Saturday, March 5
US Bank Stadium | Minneapolis, Minn.
12 PM ET / 11 AM CT
Michigan State University
4-5
1
vs
2
Notre Dame
7-1
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Michigan State
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
1
6
1
Notre Dame
0
0
0
0
1
0
1
0
X
2
2
0
Photo by: Eric Miller
MSU Nipped By No. 12 Notre Dame, 2-1, Saturday
3/5/2022 3:32:00 PM | Baseball
Spartans battle nationally-ranked Irish tough in second game of Cambria College Classic.
MINNEAPOLIS -- Michigan State baseball battled No. 12 Notre Dame tough and tight, before getting nipped, 2-1, Saturday afternoon in both teams' second game of the 2022 Cambria College Classic at U.S. Bank Stadium, home of the Minnesota Vikings.
MSU is 4-5 on the young season, while Notre Dame moved to 7-1. The Fighting Irish are ranked No. 12 in the major baseball polls, as high as No. 3 and as low as No. 13 in other polls.
In a tight pitchers' duel, MSU and ND were scoreless through five, with Spartan senior pitcher Zach Iverson stymieing the Irish bats without a hit through four complete innings, while Michigan State hung tough against Notre Dame starter John Michael Bertrand.
"I thought it was a really well-played game with two outstanding pitcher performances, defensively I thought both teams played well, and I think it was just a very, very good college baseball game, and unfortunately, we were one run short," MSU head coach Jake Boss Jr. said. "They're outstanding, I mean, that's as good a Notre Dame team as I've ever played against and they don't give you a whole lot and when you have an opportunity, you've got to take advantage of it."
The Spartans out-hit the Irish, 6-2, as the MSU defense held Notre Dame to its fewest runs and hits of the season. The Irish came into Saturday's contest having scored five or more runs in six of their seven games, including Friday's 6-1 win over Illinois, as well as three games of 17 or more runs, but Iverson and junior reliever Conner Tomasic kept the ND bats in check.
Bertrand entered Saturday with an 0.69 ERA with just one earned run and one walk allowed in two starts, and the Spartans drew a walk in the second inning, and after his ERA dipped to 0.47 through six innings, MSU broke through against Bertrand.
"Our guys competed today, and that was kind of the message after the game, that I think when they play well, they have a chance to beat anybody in the country, and I believe that, but at the same at the same time, there are no moral victories," Boss said. "I thought we had a couple opportunities in the ballgame, but we got picked off on a missed bunt attempt, which hurt us, and we made an error in the outfield that allowed them to get an extra base which led to a sac fly, and the margin is really small in games like this against a good, good ballclub.
MSU's six hits were by six different Spartans. Sophomore infielders Mitch Jebb, Trent Farquhar, along with junior outfielder Zaid Walker, redshirt-freshman catcher Bryan Broecker, junior infielder Peter Ahn and sophomore infielder Parker Pilat knocked hits for MSU.
"We were just a little short today, but I'm really proud of the way we competed, and gave ourselves a couple opportunities," Boss said. "I thought that even though we struck out eight times, we had some really competitive at bats, and we hit a few balls hard right at some guys. They made some nice plays defensively, so you tip your hat to them, they played well. We had our chances, but we'll be back and ready to go tomorrow."
Notre Dame's TJ Williams led off the fifth with a double that went for three bags with an MSU error. Brooks Coetzee was the next Irish batter and his sacrifice fly brought in Williams for the game's first run.
The Spartans tried to counter in their next at bat, with Pilat leading off with a single, and two batters later Farquhar singled, but the rally fizzled without a run.
MSU did break through and get on the board in the seventh, as Walker sparked the rally with a lead off single. After sophomore outfielder Jack Frank grounded out to move Walker up a base, Broecker singled to left to drive in Walker and knot the ballgame up at 1-all.
The tie was short-lived as Notre Dame's Jack Brannigan was the first batter after the seventh-inning stretch and he hit a solo home run to left to put the Irish ahead, 2-1.
MSU went down in order in the eighth and ninth against ND's Ryan McLinskey to end the game.
Michigan State concludes Cambria College Classic action on Sunday, March 6 against West Virginia at 11 a.m. ET / 10 a.m. CT.
Fans can follow the action with links available at MSUSpartans.com.
