Friday, April 14
McLane Stadium at Kobs Field | East Lansing, Mich.
6:05 p.m.
Michigan State University
21-10
10
vs
9
Western Illinois
4-24
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Western Illinois
2
1
0
0
2
3
0
0
1
9
11
2
Michigan State
0
0
0
2
1
2
5
0
X
10
10
6
Spartans Rally For Wild, 10-9, Victory For MSU Over Leathernecks Friday
4/14/2023 11:55:00 PM | Baseball
Michigan State comes back from down 8-3 in sixth.
EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Michigan State baseball rallied from an 8-3 deficit in the sixth inning for a wild, 10-9, win over Western Illinois Friday night at McLane Stadium at Kobs Field.
On another beautiful night at the ballpark for the second home game in three nights, a crowd of over 1,000 spirited Spartan fans were subdued for the first part, before getting loud and helping rally the Spartans.
WIU scored a pair of runs in its first at bat, adding a run in the second. After Michigan State closed to 3-2 in the fourth, Western Illinois added two in the fifth, then MSU got one back in the fifth for a 5-3 score after five complete. The Leathernecks took an 8-3 lead with three runs in the top of the sixth.
MSU rallied with two runs in the bottom of the sixth to close to 8-5, before erupting for a five-spot in the seventh for a 10-8 lead, only to hang on for the 10-9 win after WIU scored a run in the ninth on a home run, the lone Leatherneck round-tripper on the night. MSU overcame six errors in the game, while WIU had two miscues. The Leathernecks left eight runners on base, while the Spartans stranded six.
"It doesn't have to be pretty, but every win is a good one so we'll take it," MSU head coach Jake Boss Jr. said. "I was really disappointed on how we started the game, I thought mentally we were ready to play, I thought we were pretty passive early and didn't come out of the gates swinging like I thought we should have so that was disappointing. The defense tonight was very disappointing and uncharacteristic of us. Again, at the end of the day, we got a big hit when we needed it. We took what we were given and found a way to win the game."
The Spartans won the game by bashing four home runs on the night, their second four homer game in the last three outings, also knocking four HR in Tuesday's win at Notre Dame. Half of MSU's four home runs were hit by sophomore catcher Bryan Broecker for his first multi-HR game as a Spartan, but his fifth and sixth of the season.
"Just sticking to my approach, I was talking to (Director of Player Development) Adam Eaton about it yesterday, so I put in some work this morning and just had to execute that," Broecker said about how he was able to hit two home runs Friday night.
Friday's series opener was MSU's third of five games this week, with numbers four and five upcoming Saturday, as MSU and WIU will wrap up their three-game, two-day non-conference series by now play a doubleheader on Saturday at 11:35 a.m. and 3:35 p.m., due to inclement weather in Sunday's forecast, as announced earlier Friday afternoon.
Saturday's 3:35 p.m. game is MSU baseball's Military Appreciation game, with pre-game events including dedication of the Military Honor Chair and a motorcycle ride-in by the Rolling Thunder group.
In support and partnership with Cristo Rey Community Center, we will be accepting personal and baby care donated items at all MSU Athletics events, including this weekend's baseball games, from April 14-16. There will be donation boxes as fans enter the game.
With Friday's win, the Spartans have won four in a row as part of triumphant in 10 of their last 12 and 16 of the last 19 in improving to 21-10, additionally improving to 7-2 at home this season. WIU lost its third in a row, having dropped 13 of its last 14, and are now 4-24 with the loss Friday night.
In the first meeting between the Spartans and Leathernecks since 2006, MSU has won the last two match-ups with WIU as part of four of the last five, and now lead the all-time series, 7-2.
Michigan State had 10 hits on the night, with Broecker going 2-for-2 with three RBI and three runs scored, and two walks. Senior Casey Mayes was 2-for-4 with RBI and a run scored, knocking a triple to lead off the fifth and adding a two-run single in the seventh that gave the Spartans a 10-8 lead. The triple by Mayes was the 12th of his career, moving up to tie for No. 4 on MSU's career triples list.
Junior outfielder Greg Ziegler and sophomore designated hitter Sam Busch completed the other half of MSU's home runs, with Busch leading off the sixth inning with a solo blast over the right field wall and into the Red Cedar River. Ziegler followed Mayes' two-run single in the seventh by knocking his homer into the trees beyond the left field wall. Busch finished 1-for-5, while Ziegler was 1-for-3 with a walk. Junior outfielder Jack Frank was 1-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored, also drawing a walk.
