Thursday, May 18
McLane Stadium at Kobs Field | East Lansing, Mich.
8 p.m.
Michigan State University
31-19, 11-11
8
vs
6
Indiana
39-15, 15-7
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Indiana
0
2
0
1
1
0
0
0
2
6
12
1
Michigan State
0
0
2
0
0
3
2
1
X
8
12
0
Photo by: MSU Baseball Social Squad
Spartans Hold Off Hoosiers, 8-6, In Thursday Thriller
5/18/2023 11:59:00 PM | Baseball
Farquhar, Frank spark bats, solid pitching seals Victory for MSU.
EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Michigan State baseball got timely hitting from Trent Farquhar and Jack Frank to go with solid pitching from Andrew Carson, Joseph Dzierwa and Wyatt Rush to secure a thrilling 8-6 Victory for MSU over Indiana, late Thursday night at McLane Stadium at Kobs Field.
A nationally televised audience watching on Big Ten Network witnessed the latest starting MSU game at McLane Stadium at Kobs Field with an 8:06 p.m. first pitch, as the Spartans' home facility has only had lights since 2019. The fans watching on TV and in the stands were treated to an exciting ballgame in the opener of the three-game Big Ten Conference series in the final weekend of regular-season action.
Indiana entered the weekend tied with Maryland atop the B1G standings, while MSU entered tied for the eighth and final spot in the B1G Tournament with Purdue. The Spartans have a one-game lead over the Boilermakers, who lost at home to Nebraska, 10-5. Meanwhile, Maryland took a one-game lead over the Hoosiers, as the Terrapins rallied for a wild, 17-15 win at Penn State.
MSU improved to 31-19 overall and leveled its B1G record at 11-11 with the win. Indiana also entered the weekend as the hottest team in the B1G, as the Spartans' snapped the Hoosiers' eight-game winning streak.
"This was a really big win for our guys tonight; I am proud of them," MSU head coach Jake Boss Jr. said. "That is a really good team over there in Indiana, and we faced some adversity early. Their starter is as good as there is in this conference."
Indiana starting pitcher Luke Sinnard rang up 10 Ks through 5.2 IP, yielding only two runs through five frames, before the Spartans got to him in the sixth with a big inning, dealing the loss, as Sinnard is now 6-2. The Hoosier hurler came into Thursday night second in the B1G in strikeouts, and finished the night as the league leader now with 104 Ks on the season.
"Our guys just kept grinding, and we finally broke through with a big hit from Jack Frank, which was a huge point in the game," Boss said.
Meanwhile, the Spartans started senior Andrew Carson on the mound, for his first career home start and just his fifth start of his career, and he went 3.2 IP, spraying five hits and three runs, walking three and chalking up three strikeouts. Carson turned the ball over to freshman Joseph Dzierwa, who came out of the pen for the first time since the season-opener after starting his previous 12 appearances. Dzierwa went 3.1 IP, scattering four hits, with one run, one walk and three Ks, to earn the win, improving to 6-2.
The Spartans then turned the ball over to their senior closer Wyatt Rush, who came on to open the eighth and went 2.0 IP, with three hits, two runs, no walks and two strikeouts, as Indiana threatened in the top of the ninth, before slamming the door on a Hoosier comeback with a big strikeout to end it and spark the Victory for MSU celebration.
Rush earned the save, his ninth of the season, and moving up to tie for No. 4 on MSU's single-season saves list, while posting his 11th career save to take over sole possession of the No. 8 spot on the Spartans' career saves list.
"I thought Andrew Carson did a nice job getting us into the game. We moved Joseph (Dzierwa) to the bullpen, and he did a nice with a hold there in a big spot and made some big pitches," Boss said. "We then turned it over to Wyatt (Rush), who is the guy who makes out pitching staff go. He's our leader, and he is the guy we want with the ball in the big spot there late in the ninth. Again, I thought we played well tonight, and it is a really good win for our guys. We need to be ready to go tomorrow."
Friday's game two of the series is also televised on BTN, with an 8:02 p.m. start time.
