Saturday, April 3
Minneapolis, Minn.
2 PM ET / 1 PM CT
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MSU Edged By Minnesota In Back-And-Forth Contest Saturday
4/3/2021 7:32:00 PM | Baseball
Kelley ties career stolen base record; Stewart knocks team-leading third HR of season.
MINNEAPOLIS -- Michigan State baseball was edged by Minnesota in a wild, back-and-forth contest, 10-9, Saturday afternoon at Siebert Field.
The Spartans rallied from being down 7-3 after five innings with two runs in the sixth and four in the top of the ninth for a 9-7 lead, but the Gophers countered with a three-run ninth inning, winning on a walk-off single. MSU suffered its third walk-off loss, as well as playing in its fifth game decided by one run. Michigan State is now 8-9 on the season, while Minnesota moved to 4-13. The Spartans tried to rally for the second-straight day following winning Friday's series-opener, 7-6, after trailing 5-1 after five frames and 6-5 through seven innings.
"We didn't play well enough to win and that's the bottom line, I think we were playing with fire yesterday and were lucky to come away with one. At this level of college baseball, you can't get away with it every day, and we did not today," MSU head coach Jake Boss Jr. said. "Credit Minnesota, again we're well aware that they're going to compete their tails off, I don't care what the record is, they're extremely well-coached, and they play hard, just like we do. Like we said last night, the game is 27 outs long, you got to get 27 outs to win it, and we only got 26 today."
MSU's loss overshadows senior outfielder Bryce Kelley swiping one stolen base to give him 79 career stolen bases and tie the Michigan State career stolen base record, matching Anthony Cheky's 79 swipes from 2012-15.
The Spartans tallied 12 hits, including four players with two hits apiece and all four were in consecutive order in the batting order in the 4-7 spots, led by freshman designated hitter Jack Frank going 2-for-3 with an RBI and two runs scored, while sophomore outfielder Zaid Walker was 2-for-4 with two RBI and two runs scored. Freshman infielder Mitch Jebb was 2-for-5 and redshirt-freshman catcher Gabe Sotres was 2-for-4 with two RBI and a run scored.
Senior outfielder Joe Stewart blasted his team-leading third home run with a solo shot to lead off the fourth inning, tying the game at 1-1. Kelley was also 1-for-3 with a run scored, while sophomore Peter Ahn had a pinch-hit two-run triple, and freshman infielder Trent Farquhar was 1-for-5 with a double, as Stewart, Ahn and Farquhar were three of MSU's six extra-base hits on the day, as Walker, Frank and Sotres added doubles.
Stewart's home run in the visitor's fourth got MSU on the board and Frank followed with a walk then Walker and Jebb knocked back-to-back singles to load the bases. Sotres came to the plate and drove Frank in with a sac fly to center, then junior infielder Zach Iverson drove in Walker with a groundout to put MSU ahead at 3-1.
The Spartan advantage was short-lived as the Gophers plated three runs in the home half of the fourth, with big blow coming on a two-run double. Minnesota tacked on three more run in the bottom of the fifth to open a 7-1 lead, with four hits and taking advantage of MSU errors, leaving two on, part of the 16 runners the Gophers left on base in the contest.
Michigan State started its rally in the sixth as Jebb singled, but then was erased from the basepaths on a fielder's choice off the bat of Sotres, and Iverson followed with a walk. Pinch-hitter Ahn then laced a triple to right, driving in Sotres and Iverson to pull the Spartans within 7-5.
After scoreless seventh and eighth innings, as freshman relief pitcher Dominic Hann quieted the Gopher bats, the Spartans rallied in the ninth, as Kelly jump-started the rally by getting hit by a pitch. Stewart followed with a walk, then Kelley and Stewart successfully executed the double steal, with Stewart swiping his second bag of the season, while Kelley tallied his team-leading seventh stolen base of the season and his record-tying 79th of his career.