Leadoff hitter junior infielder Trent Farquhar was 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored, while number two hitter, junior infielder Mitch Jebb had a walk and hit by pitch, adding a run scored, while number three hitter, junior infielder Brock Vradenburg was 1-for-4 with a run scored and a walk.
"We've had that in the past probably four or five weeks. As good as those guys in the middle have been, on nights where they may have scuffled a bit, somebody in the middle or at the bottom of the order has picked them up," Boss said about the top of the lineup being a little more quiet Friday night and getting production elsewhere. "Tonight it was Casey Mayes with a couple huge at bats. The triple was big, but the at bat with two outs in the seventh was the biggest at bat of the game for us. The home runs, Broecker's two home runs, Ziegler's home run, we need everyone to contribute and they did tonight."
Freshman starter Joseph Dzierwa went 4.1 IP, scattering six hits and five runs, with three of them earned, and striking out three. Sophomore Ryan Szczepaniak went 0.2 IP with one hit, one run, two walks and one strikeout. Senior Andrew Carson pitched the sixth and seventh frames, yielding two unearned runs on three hits, with one walk and one K, to earn the win, leveling his record at 3-3.
Senior reliever Wyatt Rush came on in the eighth, and finished the game, with the lone hit allowed the WIU homer in the ninth, with one strikeout and one heck of a snag on a line-drive comebacker for the final out, to earn the save and ignite the Victory for MSU celebration and comeback win.
The save was Rush's seventh of the season, moving up to tie for No. 10 on MSU's single-season saves list, and he now has nine career saves, also moving up to tie for No. 10 on MSU's career saves list.
The Leathernecks leaped out to a 3-0 lead after the first inning and a half, with two runs on three hits in the first frame, adding a run in the second stanza.
MSU got on the board in the fourth on Broecker's first round-tripper of the night, a two-run home run to left center, pulling within, 3-2.
WIU countered with two runs of its own in the top of the fifth on a two-run double down the right field line and into the corner by Jack Sievers to open a 5-2 advantage.
The home team Spartans cut into the deficit with a run in the bottom of the half of the fith, as Mayes led off with his record-noteworthy triple to center. Two batters later, Farquhar flew out to center for a sac fly to drive in Mayes.
The Leathernecks took their 8-3 lead with three runs in the top of the sixth, on just two hits, taking advantage of three MSU errors in the frame.Â
The Spartans started their comeback in the sixth on back-to-back blasts from Busch and Broecker, with Busch's Red Cedar River deposit followed by Broecker's shot to the deepest part of McLane Stadium at Kobs Field, just to the right of the 403' sign in center.
Ziegler led off the seventh with a solo homer to left. Farquhar then beat out a bunt single down the first-base line, executing a Matrix-like swim move to avoid the tag. WIU challenged the call, but the safe call was upheld. After Jebb was hit by a pitch, two batters later Broecker walked to load the bases. Frank was hit by a pitch for an RBI in bringing Farquhar home. Freshman infielder Randy Seymour then drew a walk for his first collegiate RBI, plating Jebb, and bringing Mayes to the dish. He deposited a single to center to drive in Frank and Broecker and put the Spartans ahead, 10-8.
After a leadoff single in the top of the eighth off Carson, the Spartans called Rush out of the pen, and he induced a double play and a lineout to end the rally.Â
Vradenburg knocked a two-out double in the eighth, but nothing else to add any insurance runs.Â
After ringing up a strikeout, WIU's Adam Juran hit a home run to left to pull WIU within 10-9, but Rush got a groundout for the second out, then snared a line drive comebacker for the final out and the Victory for MSU celebrations were on, with the light show at McLane Stadium and roar from the crowd.Â
Fans can follow the weekend's action with "Watch Live," "Listen Live" and "Live Stats" links at MSUSpartans.com.
MSU's schedule is subject to change, stay tuned to MSUSpartans.com and @MSUBaseball on Twitter for schedule updates.
Â
On another beautiful night at the ballpark for the second home game in three nights, a crowd of over 1,000 spirited Spartan fans were subdued for the first part, before getting loud and helping rally the Spartans.
WIU scored a pair of runs in its first at bat, adding a run in the second. After Michigan State closed to 3-2 in the fourth, Western Illinois added two in the fifth, then MSU got one back in the fifth for a 5-3 score after five complete. The Leathernecks took an 8-3 lead with three runs in the top of the sixth.
