Friday, April 29
McLane Stadium at Kobs Field | East Lansing, Mich.
6:35 PM ET
Michigan State University
19-21, 4-9
8
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Minnesota
12-28, 2-11
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Minnesota
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Michigan State
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Photo by: Sarah Smith
MSU Doubles Up Minnesota, 8-4, For Fourth-Straight Win
4/29/2022 10:48:00 PM | Baseball
Spartans get home runs from Walker and Frank, solid starting pitching from Tomasic for victory.
EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Home runs from Zaid Walker and Jack Frank combined with solid starting pitching from Conner Tomasic paved the way for Michigan State's fourth-consecutive win in an 8-4 Victory for MSU over Minnesota under Friday night lights at McLane Stadium at Kobs Field.
The Spartans' four-game win streak is their longest of the season and most consecutive wins since Feb. 23-March 1, 2020. Friday night's win was also MSU's first series-opening triumph in its last five series, with the last lid-lifter win coming in the Houston Baptist win on March 18.
"It feels good to win on Friday night, it's been a while since we've won game one of a series, so it feels really good," MSU head coach Jake Boss Jr. said. "I was proud of the guys, I thought that we played extremely well tonight, really in all facets, so it's always good to get out on the right foot when you start a series and good to play well, and so we hopefully continue some momentum into tomorrow."
Junior outfielder Zaid Walker and sophomore outfielder Jack Frank both belted home runs, with Walker's a two-run blast in the sixth and Frank's a solo shot to lead off the bottom of the seventh. Frank now leads the Spartans with seven HR on the season, while Walker knocked his third of the year. Walker and Frank are also still tied for the current active Spartan HR lead, with both now at eight round-trippers. Walker ended 1-for-3 with two RBI and two runs scored, while Frank was 1-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored. Both Walker and Frank also drew a walk each.
Walker and Frank's home runs were two of MSU's 11 hits Friday night, including three other players with multiple hits, led by sophomore infielder Brock Vradenburg going 3-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI. Fellow sophomore infielders Mitch Jebb and Trent Farquhar were an identical 2-for-5 with two RBI apiece.
The Spartans' fourth sophomore infielder, Dillon Kark, was 1-for-3 with two runs score and a walk. Graduate-senior outfielder Peter Ahn was 1-for-4.
"I thought we hit the ball hard all night long, I thought we hit the ball hard to all fields, and I thought we really competed at the plate, and saw some extra pitches, especially with two strikes, guys were staying alive in at bats and really made their guy work a little bit and so that's really good to see," Boss said. "I think when you use the whole field, it really opens up a lot of a lot of possibilities for you offensively, and we were able to hit some balls the other way on some pretty good pitches I thought."
On the mound, junior starter Conner Tomasic went 6.1 IP to earn the win, improving to 3-2 after scattering four hits while striking out two in six scoreless innings, before yielding one run in the seventh. Tomasic rang up three 1-2-3 innings on the night, in the first, second and fifth frames, while facing four in the third and fourth. Junior Andrew Carson came on in the seventh with one out and two Gophers on the bases, and made one pitch, inducing a rally and inning-ended double play.
Junior reliever Jack Brockhaus pitched the eighth and ninth innings, chalking up a pair of punchouts while allowing three hits and three runs.
Minnesota starter Sam Ireland was dealt the loss, leveling his record at 4-4.
The Spartans hung a three-spot on the board in the bottom of the second, as Ahn sparked the rally with a leadoff double. Even though Ahn was later erased from the basepaths, the rally continued and Jebb later came to bat with the bases full of Spartans, as Vradenburg singled, Kark reached on a fielder's choice and Walker walked. Jebb then knocked a two-run single through the right side to plate Vradenburg and Kark. Farquhar then followed with a single to right to bring Walker in.
MSU added a run on the fourth on a two-out safety squeeze bunt by Farquhar, plating Vradenburg, who led off the frame with a single to take a 4-0 lead.
Walker gave the Spartans a 6-0 advantage with a two-run home run to left field in the bottom of the sixth.
The Gophers got on the board with a run in the top of the seventh, and MSU made a pitching change bringing in Carson to replace Tomasic with two one and one out. Carson got out of the inning on just one pitch, inducing a double play to ground the Gopher rally, keeping the score 6-1.
After some stretching and singing, the Spartans got that run back before the peanuts and crackerjacks were finished being purchased, as Frank led off the inning with a solo shot to left center. Mayes followed with a walk and stole second, and later come in to score as Vradenburg laced a single down the left field line for an 8-1 Spartan lead.
Minnesota got a run in the top of the eighth on an RBI double and two more in the ninth on a two-run home run to complete the scoring, before Brockhaus rang up a strikeout to end the Gopher rally, the inning and the game, sparking off the Spartans celebration, complete with the festive flashing lights at McLane Stadium at Kobs Field.
Michigan State and Minnesota square off in Saturday's second game of the series at 4:05 p.m., before the series wraps up on Sunday at 1:05 p.m.
Saturday's game is Military Appreciation Day with free admission with a military ID, and Sunday is Strikeout MD Day at the ballpark.
The weekend game schedule and times is subject to change based on weather.
Along with any further schedule updates, fans can follow the games with links for live stats, live audio (when available) and live streaming of home games from Big Ten Network+ at MSUSpartans.com.
The Spartans' four-game win streak is their longest of the season and most consecutive wins since Feb. 23-March 1, 2020. Friday night's win was also MSU's first series-opening triumph in its last five series, with the last lid-lifter win coming in the Houston Baptist win on March 18.