Junior outfielder Frank finished 3-for-4 with three RBI and two runs scored, knocking a three-run double in the sixth. Junior infielder Farquhar belted a two-run home run in the third inning, depositing the ball into the Red Cedar River beyond the right field fence, adding a sacrifice fly in the eighth, driving in Frank who singled to lead off the frame. Farquhar finished 2-for-3 with three RBI and a run scored, knocking his second home run of the season. His blast into the Red Cedar River traveled 354 feet with an exit velocity off the bat at 101 mph.
Junior infielder Dillon Kark was 3-for-4 with an RBI and scored a run, lacing an RBI single down the right field line in the seventh. Redshirt-sophomore catcher Bryan Broecker was 2-for-4 with a run scored.
Junior infielder Mitch Jebb and redshirt-sophomore designated hitter Sam Busch were both 1-for-4 with a run scored, while senior outfielder Casey Mayes had a big sac fly in the seventh, that proved to be the winning run, before Farquhar's insurance run sac fly in the eight. Junior outfielder Greg Ziegler drew a walk and scored a run.
Indiana got on the board first with a two-run second stanza on a two-run single for an early 2-0 lead.
Michigan State countered with a two-run frame of its own coming in the third, as Frank sparked the rally with a one-out bunt single. Farquhar followed with a blast over the wall in right field and into the Red Cedar River to make it a 2-2 ballgame.
The Hoosiers broke the tie in the fourth and another in the fifth on an RBI double each time, for a 4-2 lead.
Broecker started things off in the sixth with a single up the middle. Two batters later, Kark singled through the right side, and two batters after that, Ziegler drew a walk to fill the bases full of Spartans. After flying out to deep left field in the fourth with the bases loaded, Frank countered by smacking a double down the left field line and into the corner, clearing the bases with a three-run double to give MSU its first lead of the night at 5-4.
Dzierwa kept the Hoosiers at bay and their bats in check, getting scoreless frames in the sixth and seventh.
After all the stretching and singing at the ol' ballgame, Jebb got hit by a pitch and two batters later, Busch knocked a single up the middle and Jebb darted around to third. Kark followed by lacing his single just inside the bag at first and down the right-field line to drive Jebb in and move Busch to third. That brought Mayes to the dish and he knocked a deep fly to the deepest part of McLane Stadium at Kobs Field that Indiana center fielder Bobby Whalen caught at the wall, bringing Busch in on the sac fly for a 7-4 advantage.
Rush took the mound to open the eighth and induced a 1-2-3 inning.
Frank started off the bottom of the eighth with a single and moved to second on a wild pitch, and after a Hoosier pitching change, advanced to third on another wild pitch. Farquhar flew out to right to bring Frank in with the insurance run and an 8-4 Spartan lead.
Indiana did not go quietly into the late, dark East Lansing night, as the Hoosiers laced three-straight one-out singles and knocked a sac fly to get within 8-6. However, Rush made sure they didn't get any closer, ringing up a strikeout to slam the door on the Hoosiers' rally and spark the Spartan celebration, complete with flashing lights at McLane Stadium at Kobs Field.
MSU and Indiana will return to the diamond on Friday for an 8:02 p.m. ET first pitch, before the series finale and regular-season finale on Saturday, May 20 at 3 p.m. ET.
Saturday is Spartan Senior Day Celebration, presented by Health Alliance Plan (HAP) and MSU will be honoring seven seniors in a pregame ceremony: players Andrew Carson, Zach Hopman, John Malcom, Brian Martin, Casey Mayes and Wyatt Rush, along with student manager Josh Wolf.
In addition to the HAP Senior Celebration on Saturday, Friday is Aloha Friday, with fans encouraged to wear their Tropical shirts. Green leis and sunglasses will be given out to fans arriving early.
Fans can purchase tickets for all upcoming Spartan baseball games at https://sprtns.co/MSUBSBTix.
Michigan State's schedule is subject to change, stay tuned to MSUSpartans.com and @MSUBaseball on Twitter for schedule updates.
A nationally televised audience watching on Big Ten Network witnessed the latest starting MSU game at McLane Stadium at Kobs Field with an 8:06 p.m. first pitch, as the Spartans' home facility has only had lights since 2019. The fans watching on TV and in the stands were treated to an exciting ballgame in the opener of the three-game Big Ten Conference series in the final weekend of regular-season action.