MSU rallied with two runs in the bottom of the sixth to close to 8-5, before erupting for a five-spot in the seventh for a 10-8 lead, only to hang on for the 10-9 win after WIU scored a run in the ninth on a home run, the lone Leatherneck round-tripper on the night. MSU overcame six errors in the game, while WIU had two miscues. The Leathernecks left eight runners on base, while the Spartans stranded six.
"It doesn't have to be pretty, but every win is a good one so we'll take it," MSU head coach Jake Boss Jr. said. "I was really disappointed on how we started the game, I thought mentally we were ready to play, I thought we were pretty passive early and didn't come out of the gates swinging like I thought we should have so that was disappointing. The defense tonight was very disappointing and uncharacteristic of us. Again, at the end of the day, we got a big hit when we needed it. We took what we were given and found a way to win the game."
The Spartans won the game by bashing four home runs on the night, their second four homer game in the last three outings, also knocking four HR in Tuesday's win at Notre Dame. Half of MSU's four home runs were hit by sophomore catcher Bryan Broecker for his first multi-HR game as a Spartan, but his fifth and sixth of the season.
"Just sticking to my approach, I was talking to (Director of Player Development) Adam Eaton about it yesterday, so I put in some work this morning and just had to execute that," Broecker said about how he was able to hit two home runs Friday night.
Friday's series opener was MSU's third of five games this week, with numbers four and five upcoming Saturday, as MSU and WIU will wrap up their three-game, two-day non-conference series by now play a doubleheader on Saturday at 11:35 a.m. and 3:35 p.m., due to inclement weather in Sunday's forecast, as announced earlier Friday afternoon.
Saturday's 3:35 p.m. game is MSU baseball's Military Appreciation game, with pre-game events including dedication of the Military Honor Chair and a motorcycle ride-in by the Rolling Thunder group.
In support and partnership with Cristo Rey Community Center, we will be accepting personal and baby care donated items at all MSU Athletics events, including this weekend's baseball games, from April 14-16. There will be donation boxes as fans enter the game.
With Friday's win, the Spartans have won four in a row as part of triumphant in 10 of their last 12 and 16 of the last 19 in improving to 21-10, additionally improving to 7-2 at home this season. WIU lost its third in a row, having dropped 13 of its last 14, and are now 4-24 with the loss Friday night.
In the first meeting between the Spartans and Leathernecks since 2006, MSU has won the last two match-ups with WIU as part of four of the last five, and now lead the all-time series, 7-2.
Michigan State had 10 hits on the night, with Broecker going 2-for-2 with three RBI and three runs scored, and two walks. Senior Casey Mayes was 2-for-4 with RBI and a run scored, knocking a triple to lead off the fifth and adding a two-run single in the seventh that gave the Spartans a 10-8 lead. The triple by Mayes was the 12th of his career, moving up to tie for No. 4 on MSU's career triples list.
Junior outfielder Greg Ziegler and sophomore designated hitter Sam Busch completed the other half of MSU's home runs, with Busch leading off the sixth inning with a solo blast over the right field wall and into the Red Cedar River. Ziegler followed Mayes' two-run single in the seventh by knocking his homer into the trees beyond the left field wall. Busch finished 1-for-5, while Ziegler was 1-for-3 with a walk. Junior outfielder Jack Frank was 1-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored, also drawing a walk.
Leadoff hitter junior infielder Trent Farquhar was 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored, while number two hitter, junior infielder Mitch Jebb had a walk and hit by pitch, adding a run scored, while number three hitter, junior infielder Brock Vradenburg was 1-for-4 with a run scored and a walk.
"We've had that in the past probably four or five weeks. As good as those guys in the middle have been, on nights where they may have scuffled a bit, somebody in the middle or at the bottom of the order has picked them up," Boss said about the top of the lineup being a little more quiet Friday night and getting production elsewhere. "Tonight it was Casey Mayes with a couple huge at bats. The triple was big, but the at bat with two outs in the seventh was the biggest at bat of the game for us. The home runs, Broecker's two home runs, Ziegler's home run, we need everyone to contribute and they did tonight."
Freshman starter Joseph Dzierwa went 4.1 IP, scattering six hits and five runs, with three of them earned, and striking out three. Sophomore Ryan Szczepaniak went 0.2 IP with one hit, one run, two walks and one strikeout. Senior Andrew Carson pitched the sixth and seventh frames, yielding two unearned runs on three hits, with one walk and one K, to earn the win, leveling his record at 3-3.
Senior reliever Wyatt Rush came on in the eighth, and finished the game, with the lone hit allowed the WIU homer in the ninth, with one strikeout and one heck of a snag on a line-drive comebacker for the final out, to earn the save and ignite the Victory for MSU celebration and comeback win.
