante to fly out to left field.
After a leadoff walk to start the seventh, Erla retired three straight, the last via strikeout â€" his ninth of the day.
Senior reliever Jake Lowery struck out three in relief, but a sacrifice fly by Peter Battaglia after a pair of singles in the top of the ninth spoiled the Spartans' shutout effort.
Niagara starter Zachary Kolodziejski suffered the loss for Niagara (3-10), allowing four runs off four hits in four innings. He issued six walks and recorded one strikeout.
The Spartans and Purple Eagles will complete the four-game series on Sunday at 1 p.m.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Erla, Mason (3-0)
L: Kolodziejski,Zachary (0-1)
Batting:
2B: Gabriele, Michael 1
RBI: Battaglia, Peter 1
SF: Battaglia, Peter 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Tevlin, Joseph 1
HBP: Bailey, Dawson 1
Batting:
3B: Chmielewski, Dan 1
RBI: Kelley, Bryce 1 ; Chmielewski, Dan 1 ; Antoncic, Justin 1 ; Ando, Royce 2
SH: King, Ryan 1
SF: Antoncic, Justin 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Kelley, Bryce 1 ; Chmielewski, Dan 1 ; Antoncic, Justin 1 ; Lacayo, Nic 1 ; Peterson, Bailey 1
SB: Kelley, Bryce 1 ; Chmielewski, Dan 1 ; Ando, Royce 2 ; Peterson, Bailey 1
HBP: Lacayo, Nic 1