Frank had an infield single to shortstop that drove in Kelley, and after a Minnesota pitching change, Walker rapped a two-run double to left center to drive in Stewart and Frank. Two batters later, Walker stole third base, then Sotres drove him in with a double off the wall in right center, and after the MSU rally ended two batters later, the Spartans had a 9-7 lead.
Sophomore pitcher Burrell Jones, Friday's winning pitcher after taking the mound in the eighth and ninth, got two outs while yielding two hits, the second a double by Chase Stanke after Zack Raabe singled. MSU made a pitching change, bringing in redshirt-freshman William Christophersen and Jack Wassel knocked a two-run single, then after a walk, Andrew Wilhite single to left center to plate Wassel for the Gophers' walk-off win.
Michigan State and Minnesota will play the rubber match of their three-game series at Siebert Field on Sunday, April 4 at 2 p.m. ET / 1 p.m. CT.
Along with any schedule updates, fans can follow the games with links for live stats and live streaming from Big Ten Network+ at MSUSpartans.com.
The Spartans rallied from being down 7-3 after five innings with two runs in the sixth and four in the top of the ninth for a 9-7 lead, but the Gophers countered with a three-run ninth inning, winning on a walk-off single. MSU suffered its third walk-off loss, as well as playing in its fifth game decided by one run. Michigan State is now 8-9 on the season, while Minnesota moved to 4-13. The Spartans tried to rally for the second-straight day following winning Friday's series-opener, 7-6, after trailing 5-1 after five frames and 6-5 through seven innings.
"We didn't play well enough to win and that's the bottom line, I think we were playing with fire yesterday and were lucky to come away with one. At this level of college baseball, you can't get away with it every day, and we did not today," MSU head coach Jake Boss Jr. said. "Credit Minnesota, again we're well aware that they're going to compete their tails off, I don't care what the record is, they're extremely well-coached, and they play hard, just like we do. Like we said last night, the game is 27 outs long, you got to get 27 outs to win it, and we only got 26 today."
MSU's loss overshadows senior outfielder Bryce Kelley swiping one stolen base to give him 79 career stolen bases and tie the Michigan State career stolen base record, matching Anthony Cheky's 79 swipes from 2012-15.
T9th - Bryce Kelley just stole 3rd, for his 7⃣9⃣th career stolen base, tying the school record, matching Anthony Cheky (2012-15)!!
— Michigan State Baseball (@statebaseball) April 3, 2021
⚾️#GoGreen pic.twitter.com/r9H6v92OS3
The Spartans tallied 12 hits, including four players with two hits apiece and all four were in consecutive order in the batting order in the 4-7 spots, led by freshman designated hitter Jack Frank going 2-for-3 with an RBI and two runs scored, while sophomore outfielder Zaid Walker was 2-for-4 with two RBI and two runs scored. Freshman infielder Mitch Jebb was 2-for-5 and redshirt-freshman catcher Gabe Sotres was 2-for-4 with two RBI and a run scored.
Senior outfielder Joe Stewart blasted his team-leading third home run with a solo shot to lead off the fourth inning, tying the game at 1-1. Kelley was also 1-for-3 with a run scored, while sophomore Peter Ahn had a pinch-hit two-run triple, and freshman infielder Trent Farquhar was 1-for-5 with a double, as Stewart, Ahn and Farquhar were three of MSU's six extra-base hits on the day, as Walker, Frank and Sotres added doubles.
Touch 'em all Joe!!
— Michigan State Baseball (@statebaseball) April 3, 2021
Home Run Joe Stewart... his team-leading 3rd of the season leads off the top of the 4th and ties the game at 1-1!
⚾️#GoGreen | @joestew5 pic.twitter.com/Acf6XuOGAc
Stewart's home run in the visitor's fourth got MSU on the board and Frank followed with a walk then Walker and Jebb knocked back-to-back singles to load the bases. Sotres came to the plate and drove Frank in with a sac fly to center, then junior infielder Zach Iverson drove in Walker with a groundout to put MSU ahead at 3-1.