The save was Rush's seventh of the season, moving up to tie for No. 10 on MSU's single-season saves list, and he now has nine career saves, also moving up to tie for No. 10 on MSU's career saves list.
The Leathernecks leaped out to a 3-0 lead after the first inning and a half, with two runs on three hits in the first frame, adding a run in the second stanza.
MSU got on the board in the fourth on Broecker's first round-tripper of the night, a two-run home run to left center, pulling within, 3-2.
WIU countered with two runs of its own in the top of the fifth on a two-run double down the right field line and into the corner by Jack Sievers to open a 5-2 advantage.
The home team Spartans cut into the deficit with a run in the bottom of the half of the fith, as Mayes led off with his record-noteworthy triple to center. Two batters later, Farquhar flew out to center for a sac fly to drive in Mayes.
The Leathernecks took their 8-3 lead with three runs in the top of the sixth, on just two hits, taking advantage of three MSU errors in the frame.Â
The Spartans started their comeback in the sixth on back-to-back blasts from Busch and Broecker, with Busch's Red Cedar River deposit followed by Broecker's shot to the deepest part of McLane Stadium at Kobs Field, just to the right of the 403' sign in center.
Ziegler led off the seventh with a solo homer to left. Farquhar then beat out a bunt single down the first-base line, executing a Matrix-like swim move to avoid the tag. WIU challenged the call, but the safe call was upheld. After Jebb was hit by a pitch, two batters later Broecker walked to load the bases. Frank was hit by a pitch for an RBI in bringing Farquhar home. Freshman infielder Randy Seymour then drew a walk for his first collegiate RBI, plating Jebb, and bringing Mayes to the dish. He deposited a single to center to drive in Frank and Broecker and put the Spartans ahead, 10-8.
After a leadoff single in the top of the eighth off Carson, the Spartans called Rush out of the pen, and he induced a double play and a lineout to end the rally.Â
Vradenburg knocked a two-out double in the eighth, but nothing else to add any insurance runs.Â
After ringing up a strikeout, WIU's Adam Juran hit a home run to left to pull WIU within 10-9, but Rush got a groundout for the second out, then snared a line drive comebacker for the final out and the Victory for MSU celebrations were on, with the light show at McLane Stadium and roar from the crowd.Â
Fans can follow the weekend's action with "Watch Live," "Listen Live" and "Live Stats" links at MSUSpartans.com.
MSU's schedule is subject to change, stay tuned to MSUSpartans.com and @MSUBaseball on Twitter for schedule updates.
Â
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Carson, Andrew (3-3)
L: Jack Bell (0-3)
S: Rush, Wyatt (7)
Batting:
2B: Derek Botaletto 1 ; J.R. Heavilin 1 ; Ricky Pospisil 1 ; Jack Sievers 1
HR: Adam Juran 1
RBI: Derek Botaletto 1 ; Jake Allgeyer 1 ; J.R. Heavilin 1 ; Adam Juran 2 ; Jack Sievers 2
SH: Derek Botaletto 1
SF: Adam Juran 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Nick Mitchell 3 ; Derek Botaletto 1 ; Jake Allgeyer 2 ; J.R. Heavilin 1 ; Ricky Pospisil 1 ; Adam Juran 1
CS: Max Slavens 1
HBP: Nick Mitchell 1 ; Ricky Pospisil 2
Batting:
2B: Vradenburg, Brock 1
3B: Mayes, Casey 1
HR: Busch, Sam 1 ; Broecker, Bryan 2 ; Ziegler, Greg 1
RBI: Farquhar, Trent 1 ; Busch, Sam 1 ; Broecker, Bryan 3 ; Frank, Jack 1 ; Seymour, Randy 1 ; Mayes, Casey 2 ; Ziegler, Greg 1
SH: Kark, Dillon 1
SF: Farquhar, Trent 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Farquhar, Trent 1 ; Jebb, Mitch 1 ; Vradenburg, Brock 1 ; Busch, Sam 1 ; Broecker, Bryan 3 ; Frank, Jack 1 ; Mayes, Casey 1 ; Ziegler, Greg 1
CS: Broecker, Bryan 1
HBP: Jebb, Mitch 1 ; Frank, Jack 1
PO: Ziegler, Greg 1
Game Leaders
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
AB
2
R
3
H
2
RBI
3
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
2
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
C
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RHP
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LHP
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
OF
/ BaseballPursuit to Greatness | Spartans All-Access
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