MSU is 4-5 on the young season, while Notre Dame moved to 7-1. The Fighting Irish are ranked No. 12 in the major baseball polls, as high as No. 3 and as low as No. 13 in other polls.
In a tight pitchers' duel, MSU and ND were scoreless through five, with Spartan senior pitcher Zach Iverson stymieing the Irish bats without a hit through four complete innings, while Michigan State hung tough against Notre Dame starter John Michael Bertrand.
"I thought it was a really well-played game with two outstanding pitcher performances, defensively I thought both teams played well, and I think it was just a very, very good college baseball game, and unfortunately, we were one run short," MSU head coach Jake Boss Jr. said. "They're outstanding, I mean, that's as good a Notre Dame team as I've ever played against and they don't give you a whole lot and when you have an opportunity, you've got to take advantage of it."
The Spartans out-hit the Irish, 6-2, as the MSU defense held Notre Dame to its fewest runs and hits of the season. The Irish came into Saturday's contest having scored five or more runs in six of their seven games, including Friday's 6-1 win over Illinois, as well as three games of 17 or more runs, but Iverson and junior reliever Conner Tomasic kept the ND bats in check.
Bertrand entered Saturday with an 0.69 ERA with just one earned run and one walk allowed in two starts, and the Spartans drew a walk in the second inning, and after his ERA dipped to 0.47 through six innings, MSU broke through against Bertrand.
"Our guys competed today, and that was kind of the message after the game, that I think when they play well, they have a chance to beat anybody in the country, and I believe that, but at the same at the same time, there are no moral victories," Boss said. "I thought we had a couple opportunities in the ballgame, but we got picked off on a missed bunt attempt, which hurt us, and we made an error in the outfield that allowed them to get an extra base which led to a sac fly, and the margin is really small in games like this against a good, good ballclub.
MSU's six hits were by six different Spartans. Sophomore infielders Mitch Jebb, Trent Farquhar, along with junior outfielder Zaid Walker, redshirt-freshman catcher Bryan Broecker, junior infielder Peter Ahn and sophomore infielder Parker Pilat knocked hits for MSU.
"We were just a little short today, but I'm really proud of the way we competed, and gave ourselves a couple opportunities," Boss said. "I thought that even though we struck out eight times, we had some really competitive at bats, and we hit a few balls hard right at some guys. They made some nice plays defensively, so you tip your hat to them, they played well. We had our chances, but we'll be back and ready to go tomorrow."
Notre Dame's TJ Williams led off the fifth with a double that went for three bags with an MSU error. Brooks Coetzee was the next Irish batter and his sacrifice fly brought in Williams for the game's first run.
The Spartans tried to counter in their next at bat, with Pilat leading off with a single, and two batters later Farquhar singled, but the rally fizzled without a run.
MSU did break through and get on the board in the seventh, as Walker sparked the rally with a lead off single. After sophomore outfielder Jack Frank grounded out to move Walker up a base, Broecker singled to left to drive in Walker and knot the ballgame up at 1-all.
The tie was short-lived as Notre Dame's Jack Brannigan was the first batter after the seventh-inning stretch and he hit a solo home run to left to put the Irish ahead, 2-1.
MSU went down in order in the eighth and ninth against ND's Ryan McLinskey to end the game.
Michigan State concludes Cambria College Classic action on Sunday, March 6 against West Virginia at 11 a.m. ET / 10 a.m. CT.
Fans can follow the action with links available at MSUSpartans.com.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: John M Bertrand (3-0)
L: Iverson, Zach (0-2)
S: Ryan McLinskey (2)
Batting:
RBI: Broecker, Bryan 1
SH: Frank, Jack 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Walker, Zaid 1
PO: Ahn, Peter 1
Batting:
2B: TJ Williams 1
HR: Jack Brannigan 1
RBI: Jack Brannigan 1 ; Brooks Coetzee 1
SH: TJ Williams 1
SF: Brooks Coetzee 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Jack Brannigan 1 ; TJ Williams 1
HBP: Ryan Cole 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
C
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
INF/OF/RHP
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
RHP/INF
/ Baseball
OF
/ BaseballPursuit to Greatness | Spartans All-Access
Monday, May 19
Jake Boss | Baseball Press Conference | April 17, 2025
Thursday, April 17
Jake Boss | Baseball Press Conference | Mar. 25 2025
Tuesday, March 25
Jake Boss | Baseball Press Conference | Mar. 11 2025
Tuesday, March 11