Saturday, March 11
Fluor Field | Greenville, S.C.
2 p.m.
Michigan State University
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10
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Kansas
7-6
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Kansas
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6
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Michigan State
5
1
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Photo by: Zac BonDurant
Vradenburg, Berghorst Boost Spartans To Twinbill Sweep Saturday At Fluor Field
3/11/2023 11:18:00 PM | Baseball
MSU beats Kansas, 10-6, in opener, tops WCU, 7-2, in nightcap.
GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Boosted by Brock Vradenburg at the plate and Adam Berghorst on the mound, Michigan State baseball swept a split twinbill, topping Kansas, 10-6, in the opener and a 7-2 win over Western Carolina, Saturday at the 2023 First Pitch Invitational at MSU's home-away-from-home, Fluor Field, home of the Greenville Drive.
Saturday's pair of wins runs MSU's win streak to three in a row after beating Western Carolina Friday, 6-5, in the opening game of the First Pitch Invite, and moving the Spartans' record to 8-7 on the season. Kansas is 7-6 after Saturday's loss, while WCU slid to 6-10 with the defeat Saturday night.
"I'm really proud of our guys, it was a long day when you play two games against two pretty good opponents and I was just really happy with the way that we approached the day," MSU head coach Jake Boss Jr. said. "We beat a good Kansas team earlier today and played well, and then did the same thing against Western Carolina tonight. Overall, it was a great day for the Spartans."
Junior infielder Vradenburg belted a home run in each game, finishing the day going 5-for-6 with six RBI and four runs scored, drawing three walks. In the nightcap against WCU, Vradenburg smacked a HR down the right field line, wrapping it around "Pesky's Pole," at Fluor Field, that has the same dimensions as Fenway Park in Boston.
From a double in his last at bat in Friday's win over WCU, Vradenburg reached base in eight straight at bats, before being retired on a flyout in the fifth, for his only out on the day.
Redshirt-sophomore pitcher Berghorst fired a gem in the nightcap, going 6.0 innings and ringing up a career-high 11 strikeouts, more than doubling his previous career-best of five Ks, most recently done in his last outing on March 6 vs. Air Force, and first done on March 27, 2021 vs. Indiana.
The 11 strikeouts by Berghorst was the first MSU pitcher with 10 or more Ks since Nick Powers rang up 10 strikeouts against the same Western Carolina and almost a year to the day on March 12, 2022.
Berghorst allowed just two hits and yielded three walks. He rang up three stikeouts in the first frame, working around a one-out walk, then went three-up, three-down in the second stanza with one K, then another 1-2-3 frame in the third with two strikeouts. In the fourth, he worked around a leadoff walk and ended the inning after facing just four batters, finishing the frame with a KL. After WCU knocked two singles to open the fifth, Berghorst then fired three-straight strikeouts to slam the door on any Catamount rally. He chalked up his 11th K of the night in the sixth inning, on his 100th pitch, for the second out of the stanza before a popup to junior catcher Sam Thompson to end not just the frame, but his outing.
Senior Wyatt Rush collected the save, pitching 1.2 IP with three strikeouts, facing WCU for the second-straight day after going 3.0 IP and earning the win with four Ks.
"Adam Berghorst was just lights out today, and Wyatt Rush pitching on back-to-back days was really good," Boss said. "
In the opener vs. Kansas, Vradenburg was 3-for-3 with three RBI and three runs scored, adding two walks, knocking a home run and a double. As part of their 11 hits, the Spartans rapped three triples in the game, all coming in the first inning and all three down the right field line, as MSU jumped out to a 5-0 lead. Redshirt-sophomore Sam Busch and sophomore catcher Bryan Broecker went back-to-back three-baggers and three batters later, senior outfielder Casey Mayes knocked his triple. Broecker ended 2-for-4 with one RBI and one run scored, Busch was 2-for-5 with three RBI and scored two runs.
Junior infielder Trent Farquhar was 2-for-5 with two runs scored, while fellow junior infielder Mitch Jebb and Mayes both went 1-for-4, with Jebb scoring two runs and drawing a walk.
In the nightcap against Western Carolina, Vradenburg was 2-for-3 with three RBI and a run scored, adding one walk. Jebb was 2-for-4 with an RBI and run scored, Farquhar was 2-for-5 with an RBI and scored a run. Mayes and junior outfielder Greg Ziegler were both 2-for-4, with Ziegler scoring two runs and knocking in one, while Mayes scored a run.
Farquhar, Jebb, Vradenburg and Busch were the top four of MSU's lineup in both games, and they combined to go 16-for-32 with 11 RBI and 12 runs scored, adding five walks, for the day.
"The top four guys of our lineup are the guys that make us go, and they made us go today," Boss said.