"It feels good to win on Friday night, it's been a while since we've won game one of a series, so it feels really good," MSU head coach Jake Boss Jr. said. "I was proud of the guys, I thought that we played extremely well tonight, really in all facets, so it's always good to get out on the right foot when you start a series and good to play well, and so we hopefully continue some momentum into tomorrow."
Junior outfielder Zaid Walker and sophomore outfielder Jack Frank both belted home runs, with Walker's a two-run blast in the sixth and Frank's a solo shot to lead off the bottom of the seventh. Frank now leads the Spartans with seven HR on the season, while Walker knocked his third of the year. Walker and Frank are also still tied for the current active Spartan HR lead, with both now at eight round-trippers. Walker ended 1-for-3 with two RBI and two runs scored, while Frank was 1-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored. Both Walker and Frank also drew a walk each.
Walker and Frank's home runs were two of MSU's 11 hits Friday night, including three other players with multiple hits, led by sophomore infielder Brock Vradenburg going 3-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI. Fellow sophomore infielders Mitch Jebb and Trent Farquhar were an identical 2-for-5 with two RBI apiece.
The Spartans' fourth sophomore infielder, Dillon Kark, was 1-for-3 with two runs score and a walk. Graduate-senior outfielder Peter Ahn was 1-for-4.
"I thought we hit the ball hard all night long, I thought we hit the ball hard to all fields, and I thought we really competed at the plate, and saw some extra pitches, especially with two strikes, guys were staying alive in at bats and really made their guy work a little bit and so that's really good to see," Boss said. "I think when you use the whole field, it really opens up a lot of a lot of possibilities for you offensively, and we were able to hit some balls the other way on some pretty good pitches I thought."
On the mound, junior starter Conner Tomasic went 6.1 IP to earn the win, improving to 3-2 after scattering four hits while striking out two in six scoreless innings, before yielding one run in the seventh. Tomasic rang up three 1-2-3 innings on the night, in the first, second and fifth frames, while facing four in the third and fourth. Junior Andrew Carson came on in the seventh with one out and two Gophers on the bases, and made one pitch, inducing a rally and inning-ended double play.
Junior reliever Jack Brockhaus pitched the eighth and ninth innings, chalking up a pair of punchouts while allowing three hits and three runs.
Minnesota starter Sam Ireland was dealt the loss, leveling his record at 4-4.
The Spartans hung a three-spot on the board in the bottom of the second, as Ahn sparked the rally with a leadoff double. Even though Ahn was later erased from the basepaths, the rally continued and Jebb later came to bat with the bases full of Spartans, as Vradenburg singled, Kark reached on a fielder's choice and Walker walked. Jebb then knocked a two-run single through the right side to plate Vradenburg and Kark. Farquhar then followed with a single to right to bring Walker in.
MSU added a run on the fourth on a two-out safety squeeze bunt by Farquhar, plating Vradenburg, who led off the frame with a single to take a 4-0 lead.
Walker gave the Spartans a 6-0 advantage with a two-run home run to left field in the bottom of the sixth.
The Gophers got on the board with a run in the top of the seventh, and MSU made a pitching change bringing in Carson to replace Tomasic with two one and one out. Carson got out of the inning on just one pitch, inducing a double play to ground the Gopher rally, keeping the score 6-1.
After some stretching and singing, the Spartans got that run back before the peanuts and crackerjacks were finished being purchased, as Frank led off the inning with a solo shot to left center. Mayes followed with a walk and stole second, and later come in to score as Vradenburg laced a single down the left field line for an 8-1 Spartan lead.
Minnesota got a run in the top of the eighth on an RBI double and two more in the ninth on a two-run home run to complete the scoring, before Brockhaus rang up a strikeout to end the Gopher rally, the inning and the game, sparking off the Spartans celebration, complete with the festive flashing lights at McLane Stadium at Kobs Field.
Michigan State and Minnesota square off in Saturday's second game of the series at 4:05 p.m., before the series wraps up on Sunday at 1:05 p.m.
Saturday's game is Military Appreciation Day with free admission with a military ID, and Sunday is Strikeout MD Day at the ballpark.
The weekend game schedule and times is subject to change based on weather.
Along with any further schedule updates, fans can follow the games with links for live stats, live audio (when available) and live streaming of home games from Big Ten Network+ at MSUSpartans.com.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Tomasic, Conner (3-2)
L: Ireland, Sam (4-4)
Batting:
2B: Kelly, Jack 1 ; Stanke, Chase 1
HR: Swenson, Riley 1
RBI: Kelly, Jack 1 ; Swenson, Riley 3
Base Running:
RUNS: Bateman, Brett 1 ; Stanke, Chase 1 ; Bork, Kyle 1 ; Swenson, Riley 1
Batting:
2B: Ahn, Peter 1
HR: Frank, Jack 1 ; Walker, Zaid 1
RBI: Jebb, Mitch 2 ; Farquhar, Trent 2 ; Frank, Jack 1 ; Vradenburg, Brock 1 ; Walker, Zaid 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Frank, Jack 1 ; Mayes, Casey 1 ; Vradenburg, Brock 2 ; Kark, Dillon 2 ; Walker, Zaid 2
SB: Jebb, Mitch 1 ; Frank, Jack 1 ; Mayes, Casey 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
4
R
2
H
3
RBI
1
AB
5
R
0
H
2
RBI
2
AB
5
R
0
H
2
RBI
2
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
LHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ BaseballINF
/ BaseballOF
/ BaseballINF
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
RHP/INF
/ BaseballINF
/ Baseball
OF
/ BaseballPursuit to Greatness | Spartans All-Access
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