Indiana entered the weekend tied with Maryland atop the B1G standings, while MSU entered tied for the eighth and final spot in the B1G Tournament with Purdue. The Spartans have a one-game lead over the Boilermakers, who lost at home to Nebraska, 10-5. Meanwhile, Maryland took a one-game lead over the Hoosiers, as the Terrapins rallied for a wild, 17-15 win at Penn State.
MSU improved to 31-19 overall and leveled its B1G record at 11-11 with the win. Indiana also entered the weekend as the hottest team in the B1G, as the Spartans' snapped the Hoosiers' eight-game winning streak.
"This was a really big win for our guys tonight; I am proud of them," MSU head coach Jake Boss Jr. said. "That is a really good team over there in Indiana, and we faced some adversity early. Their starter is as good as there is in this conference."
Indiana starting pitcher Luke Sinnard rang up 10 Ks through 5.2 IP, yielding only two runs through five frames, before the Spartans got to him in the sixth with a big inning, dealing the loss, as Sinnard is now 6-2. The Hoosier hurler came into Thursday night second in the B1G in strikeouts, and finished the night as the league leader now with 104 Ks on the season.
"Our guys just kept grinding, and we finally broke through with a big hit from Jack Frank, which was a huge point in the game," Boss said.
Meanwhile, the Spartans started senior Andrew Carson on the mound, for his first career home start and just his fifth start of his career, and he went 3.2 IP, spraying five hits and three runs, walking three and chalking up three strikeouts. Carson turned the ball over to freshman Joseph Dzierwa, who came out of the pen for the first time since the season-opener after starting his previous 12 appearances. Dzierwa went 3.1 IP, scattering four hits, with one run, one walk and three Ks, to earn the win, improving to 6-2.
The Spartans then turned the ball over to their senior closer Wyatt Rush, who came on to open the eighth and went 2.0 IP, with three hits, two runs, no walks and two strikeouts, as Indiana threatened in the top of the ninth, before slamming the door on a Hoosier comeback with a big strikeout to end it and spark the Victory for MSU celebration.
VICTORY FOR MSU!!!!!
— Michigan State Baseball (@MSUBaseball) May 19, 2023
Final score from McLane Stadium as the Spartans take game 1 of @B1Gbaseball series:
Michigan State 8, Indiana 6
High fives and handshakes all around!!#VictoryForMSU | #SpartanStrong pic.twitter.com/VCtsQtEIuO
Rush earned the save, his ninth of the season, and moving up to tie for No. 4 on MSU's single-season saves list, while posting his 11th career save to take over sole possession of the No. 8 spot on the Spartans' career saves list.
"I thought Andrew Carson did a nice job getting us into the game. We moved Joseph (Dzierwa) to the bullpen, and he did a nice with a hold there in a big spot and made some big pitches," Boss said. "We then turned it over to Wyatt (Rush), who is the guy who makes out pitching staff go. He's our leader, and he is the guy we want with the ball in the big spot there late in the ninth. Again, I thought we played well tonight, and it is a really good win for our guys. We need to be ready to go tomorrow."
Friday's game two of the series is also televised on BTN, with an 8:02 p.m. start time.
Junior outfielder Frank finished 3-for-4 with three RBI and two runs scored, knocking a three-run double in the sixth. Junior infielder Farquhar belted a two-run home run in the third inning, depositing the ball into the Red Cedar River beyond the right field fence, adding a sacrifice fly in the eighth, driving in Frank who singled to lead off the frame. Farquhar finished 2-for-3 with three RBI and a run scored, knocking his second home run of the season. His blast into the Red Cedar River traveled 354 feet with an exit velocity off the bat at 101 mph.
Farquhar's HR went 354-feet with a 101 mph exit velocity and into the Red Cedar River!!!
— Michigan State Baseball (@MSUBaseball) May 19, 2023
That was Farquhar's 2nd HR of the season and the 9th of his career!!#GoGreen | #SpartanStrong | @trentjf7 pic.twitter.com/047zLN581H
Junior infielder Dillon Kark was 3-for-4 with an RBI and scored a run, lacing an RBI single down the right field line in the seventh. Redshirt-sophomore catcher Bryan Broecker was 2-for-4 with a run scored.
