Friday, April 23
East Lansing, Mich.
5 PM ET
Michigan State University
11-16, 11-16
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Nebraska
19-6, 19-6
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7
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9
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Nebraska
0
0
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2
2
0
0
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Michigan State
0
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0
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5
1
Photo by: Jeremy Fleming
Michigan State Downed By Nebraska Friday
4/23/2021 9:14:00 PM | Baseball
Spartans defeated by league-leading Huskers in series opener.
EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Michigan State was defeated by Big Ten Conference-standing leader Nebraska, 4-0, Friday evening at a sunbathed McLane Stadium at Kobs Field in the opener of a three-game weekend series.
With a national television audience watching on Big Ten Network, junior pitcher Mason Erla was dealing early on, stymieing the Husker bats, ringing up six strikeouts without a hit through the first three innings. Erla finished with seven Ks in 5.0 IP, yielding three runs on four hits and walking one.Â
Nebraska finished the game with seven hits, while the four runs is the Huskers' fewest runs since March 19. Friday's win was the fifth in a row for Nebraska in improving to 19-6 and remaining atop the B1G standings. Michigan State slid to 11-16 overall, and was limited to just five hits.Â
"It was a tough night for us offensively, we had a couple chances and unfortunately, we couldn't cash in on them," MSU head coach Jake Boss Jr. said. "We'll be ready to go and compete again tomorrow. That's a good ball club over there in Nebraska and we just didn't play well enough today, but we'll be back at it tomorrow and our guys are going to give a good effort."
Senior designated hitter Andrew Morrow was 1-for-2 Friday and drew a walk. A native of Omaha, Neb., Morrow is the lone MSU player from Nebraska. Freshman infielder Mitch Jebb was 1-for-3 with a walk, while sophomore outfielder Zaid Walker, senior infielder Bailey Peterson and senior outfielder Bryce Kelley were all 1-for-4.
Erla was relieved by freshman William Christophersen, who rang up three strikeouts in 2.1 IP, allowing just two hits without a run. Christophersen gave way to fellow freshman Zach Hopman in the eighth, and the southpaw threw the final 1.2 IP with two punchouts, one hit and one walk, also without a run.
After a scoreless first three frames, Nebraska broke its hitless streak and the shutout in the fourth, as Joe Acker led off getting hit by a pitch and after a flyout, Spencer Schwellenbach knocked a double to left center to plate Acker. After a single by Cam Chick moved Schwellenbach to third, Max Anderson grounded out to plate Schwellenbach for a 2-0 Husker advantage.
The visiting Huskers added another pair of runs in the fifth, mirroring the fourth, as Leighton Banjoff drew a walk, and a fielder's choice off the bat of Brice Matthews wiped Banjoff from the basepaths. Mathews tried to steal second, but Spartan redshirt-freshman catcher Gabe Sotres fired a frozen rope to freshman infielder Trent Farquhar for the tag to nab Mathews. However, Griffin Everitt was hit by a pitch, and Acker followed with a double to left center to drive in Acker. After a single by Jaxon Hallmark, Schwellenbach reached on an MSU error, allowing Acker, before Erla struck out Chick to end the inning, but not before Nebraska stretched its lead to 4-0 in the top of the fifth.
The Spartans tried to counter in the home half of the inning, with Kelley leading off with a single, and two batters later Morrow walked, but Kelley was wiped from the basepaths and a strikeout ended the inning and the MSU threat.
Michigan State again threatened in the sixth, loading the bases after Walker reached on a 1-out error and moved to second on a failed pickoff. After senior outfielder Joe Stewart walked, Jebb reached on an infield single, but a double play snuffed out the Spartan rally.
MSU and Nebraska continue their series with game two on Saturday with a 3:05 p.m. first pitch, followed by Sunday's series finale in a 12:05 p.m. start time.Â
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.