The Spartan advantage was short-lived as the Gophers plated three runs in the home half of the fourth, with big blow coming on a two-run double. Minnesota tacked on three more run in the bottom of the fifth to open a 7-1 lead, with four hits and taking advantage of MSU errors, leaving two on, part of the 16 runners the Gophers left on base in the contest.
Michigan State started its rally in the sixth as Jebb singled, but then was erased from the basepaths on a fielder's choice off the bat of Sotres, and Iverson followed with a walk. Pinch-hitter Ahn then laced a triple to right, driving in Sotres and Iverson to pull the Spartans within 7-5.
After scoreless seventh and eighth innings, as freshman relief pitcher Dominic Hann quieted the Gopher bats, the Spartans rallied in the ninth, as Kelly jump-started the rally by getting hit by a pitch. Stewart followed with a walk, then Kelley and Stewart successfully executed the double steal, with Stewart swiping his second bag of the season, while Kelley tallied his team-leading seventh stolen base of the season and his record-tying 79th of his career.
Frank had an infield single to shortstop that drove in Kelley, and after a Minnesota pitching change, Walker rapped a two-run double to left center to drive in Stewart and Frank. Two batters later, Walker stole third base, then Sotres drove him in with a double off the wall in right center, and after the MSU rally ended two batters later, the Spartans had a 9-7 lead.
Sophomore pitcher Burrell Jones, Friday's winning pitcher after taking the mound in the eighth and ninth, got two outs while yielding two hits, the second a double by Chase Stanke after Zack Raabe singled. MSU made a pitching change, bringing in redshirt-freshman William Christophersen and Jack Wassel knocked a two-run single, then after a walk, Andrew Wilhite single to left center to plate Wassel for the Gophers' walk-off win.
Michigan State and Minnesota will play the rubber match of their three-game series at Siebert Field on Sunday, April 4 at 2 p.m. ET / 1 p.m. CT.
Along with any schedule updates, fans can follow the games with links for live stats and live streaming from Big Ten Network+ at MSUSpartans.com.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Tom Skoro (2-2)
L: Christophersen, William (1-1)
Batting:
2B: Farquhar, Trent 1 ; Frank, Jack 1 ; Walker, Zaid 1 ; Sotres, Gabe 1
3B: Ahn, Peter 1
HR: Stewart, Joe 1
RBI: Stewart, Joe 1 ; Frank, Jack 1 ; Walker, Zaid 2 ; Sotres, Gabe 2 ; Iverson, Zach 1 ; Ahn, Peter 2
SF: Sotres, Gabe 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Kelley, Bryce 1 ; Stewart, Joe 2 ; Frank, Jack 2 ; Walker, Zaid 2 ; Sotres, Gabe 1 ; Iverson, Zach 1
SB: Kelley, Bryce 1 ; Stewart, Joe 1 ; Walker, Zaid 1
CS: Frank, Jack 1
HBP: Kelley, Bryce 1
Batting:
2B: Brett Bateman 1 ; Chase Stanke 1 ; Jack Kelly 1 ; Drew Stahl 1
HR: Jack Wassel 1
RBI: Brett Bateman 3 ; Zack Raabe 1 ; Cody Kelly 1 ; Jack Wassel 3 ; Andrew Wilhite 1 ; Drew Stahl 1
SH: Ronald Sweeny 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Brett Bateman 1 ; Zack Raabe 1 ; Drew Hmielewski 1 ; Jack Wassel 2 ; Andrew Wilhite 2 ; Jack Kelly 1 ; Drew Stahl 2
HBP: Chase Stanke 1
Game Leaders
AB
3
R
2
H
2
RBI
1
AB
4
R
2
H
2
RBI
2
AB
5
R
0
H
2
RBI
0
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
2
Players Mentioned
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RHP
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INF/OF/RHP
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RHP
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OF/LHP
/ BaseballC
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OF/1B
/ BaseballOF
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