Friday, March 11
Fluor Field | Greenville, S.C.
2 PM
Michigan State University
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10
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8
Cincinnati
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9
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Cincinnati
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Michigan State
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12
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Photo by: Kurt Gorecki
Jebb’s Walk-Off HR Leads To 10-8 Victory For MSU Over Cincinnati Friday
3/11/2022 10:14:00 PM | Baseball
Sophomore infielder’s bookends game with homers, going yard in first and ninth innings.
GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Mitch Jebb's two-run walk-off home run completed Michigan State baseball's ninth-inning comeback from an 8-5 deficit on the way to a 10-8 Victory for MSU over Cincinnati Friday afternoon in the opening game of the 2022 First Pitch Invitational at Fluor Field, home of the Greenville Drive.
Down 8-5 in the ninth, junior infielder Peter Ahn came to the plate with the bases loaded and uncorked a shot to deep left-center field to clear the bases. After a strikeout for the second out of the inning, Cincinnati made a pitching change and sophomore infielder Jebb rudely welcomed reliever Ryan Stackline to the game. He smacked Stackline's first offering over the wall in right center field, sparking a Spartan celebration at the plate, as the team met and mobbed him at home plate.
"I just cut it out front and felt really good right away and I kind of knew it was going to go. I'm just really happy for our team that we kept coming back, we kept chopping the whole way," Jebb said. "We have a really good team here and I'm excited to see what happens in the future for us."
The Spartans were down 7-4 after five innings and down 8-4 going into the bottom of the seventh after the Bearcats scored a run before the stretch.
"We just kept chopping, we were down by four runs at one point and then three runs in the ninth, but it didn't matter what inning we were in, we were just going to keep grinding away and keep chopping and it says for itself, we came back and kept chopping," Jebb said.
Jebb's ninth-inning home run was his second of the day, as he book-ended the game in homers, knocking a leadoff home run in the home half of the first to almost the same spot in right as his walk-off to end the game.
Ahn set up Jebb's heroics by coming to the plate with the bases loaded and just one out, clearing them with a triple to tie it up.
"I was really happy for Peter, he more than did his part and that's all you really can ask for is your teammates to do their part, and when we when we all do that and come together, we can do some really great things," Jebb said.
Jebb finished the day 3-for-4 with four RBI and two runs scored, leading MSU's bats to 12 hits. Ahn ended 2-for-4 with three RBI and two runs scored.
"Our guys just kept grinding out at bats and had an opportunity on the ninth, that was a big triple by by Peter Ahn to tie it and then Mitch Jebb got the barrel out on that one, he was pretty comfortable today. That was a great finish, a great way to end it and a great way to start the weekend. I'm just really happy for our guys that they can show some of the fruits of their labor, the guys have really working hard, they've been grinding and it's fun to watch them celebrate like they did."
On the mound, sophomore Brian Martin got the win after coming on in the eighth. Freshman Erik Stern made his Spartan debut with a hitless, scoreless sixth inning, earning his first collegiate strikeout against his first batter faced.
"I'm really proud of our guys today. On the mound, I know we probably didn't have our best stuff early, but a couple of really big holds, especially from Brian Martin, and Erik Stern did a heck of a job," MSU head coach Jake Boss Jr. said.
Redshirt-freshman catcher Bryan Broecker joined Jebb and Ahn with multiple hits, going 2-for-5 with two runs scored. Junior outfielder Casey Mayes was 1-for-5 with two RBI, while sophomore infielder Brock Vradenburg, junior outfielder Zaid Walker, sophomore outfielder Jack Frank and sophomore infielder Parker Pilat were all 1-for-4, with Vradenburg, Walker and Frank scoring a run, and Frank also driving one in.
After Jebb's first-inning home run, Cincinnati quickly tied it with a run of their own in the top of the second on an RBI double, before Spartan senior starting pitcher Zach Iverson ended the threat with a strikeout.