On the mound, redshirt-sophomore Harrison Cook started Saturday's opener against Kansas, going 3.0 IP, yielding three hits, four runs, two walks and one strikeout. Fellow redshirt-sophomore Dominic Pianto went 1.0 IP, with two hits and two runs. Senior Andrew Carson fired the remaining 5.0 IP, scattering five hits without a run, yielding two walks and ringing up four strikeouts, picking up the win to improve to 2-1.
In the nightcap, Berghorst was relieved by junior Noah Matheny, who went 1.1 IP, with one hit, two runs, two walks and two strikeouts. Rush came on in the eighth and pitched the final 1.2 IP, with just one hit and ringing up three strikeouts, the last coming to end the game and spark the celebration for the double Victory for MSU day.
In addition to "Pesky's Pole," Fluor Field is also a complete replica of Fenway Park complete with the Green Monster, just seven-feet shorter than the original in Boston, and the Greenville version was adorned with a pair of large Spartan head decals with "Spartan Strong" underneath, as tribute to Michigan State, which is in its fourth week since the mass shooting on the East Lansing campus on Monday, Feb. 13, when three MSU students were killed and five were hospitalized. Michigan State University canceled classes the rest of the week following the deaths of the three students – juniors Arielle Anderson and Alexandria Verner and sophomore Brian Fraser. Classes resumed on Monday, Feb. 20.
Michigan State players again wore "Spartan Strong" stickers on their helmets in a tribute, and several players had personal tributes as well during Saturday's twinbill.
The Spartans are scheduled to wrap up First Pitch Invitational action on Sunday with MSU playing Kansas at Noon, but that is subject to change based on the weather forecast for the Greenville area.
MSU's weekend schedule is subject to change.
Fans can follow the action with "Watch Live" and "Live Stats" links at MSUSpartans.com, where available.
Saturday's pair of wins runs MSU's win streak to three in a row after beating Western Carolina Friday, 6-5, in the opening game of the First Pitch Invite, and moving the Spartans' record to 8-7 on the season. Kansas is 7-6 after Saturday's loss, while WCU slid to 6-10 with the defeat Saturday night.
"I'm really proud of our guys, it was a long day when you play two games against two pretty good opponents and I was just really happy with the way that we approached the day," MSU head coach Jake Boss Jr. said. "We beat a good Kansas team earlier today and played well, and then did the same thing against Western Carolina tonight. Overall, it was a great day for the Spartans."
Junior infielder Vradenburg belted a home run in each game, finishing the day going 5-for-6 with six RBI and four runs scored, drawing three walks. In the nightcap against WCU, Vradenburg smacked a HR down the right field line, wrapping it around "Pesky's Pole," at Fluor Field, that has the same dimensions as Fenway Park in Boston.
Take a look at Brock Vradenburg's 3-run HR that wrapped around "Pesky's Pole" at #FlourField, home of the @GreenvilleDrive for a 356-foot #VradenBlast that was 103 mph off the bat!!#GoGreen | #SpartanStrong | @VradenburgBrock https://t.co/fcznbu8CKG
— Michigan State Baseball (@MSUBaseball) March 12, 2023
From a double in his last at bat in Friday's win over WCU, Vradenburg reached base in eight straight at bats, before being retired on a flyout in the fifth, for his only out on the day.
Redshirt-sophomore pitcher Berghorst fired a gem in the nightcap, going 6.0 innings and ringing up a career-high 11 strikeouts, more than doubling his previous career-best of five Ks, most recently done in his last outing on March 6 vs. Air Force, and first done on March 27, 2021 vs. Indiana.
The 11 strikeouts by Berghorst was the first MSU pitcher with 10 or more Ks since Nick Powers rang up 10 strikeouts against the same Western Carolina and almost a year to the day on March 12, 2022.
Berghorst allowed just two hits and yielded three walks. He rang up three stikeouts in the first frame, working around a one-out walk, then went three-up, three-down in the second stanza with one K, then another 1-2-3 frame in the third with two strikeouts. In the fourth, he worked around a leadoff walk and ended the inning after facing just four batters, finishing the frame with a KL. After WCU knocked two singles to open the fifth, Berghorst then fired three-straight strikeouts to slam the door on any Catamount rally. He chalked up his 11th K of the night in the sixth inning, on his 100th pitch, for the second out of the stanza before a popup to junior catcher Sam Thompson to end not just the frame, but his outing.
Senior Wyatt Rush collected the save, pitching 1.2 IP with three strikeouts, facing WCU for the second-straight day after going 3.0 IP and earning the win with four Ks.
