MSU Topped By UM Friday In Series Opener

EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Michigan State baseball was defeated by Michigan, 6-3, Friday afternoon at McLane Stadium at Kobs Field in the opener of a three-game Big Ten Conference weekend series, in front of a large crowd in attendance and on national television on Big Ten Network.

Junior designated hitter Bailey Peterson was 1-for-3 with a two-run single. Senior infielder Royce Ando was also 1-for-3 with two runs scored and made some nifty defensive plays, including tracking down a blooper and robbing a hit in the seventh. Senior outfielder Dan Chmielewski was 1-for-3 with an RBI, senior infielder Marty Bechina went 1-for-4 with a run scored and senior catcher Nic Lacayo posted a 1-for-3 effort at the plate, also making a nice catch at the screen in the third inning.

MSU was facing UM pitcher Tommy Henry, who came into the weekend leading the Big Ten and ranking fourth in the NCAA in ERA, but the Spartans were able to get three hits off him and plated two earned runs. Michigan State rallied with two hits and a run in the ninth off reliever Benjamin Keizer, before the rally fizzled with the final out at third base.

"We knew he (Henry) was going to throw a lot of strikes, and we knew what we were going to get, so we wanted to stay aggressive and get a fast ball early in the count and not get to the slider, and I thought we did that for the most part, the problem was, we just didn't hit many balls hard. Our guys competed at the plate, we just didn't execute when we needed to really all day long in every facet, so a disappointing day," MSU head coach Jake Boss Jr. said.

After a scoreless first two stanzas of the ballgame, Michigan scored two in the top of the third, stringing together three hits. The Wolverines added a run in the top of the fourth and nearly scored another, but Jordan Nwogu was thrown out at home on a nice relay throw from freshman right fielder Zaid Walker to junior first baseman Justin Antoncic to Lacayo for the tag.

MSU plated two runs in the home half of the fifth. Bechina sparked the rally with a double off the wall at the top of the berm in right field. Ando followed with a walk, before Bechina and Ando moved up on a sac bunt by senior outfielder Dan Chmielewski. Peterson was up next and he singled to left field, scoring Bechina and Ando and pulling the Spartans within 3-2.

Michigan scored two runs in the top of the fifth for a 5-2 advantage, before MSU got out of the jam with a 5-4-3 double play, started by sophomore third baseman Zach Iverson with the scoop, then throwing to Ando at second, who spun and fired to Antoncic at first for the second out of the play.

The visiting Wolverines added a run in the eighth on a solo home run by Jack Blomgren.

MSU tried to mount a comeback in the ninth, with Ando lacing a two-out single up the middle. Chmielewski followed and smacked a line drive down the left field line that bounced around in the corner, scoring Ando, but Chmiewlewski was thrown out by a hair at third to end not only the rally, but the game.

The Spartans and Wolverines are scheduled to continue the series on Saturday in Ann Arbor at 2 p.m., before returning to East Lansing for Sunday's series finale at 4 p.m. Sunday's game will be nationally televised on Big Ten Network.

Fans can also follow this week's Spartan baseball action through "Live Stats," "Listen Live" and "Watch Live" links found at MSUSpartans.com. The games will be video streamed on BTN2Go, and will also be carried on the Spartan Sports Network live audio stream. The broadcast will be available exclusively at SpartanSportsNetwork.com and on the network's 24/7 app for mobile devices (available on iTunes and Google Play). Broadcast veteran Scott Moore calls the action alongside former MSU manager/bullpen catcher David Greenberg in select games.

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

Next Event

Team Stats

Marty Bechina

Royce Ando

Dan Chmielewski

Bailey Peterson

Players Mentioned

Royce Ando

Justin Antoncic

Marty Bechina

Dan Chmielewski

Zach Iverson

Nic Lacayo

Bailey Peterson

Zaid Walker