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With a national television audience watching on Big Ten Network, junior pitcher Mason Erla was dealing early on, stymieing the Husker bats, ringing up six strikeouts without a hit through the first three innings. Erla finished with seven Ks in 5.0 IP, yielding three runs on four hits and walking one.Â
Nebraska finished the game with seven hits, while the four runs is the Huskers' fewest runs since March 19. Friday's win was the fifth in a row for Nebraska in improving to 19-6 and remaining atop the B1G standings. Michigan State slid to 11-16 overall, and was limited to just five hits.Â
"It was a tough night for us offensively, we had a couple chances and unfortunately, we couldn't cash in on them," MSU head coach Jake Boss Jr. said. "We'll be ready to go and compete again tomorrow. That's a good ball club over there in Nebraska and we just didn't play well enough today, but we'll be back at it tomorrow and our guys are going to give a good effort."
Senior designated hitter Andrew Morrow was 1-for-2 Friday and drew a walk. A native of Omaha, Neb., Morrow is the lone MSU player from Nebraska. Freshman infielder Mitch Jebb was 1-for-3 with a walk, while sophomore outfielder Zaid Walker, senior infielder Bailey Peterson and senior outfielder Bryce Kelley were all 1-for-4.
Erla was relieved by freshman William Christophersen, who rang up three strikeouts in 2.1 IP, allowing just two hits without a run. Christophersen gave way to fellow freshman Zach Hopman in the eighth, and the southpaw threw the final 1.2 IP with two punchouts, one hit and one walk, also without a run.
After a scoreless first three frames, Nebraska broke its hitless streak and the shutout in the fourth, as Joe Acker led off getting hit by a pitch and after a flyout, Spencer Schwellenbach knocked a double to left center to plate Acker. After a single by Cam Chick moved Schwellenbach to third, Max Anderson grounded out to plate Schwellenbach for a 2-0 Husker advantage.
The visiting Huskers added another pair of runs in the fifth, mirroring the fourth, as Leighton Banjoff drew a walk, and a fielder's choice off the bat of Brice Matthews wiped Banjoff from the basepaths. Mathews tried to steal second, but Spartan redshirt-freshman catcher Gabe Sotres fired a frozen rope to freshman infielder Trent Farquhar for the tag to nab Mathews. However, Griffin Everitt was hit by a pitch, and Acker followed with a double to left center to drive in Acker. After a single by Jaxon Hallmark, Schwellenbach reached on an MSU error, allowing Acker, before Erla struck out Chick to end the inning, but not before Nebraska stretched its lead to 4-0 in the top of the fifth.
The Spartans tried to counter in the home half of the inning, with Kelley leading off with a single, and two batters later Morrow walked, but Kelley was wiped from the basepaths and a strikeout ended the inning and the MSU threat.
Michigan State again threatened in the sixth, loading the bases after Walker reached on a 1-out error and moved to second on a failed pickoff. After senior outfielder Joe Stewart walked, Jebb reached on an infield single, but a double play snuffed out the Spartan rally.
MSU and Nebraska continue their series with game two on Saturday with a 3:05 p.m. first pitch, followed by Sunday's series finale in a 12:05 p.m. start time.Â
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.
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Povich, Cade (4-1)
L: Erla, Mason (3-3)
Batting:
2B: Acker, Joe 1 ; Schwellenbach, S. 1 ; Everitt, Griffin 1
RBI: Acker, Joe 1 ; Schwellenbach, S. 1 ; Anderson, Max 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Acker, Joe 2 ; Schwellenbach, S. 1 ; Everitt, Griffin 1
CS: Matthews, Brice 1 ; Everitt, Griffin 1
HBP: Acker, Joe 1 ; Everitt, Griffin 1
Batting:
SH: Kark, Dillon 1
Base Running:
CS: Kelley, Bryce 1
PO: Jebb, Mitch 1
Game Leaders
AB
4
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1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
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RHP
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OF/LHP
/ BaseballINF
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/ BaseballOF
/ BaseballPursuit to Greatness | Spartans All-Access
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