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Photo by: Jeremy Fleming
Peterson’s Two HR Not Enough In MSU Loss To Purdue Sunday
4/18/2021 5:16:00 PM | Baseball
Senior infielder bashes pair of home runs in Spartan loss.
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Two solo home runs from Bailey Peterson was not enough as Michigan State baseball was defeated by Purdue, 8-3, Sunday afternoon in MSU's final game of the Champaign Pod at Illinois Field.
Peterson, a senior infielder, knocked his second and third home runs of the season and of his career. He bashed a solo shot to lead off the third inning down the left field line just inside the foul pole, and another solo shot to lead off the eighth inning to left center field. The last time that a Spartan hit two HR in a game was just two days over three years ago, as Dan Durkin did so on April 16, 2017 vs. Ohio State.
MSU slides to 11-15 with Sunday's loss, while Purdue moved to 8-15 with the win, entering match-ups with host Illinois later Sunday afternoon and Monday. The Boilermakers also won the season series with the Spartans, winning three of four after splitting a pair of games in East Lansing last week, with MSU winning the opener, 5-2, on April 11, before Purdue bounced back to win, 8-2, the next day.
"Really disappointed in how we played today, I didn't think we took care of any details whatsoever, offensively, defensively, and the mound, and I thought they played harder than we did," MSU head coach Jake Boss Jr. said. "We came back and got it close in the eighth, but we missed a big opportunity there with the bases loaded, and then we let it get away from us in the ninth. So, just a very disappointing outcome to a very disappointing weekend."
Peterson ended with game 2-for-4 with two RBI and two runs scored, while redshirt-freshman Gabe Sotres was 3-for-3. Senior outfielder Joe Stewart, freshman infielder Mitch Jebb and junior infielder Zach Iverson were all 1-for-4, with Iverson scoring a run.
Junior starting pitcher Jesse Heikkinen was dealt the loss after scattering six hits and four runs in 4.0 IP, chalking up three strikeouts, in his second outing of the season since returning from injury. Redshirt-sophomore Wyatt Rush later came out of the bullpen and went 4.0 IP with four Ks and only yielding one hit, as part of four Spartans pitchers on the day.
The Boilermakers got on the board with a run in the top of the second on an RBI single.
Michigan State tied it up in the home half of the third when Peterson led of the inning with a solo home run down the left field line that was just inside the foul pole to level the score at 1-1.
The score didn't stay tied for long, as Purdue plated three runs in the top of the fourth, including three hits coming with two outs, with a double, single and triple, to open a 4-1 lead.
That remained the score until the eighth, when Peterson led off the frame just like he did with the third frame, blasting a solo home run, this time to center field. That chased Purdue starting pitcher Trent Johnson, and Iverson greeted reliever Eric Hildebrand with a single to left, and Sotres followed with a single through the left side, and Purdue replaced Hildebrand with Landon Weins, who got a sac bunt and lineout, before Stewart reached on an error to bring Iverson to score. After Stewart moved up to second on a wild pitch, sophomore outfielder Zaid Walker was intentionally walked to load the bases full of Spartans, but a groundout snuffed out MSU's rally.
The Boilermakers added four runs in the top of the ninth to open an 8-3 lead, and the Spartans went down in order in the bottom of the ninth to end the game.
Michigan State will return home to host Nebraska at McLane Stadium at Kobs Field, Friday-Sunday, April 23-25. Friday's game will be televised on the Big Ten Network in a 5:05 p.m. ET start time, while Saturday's contest will start at 3:05 p.m., before Sunday's series finale at 12:05 p.m. ET.
Along with any schedule updates, fans can follow the games with links for live stats, live audio (when available) and live streaming from Big Ten Network+ at MSUSpartans.com.
Peterson, a senior infielder, knocked his second and third home runs of the season and of his career. He bashed a solo shot to lead off the third inning down the left field line just inside the foul pole, and another solo shot to lead off the eighth inning to left center field. The last time that a Spartan hit two HR in a game was just two days over three years ago, as Dan Durkin did so on April 16, 2017 vs. Ohio State.
MSU slides to 11-15 with Sunday's loss, while Purdue moved to 8-15 with the win, entering match-ups with host Illinois later Sunday afternoon and Monday. The Boilermakers also won the season series with the Spartans, winning three of four after splitting a pair of games in East Lansing last week, with MSU winning the opener, 5-2, on April 11, before Purdue bounced back to win, 8-2, the next day.