MSU countered in the home half of the second, as Broecker led off by reaching on an error and Ahn followed with a ground-rule double that bounced over the wall in the right-field corner. Jebb drove Broecker in with a sac fly, and Mayes later plated Ahn with an RBI single down the right field line to put MSU on top, 4-1.
That remained the score until the fourth when the Bearcats scored two runs, and adding four more in the fifth, with the big blow coming on a three-run home run by Kameron Guidry as UC took a 7-4 lead.
The Bearcats pushed it to 8-4 in the top of the seventh, before the Spartans added a run after the stretch on an RBI by Frank.
Both UC and MSU threatened in the eighth, but both teams left two runners on without a run.
Martin retired the Bearcats in 1-2-3 order in the top of the ninth, giving the Spartan offense the chance for the comeback.
Walker sparked the rally with a one-out walk, and Frank followed with a walk, and Cincinnati made a pitching change, bringing in Jackson Murphy. Broecker singled to right to load the bases full of Spartans to bring up Ahn. He promptly cleared the bases with his triple to left center to tie it up. A strikeout led to the second out of the inning, before UC made the pitching change to bring Steckline in to relieve Murphy, setting up Jebb's walk-off heroics.
MSU continues First Pitch Invite action on Saturday, March 12, taking on Western Carolina in a 2 p.m. first pitch, preceding Kansas vs. Cincinnati at 6 p.m. The Spartans wrap up the weekend on Sunday, March 13 against Kansas in a 1 p.m. start time, with Western Carolina and Cincinnati to follow at 2 p.m.
Down 8-5 in the ninth, junior infielder Peter Ahn came to the plate with the bases loaded and uncorked a shot to deep left-center field to clear the bases. After a strikeout for the second out of the inning, Cincinnati made a pitching change and sophomore infielder Jebb rudely welcomed reliever Ryan Stackline to the game. He smacked Stackline's first offering over the wall in right center field, sparking a Spartan celebration at the plate, as the team met and mobbed him at home plate.
"I just cut it out front and felt really good right away and I kind of knew it was going to go. I'm just really happy for our team that we kept coming back, we kept chopping the whole way," Jebb said. "We have a really good team here and I'm excited to see what happens in the future for us."
The Spartans were down 7-4 after five innings and down 8-4 going into the bottom of the seventh after the Bearcats scored a run before the stretch.
"We just kept chopping, we were down by four runs at one point and then three runs in the ninth, but it didn't matter what inning we were in, we were just going to keep grinding away and keep chopping and it says for itself, we came back and kept chopping," Jebb said.
Jebb's ninth-inning home run was his second of the day, as he book-ended the game in homers, knocking a leadoff home run in the home half of the first to almost the same spot in right as his walk-off to end the game.
Ahn set up Jebb's heroics by coming to the plate with the bases loaded and just one out, clearing them with a triple to tie it up.
"I was really happy for Peter, he more than did his part and that's all you really can ask for is your teammates to do their part, and when we when we all do that and come together, we can do some really great things," Jebb said.
Jebb finished the day 3-for-4 with four RBI and two runs scored, leading MSU's bats to 12 hits. Ahn ended 2-for-4 with three RBI and two runs scored.
"Our guys just kept grinding out at bats and had an opportunity on the ninth, that was a big triple by by Peter Ahn to tie it and then Mitch Jebb got the barrel out on that one, he was pretty comfortable today. That was a great finish, a great way to end it and a great way to start the weekend. I'm just really happy for our guys that they can show some of the fruits of their labor, the guys have really working hard, they've been grinding and it's fun to watch them celebrate like they did."
On the mound, sophomore Brian Martin got the win after coming on in the eighth. Freshman Erik Stern made his Spartan debut with a hitless, scoreless sixth inning, earning his first collegiate strikeout against his first batter faced.
"I'm really proud of our guys today. On the mound, I know we probably didn't have our best stuff early, but a couple of really big holds, especially from Brian Martin, and Erik Stern did a heck of a job," MSU head coach Jake Boss Jr. said.
