Spartans Wrap Up Weekend With Loss to Kent State Sunday

CONWAY, S.C. -- Michigan State baseball wrapped up its weekend at the Coastal Carolina-hosted Brittain Resorts Baseball At The Beach with a 12-2 loss to Kent State Sunday at CCU's Springs Brooks Stadium.

Despite being from neighboring states, Sunday was the first-ever meeting on the diamond between MSU and KSU. The Spartans slide to 1-6 overall on the season, while the Golden Flashes also move to 1-6.

"No doubt it was a disappointing weekend for us," MSU head coach Jake Boss Jr. said. "We'll have a good week of practice and get ready to go out to Arizona State and Arizona and compete against two very good PAC-12 teams. I know this team is going to continue to work and continue to fight. We have high-character kids who work hard and are going to continue to work hard everyday."

Freshman outfielder Zaid Walker was 1-for-3 with a two-run single in the Spartans' second, driving in senior third baseman Royce Ando and junior second baseman Bailey Peterson, who led off the inning with singles. Ando also ended Sunday's game 1-for-3, while Peterson was 1-for-4. Freshman outfielder Casey Mayes added an infield single.

Junior starting pitcher Indigo Diaz was dealt the loss, striking out three. Junior reliever Caleb Sleeman also chalked up three strikeouts, while senior reliever Evan Flohr collected a pair of Ks.

In the bottom of the first, Diaz had an unconventional 1-2-3 inning, with senior shortstop Marty Bechina involved in all three outs. The first two KSU batters grounded out to Bechina at short, then the next batter, Cam Touchette walked. Touchette later tried to steal second, but sophomore catcher Adam Proctor fired a laser to Bechina for the tag and out to nab Touchette to end the frame.

Michigan State got on the board in the second with Ando and Peterson lacing back-to-back singles to open the inning. After a groundout moved them up a base, and after a foul out for the second out, Walker smacked a single to left to plate Ando and Peterson for a 2-0 Spartan lead.

Diaz registered a traditional 1-2-3 inning in the second frame, getting an infield popup, then two swinging strikeouts to end the inning.

Kent State broke through in the third inning, plating five runs, with the big blow coming on a bases-clearing double by Ben Carew. KSU capitalized on four walks in the inning, adding an RBI single by Greg Lewandowski, before Diaz later picked Lewandowski off at first to end the frame. The Golden Flashes added five more runs in the fourth, stringing together five hits to open a 10-2 lead. KSU added a run each in the fifth and six stanzas for a 12-2 advantage and complete the scoring.

Michigan State returns to action next weekend, heading to Arizona to play at Arizona State in a three-game series, Friday-Sunday, March 1-3 in Phoenix, then playing at Arizona on Tuesday, March 5 in Tucson, Ariz.

Any schedule updates will be announced on www.MSUSpartans.com and on twitter @statebaseball.

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Team Stats

Casey Mayes

Royce Ando

Bailey Peterson

Zaid Walker

Players Mentioned

Royce Ando

Marty Bechina

Indigo Diaz

Evan Flohr

Casey Mayes

Bailey Peterson

Adam Proctor

Caleb Sleeman

Zaid Walker

Players Mentioned

Royce Ando

Marty Bechina

Indigo Diaz

Evan Flohr

Casey Mayes

Bailey Peterson

Adam Proctor

Caleb Sleeman

Zaid Walker