"Adam Berghorst was just lights out today, and Wyatt Rush pitching on back-to-back days was really good," Boss said. "
In the opener vs. Kansas, Vradenburg was 3-for-3 with three RBI and three runs scored, adding two walks, knocking a home run and a double. As part of their 11 hits, the Spartans rapped three triples in the game, all coming in the first inning and all three down the right field line, as MSU jumped out to a 5-0 lead. Redshirt-sophomore Sam Busch and sophomore catcher Bryan Broecker went back-to-back three-baggers and three batters later, senior outfielder Casey Mayes knocked his triple. Broecker ended 2-for-4 with one RBI and one run scored, Busch was 2-for-5 with three RBI and scored two runs.
Junior infielder Trent Farquhar was 2-for-5 with two runs scored, while fellow junior infielder Mitch Jebb and Mayes both went 1-for-4, with Jebb scoring two runs and drawing a walk.
In the nightcap against Western Carolina, Vradenburg was 2-for-3 with three RBI and a run scored, adding one walk. Jebb was 2-for-4 with an RBI and run scored, Farquhar was 2-for-5 with an RBI and scored a run. Mayes and junior outfielder Greg Ziegler were both 2-for-4, with Ziegler scoring two runs and knocking in one, while Mayes scored a run.
Farquhar, Jebb, Vradenburg and Busch were the top four of MSU's lineup in both games, and they combined to go 16-for-32 with 11 RBI and 12 runs scored, adding five walks, for the day.
"The top four guys of our lineup are the guys that make us go, and they made us go today," Boss said.
On the mound, redshirt-sophomore Harrison Cook started Saturday's opener against Kansas, going 3.0 IP, yielding three hits, four runs, two walks and one strikeout. Fellow redshirt-sophomore Dominic Pianto went 1.0 IP, with two hits and two runs. Senior Andrew Carson fired the remaining 5.0 IP, scattering five hits without a run, yielding two walks and ringing up four strikeouts, picking up the win to improve to 2-1.
In the nightcap, Berghorst was relieved by junior Noah Matheny, who went 1.1 IP, with one hit, two runs, two walks and two strikeouts. Rush came on in the eighth and pitched the final 1.2 IP, with just one hit and ringing up three strikeouts, the last coming to end the game and spark the celebration for the double Victory for MSU day.
In addition to "Pesky's Pole," Fluor Field is also a complete replica of Fenway Park complete with the Green Monster, just seven-feet shorter than the original in Boston, and the Greenville version was adorned with a pair of large Spartan head decals with "Spartan Strong" underneath, as tribute to Michigan State, which is in its fourth week since the mass shooting on the East Lansing campus on Monday, Feb. 13, when three MSU students were killed and five were hospitalized. Michigan State University canceled classes the rest of the week following the deaths of the three students – juniors Arielle Anderson and Alexandria Verner and sophomore Brian Fraser. Classes resumed on Monday, Feb. 20.
Michigan State players again wore "Spartan Strong" stickers on their helmets in a tribute, and several players had personal tributes as well during Saturday's twinbill.
The Spartans are scheduled to wrap up First Pitch Invitational action on Sunday with MSU playing Kansas at Noon, but that is subject to change based on the weather forecast for the Greenville area.
MSU's weekend schedule is subject to change.
Fans can follow the action with "Watch Live" and "Live Stats" links at MSUSpartans.com, where available.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Carson, Andrew (2-1)
L: Muck, Karter (0-1)
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Batting:
2B: Cranford, Collier 1
HR: Shojinaga, Kodey 1
RBI: Koszewski, Mike 1 ; Shojinaga, Kodey 2 ; Cranford, Collier 2 ; Cobb, Jackson 1
SF: Cobb, Jackson 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Koszewski, Mike 1 ; Shojinaga, Kodey 1 ; Reeder, Janson 1 ; Elvis, Cole 1 ; Hunt, Sam 1 ; Cranford, Collier 1
SB: Koszewski, Mike 1
CS: Reeder, Janson 1
HBP: Shojinaga, Kodey 1 ; Reeder, Janson 2 ; Elvis, Cole 1
Batting:
2B: Farquhar, Trent 1 ; Vradenburg, Brock 1
3B: Busch, Sam 1 ; Broecker, Bryan 1 ; Mayes, Casey 1
HR: Vradenburg, Brock 1
RBI: Vradenburg, Brock 3 ; Busch, Sam 3 ; Broecker, Bryan 1 ; Frank, Jack 1 ; Kark, Dillon 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Farquhar, Trent 2 ; Jebb, Mitch 2 ; Vradenburg, Brock 3 ; Busch, Sam 2 ; Broecker, Bryan 1
SB: Dresselhouse, Jake 1
HBP: Dresselhouse, Jake 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
3
R
3
H
3
RBI
3
AB
5
R
2
H
2
RBI
0
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
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INF
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INF
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RHP
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OF
/ Baseball
RHP
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LHP
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/ BaseballPursuit to Greatness | Spartans All-Access
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