"Really disappointed in how we played today, I didn't think we took care of any details whatsoever, offensively, defensively, and the mound, and I thought they played harder than we did," MSU head coach Jake Boss Jr. said. "We came back and got it close in the eighth, but we missed a big opportunity there with the bases loaded, and then we let it get away from us in the ninth. So, just a very disappointing outcome to a very disappointing weekend."
Peterson ended with game 2-for-4 with two RBI and two runs scored, while redshirt-freshman Gabe Sotres was 3-for-3. Senior outfielder Joe Stewart, freshman infielder Mitch Jebb and junior infielder Zach Iverson were all 1-for-4, with Iverson scoring a run.
Junior starting pitcher Jesse Heikkinen was dealt the loss after scattering six hits and four runs in 4.0 IP, chalking up three strikeouts, in his second outing of the season since returning from injury. Redshirt-sophomore Wyatt Rush later came out of the bullpen and went 4.0 IP with four Ks and only yielding one hit, as part of four Spartans pitchers on the day.
The Boilermakers got on the board with a run in the top of the second on an RBI single.
Michigan State tied it up in the home half of the third when Peterson led of the inning with a solo home run down the left field line that was just inside the foul pole to level the score at 1-1.
The score didn't stay tied for long, as Purdue plated three runs in the top of the fourth, including three hits coming with two outs, with a double, single and triple, to open a 4-1 lead.
That remained the score until the eighth, when Peterson led off the frame just like he did with the third frame, blasting a solo home run, this time to center field. That chased Purdue starting pitcher Trent Johnson, and Iverson greeted reliever Eric Hildebrand with a single to left, and Sotres followed with a single through the left side, and Purdue replaced Hildebrand with Landon Weins, who got a sac bunt and lineout, before Stewart reached on an error to bring Iverson to score. After Stewart moved up to second on a wild pitch, sophomore outfielder Zaid Walker was intentionally walked to load the bases full of Spartans, but a groundout snuffed out MSU's rally.
The Boilermakers added four runs in the top of the ninth to open an 8-3 lead, and the Spartans went down in order in the bottom of the ninth to end the game.
Michigan State will return home to host Nebraska at McLane Stadium at Kobs Field, Friday-Sunday, April 23-25. Friday's game will be televised on the Big Ten Network in a 5:05 p.m. ET start time, while Saturday's contest will start at 3:05 p.m., before Sunday's series finale at 12:05 p.m. ET.
Along with any schedule updates, fans can follow the games with links for live stats, live audio (when available) and live streaming from Big Ten Network+ at MSUSpartans.com.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: JOHNSON, Trent (2-2)
L: Heikkinen, Jesse (0-2)
S: WEINS, Landon (1)
Batting:
2B: GAVRE, Mason 1
3B: HOWE, Ryan 1
RBI: HUNTER, Skyler 1 ; SIMINGTON, Miles 1 ; NISLE, Ben 1 ; GAVRE, Mason 1 ; PARR, Jake 2 ; HOWE, Ryan 1
SH: POWERS, Tyler 1
Base Running:
RUNS: HUNTER, Skyler 1 ; POWERS, Tyler 1 ; SIMINGTON, Miles 1 ; NISLE, Ben 2 ; GAVRE, Mason 1 ; PARR, Jake 1 ; BOLTON Jr., Mike 1
SB: HUNTER, Skyler 1 ; SIMINGTON, Miles 1 ; NISLE, Ben 2 ; BOLTON Jr., Mike 1
CS: HOWE, Ryan 1
HBP: POWERS, Tyler 1 ; NISLE, Ben 1 ; BOLTON Jr., Mike 1
Batting:
HR: Peterson, Bailey 2
RBI: Peterson, Bailey 2
SH: Farquhar, Trent 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Peterson, Bailey 2 ; Iverson, Zach 1
CS: Stewart, Joe 1 ; Sotres, Gabe 1
Game Leaders
AB
3
R
0
H
3
RBI
0
AB
4
R
2
H
2
RBI
2
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
INF
/ Baseball
LHP
/ Baseball
INF/OF/RHP
/ BaseballINF
/ BaseballIF/OF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ BaseballC
/ BaseballOF/1B
/ Baseball
OF
/ BaseballPursuit to Greatness | Spartans All-Access
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