MSU Defeated By Iowa Friday Night In Series Opener

Friday, May 28

East Lansing, Mich.

6:35 PM ET

Michigan State University

17-25, 17-25

Iowa

24-18, 24-18

Iowa

Michigan State

Photo by: Dale Young - MSU Athletic Communications

5/28/2021 11:04:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

Spartans drop game one of three-game set with Hawkeyes.

EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Michigan State baseball was beaten by Iowa Friday night in the series opener of a three-game set at McLane Stadium at Kobs Field by a 12-1 final score.

The visiting Hawkeyes got on the board first with a run in the third, before adding two in the top of the fourth for a 3-0 lead. The Spartans got a run back in the home half of the fourth to cut the gap to 3-1. However, the Hawkeyes added a run in the sixth and broke the game open with an eight-run eighth inning.

Iowa starting pitcher Trenton Wallace earned the win, going 7.0 IP with five hits and one run, while striking out nine Spartan batters to improve to 7-1 on the season. MSU redshirt-junior starting pitcher Mason Erla went 6.0 IP, scattering seven hits and four runs, while striking out six, and was dealt the loss, sliding to 5-6. The Hawkeyes improved to 24-18 on the year, while the Spartans are 17-25.

"It was a disappointing night for us tonight for sure, we missed out on a couple opportunities early in the game, and credit their guy, Wallace, he is one of the best guys in this conference and he showed why tonight," MSU head coach Jake Boss Jr. said. "We had a couple chances and he did a nice job of getting out of jams. And then it got away from us in the eighth and it's really disappointing. I just didn't think we competed at all in the eighth inning, I've never seen an inning where you walk 10 guys in an inning and so it's very disappointing, it's not how we do things around here, and it's not how we're going to operate moving forward."

Michigan State's offensive efforts were led by freshman infielder Mitch Jebb and senior infielder Bailey Petterson who picked up two hits each. Senior outfielders Joe Stewart and Bryce Kelley, senior designated hitter Andrew Morrow and freshman infielder Dillon Kark each added a hit apiece, for the Spartan hit total of eight. Jebb and Kark both had doubles, while Morrow picked up the only RBI of the game with a single up the middle to plate Jebb.

Starting pitcher Mason Erla was hot out of the gate, with three-up, three-down innings the first two frames, but Iowa found the score column first, with a hit and run scored in the top of the third. The Hawkeyes put up two more in the fourth, on a two-run single, before Erla ended the frame with a strikeout.

The Spartans answered in the bottom of the fourth with the Morrow single, which led Jebb to crossing the plate after leading off with a double down the right field line.

From then on, the Hawkeyes took over in the scoring column, and made their way through the Spartan bullpen.

Kelley made his Spartan debut in the top of the ninth, ringing up a strikeout and retiring the Hawkeyes without a hit.

MSU's defense added three double plays on the night, as the Spartans now have turned-two 39 times, good for tying for the B1G lead.

The series continues on Saturday with game two, slated for a 4:02 p.m. start time and will be nationally televised on Big Ten Network.

The final game of the season is on Sunday with a 1:05 p.m. first pitch.

Sunday is MSU's Senior Day, as the Spartans will honor their seven senior players: Sam Benschoter, Trevor Hopman, Bryce Kelley, Andrew Morrow, Jarret Olson, Bailey Peterson and Joe Stewart, along with senior manager Scott Newhard, in addition to 2020 seniors: Caleb Sleeman, Danny Gieselman and Justin Antoncic, in a pre-game ceremony.

The weekend schedule is subject to change based on weather.

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.