Redshirt-freshman catcher Bryan Broecker joined Jebb and Ahn with multiple hits, going 2-for-5 with two runs scored. Junior outfielder Casey Mayes was 1-for-5 with two RBI, while sophomore infielder Brock Vradenburg, junior outfielder Zaid Walker, sophomore outfielder Jack Frank and sophomore infielder Parker Pilat were all 1-for-4, with Vradenburg, Walker and Frank scoring a run, and Frank also driving one in.
After Jebb's first-inning home run, Cincinnati quickly tied it with a run of their own in the top of the second on an RBI double, before Spartan senior starting pitcher Zach Iverson ended the threat with a strikeout.
MSU countered in the home half of the second, as Broecker led off by reaching on an error and Ahn followed with a ground-rule double that bounced over the wall in the right-field corner. Jebb drove Broecker in with a sac fly, and Mayes later plated Ahn with an RBI single down the right field line to put MSU on top, 4-1.
That remained the score until the fourth when the Bearcats scored two runs, and adding four more in the fifth, with the big blow coming on a three-run home run by Kameron Guidry as UC took a 7-4 lead.
The Bearcats pushed it to 8-4 in the top of the seventh, before the Spartans added a run after the stretch on an RBI by Frank.
Both UC and MSU threatened in the eighth, but both teams left two runners on without a run.
Martin retired the Bearcats in 1-2-3 order in the top of the ninth, giving the Spartan offense the chance for the comeback.
Walker sparked the rally with a one-out walk, and Frank followed with a walk, and Cincinnati made a pitching change, bringing in Jackson Murphy. Broecker singled to right to load the bases full of Spartans to bring up Ahn. He promptly cleared the bases with his triple to left center to tie it up. A strikeout led to the second out of the inning, before UC made the pitching change to bring Steckline in to relieve Murphy, setting up Jebb's walk-off heroics.
MSU continues First Pitch Invite action on Saturday, March 12, taking on Western Carolina in a 2 p.m. first pitch, preceding Kansas vs. Cincinnati at 6 p.m. The Spartans wrap up the weekend on Sunday, March 13 against Kansas in a 1 p.m. start time, with Western Carolina and Cincinnati to follow at 2 p.m.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Martin, Brian (1-0)
L: Murphy, Jackson (1-1)
Batting:
2B: Powell, Joe 1 ; Komistek, Paul 1 ; Merritt, Griffin 1 ; Nicholson, Ryan 1 ; Harting, Cole 1
HR: Harting, Cole 1 ; Guidry, Kameron 1
RBI: Powell, Joe 2 ; Nicholson, Ryan 1 ; Harting, Cole 2 ; Guidry, Kameron 3
Base Running:
RUNS: Merritt, Griffin 1 ; Nicholson, Ryan 1 ; Cross, Kerrington 1 ; Harting, Cole 3 ; Guidry, Kameron 1 ; Bremner, Dondrae 1
SB: Cross, Kerrington 1 ; Harting, Cole 1 ; Guidry, Kameron 1
HBP: Merritt, Griffin 1
Batting:
2B: Broecker, Bryan 1 ; Ahn, Peter 1
3B: Ahn, Peter 1
HR: Jebb, Mitch 2
RBI: Jebb, Mitch 4 ; Mayes, Casey 2 ; Frank, Jack 1 ; Ahn, Peter 3
SF: Jebb, Mitch 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Jebb, Mitch 2 ; Farquhar, Trent 1 ; Vradenburg, Brock 1 ; Walker, Zaid 1 ; Frank, Jack 1 ; Broecker, Bryan 2 ; Ahn, Peter 2
SB: Farquhar, Trent 1
CS: Pilat, Parker 1
HBP: Farquhar, Trent 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
4
R
2
H
3
RBI
4
AB
5
R
2
H
2
RBI
0
AB
5
R
0
H
1
RBI
2
Players Mentioned
C
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
INF/OF/RHP
/ BaseballINF
/ Baseball
OF/RHP
/ BaseballOF
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
LHP
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
OF
/ BaseballPursuit to Greatness | Spartans All-Access
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