Junior infielder Mitch Jebb and redshirt-sophomore designated hitter Sam Busch were both 1-for-4 with a run scored, while senior outfielder Casey Mayes had a big sac fly in the seventh, that proved to be the winning run, before Farquhar's insurance run sac fly in the eight. Junior outfielder Greg Ziegler drew a walk and scored a run.
Indiana got on the board first with a two-run second stanza on a two-run single for an early 2-0 lead.
Michigan State countered with a two-run frame of its own coming in the third, as Frank sparked the rally with a one-out bunt single. Farquhar followed with a blast over the wall in right field and into the Red Cedar River to make it a 2-2 ballgame.
The Hoosiers broke the tie in the fourth and another in the fifth on an RBI double each time, for a 4-2 lead.
Broecker started things off in the sixth with a single up the middle. Two batters later, Kark singled through the right side, and two batters after that, Ziegler drew a walk to fill the bases full of Spartans. After flying out to deep left field in the fourth with the bases loaded, Frank countered by smacking a double down the left field line and into the corner, clearing the bases with a three-run double to give MSU its first lead of the night at 5-4.
Frank came to bat with the bases loaded and cleared them with a double down the LF line and into the corner!!#GoGreen | #SpartanStrong | @JackF_22 pic.twitter.com/BaUM8OYneR
— Michigan State Baseball (@MSUBaseball) May 19, 2023
Dzierwa kept the Hoosiers at bay and their bats in check, getting scoreless frames in the sixth and seventh.
Time to stretch and sing about 🥜&🍿 here at McLane Stadium at Kobs Field...
— Michigan State Baseball (@MSUBaseball) May 19, 2023
...as Farquhar sends us to the break with a niiiiiiiiiccce #FlashTheLeather play to end frame!!#GoGreen | #SpartanStrong | @trentjf7 pic.twitter.com/9B4adnjzia
After all the stretching and singing at the ol' ballgame, Jebb got hit by a pitch and two batters later, Busch knocked a single up the middle and Jebb darted around to third. Kark followed by lacing his single just inside the bag at first and down the right-field line to drive Jebb in and move Busch to third. That brought Mayes to the dish and he knocked a deep fly to the deepest part of McLane Stadium at Kobs Field that Indiana center fielder Bobby Whalen caught at the wall, bringing Busch in on the sac fly for a 7-4 advantage.
End of 7th |
— Michigan State Baseball (@MSUBaseball) May 19, 2023
IND 4
MSU 7
Spartans plate a pair of runs, including an RBI single by Dillon Kark!!#GoGreen | #SpartanStrong | @KarkDillon pic.twitter.com/3VojeupKtT
Rush took the mound to open the eighth and induced a 1-2-3 inning.
Frank started off the bottom of the eighth with a single and moved to second on a wild pitch, and after a Hoosier pitching change, advanced to third on another wild pitch. Farquhar flew out to right to bring Frank in with the insurance run and an 8-4 Spartan lead.
Indiana did not go quietly into the late, dark East Lansing night, as the Hoosiers laced three-straight one-out singles and knocked a sac fly to get within 8-6. However, Rush made sure they didn't get any closer, ringing up a strikeout to slam the door on the Hoosiers' rally and spark the Spartan celebration, complete with flashing lights at McLane Stadium at Kobs Field.
MSU and Indiana will return to the diamond on Friday for an 8:02 p.m. ET first pitch, before the series finale and regular-season finale on Saturday, May 20 at 3 p.m. ET.
Saturday is Spartan Senior Day Celebration, presented by Health Alliance Plan (HAP) and MSU will be honoring seven seniors in a pregame ceremony: players Andrew Carson, Zach Hopman, John Malcom, Brian Martin, Casey Mayes and Wyatt Rush, along with student manager Josh Wolf.
In addition to the HAP Senior Celebration on Saturday, Friday is Aloha Friday, with fans encouraged to wear their Tropical shirts. Green leis and sunglasses will be given out to fans arriving early.
Fans can purchase tickets for all upcoming Spartan baseball games at https://sprtns.co/MSUBSBTix.
Michigan State's schedule is subject to change, stay tuned to MSUSpartans.com and @MSUBaseball on Twitter for schedule updates.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Dzierwa, Joseph (6-3)
L: Sinnard, Luke (6-3)
S: Rush, Wyatt (9)
Batting:
2B: Pyne, Josh 1 ; Jessee, Hunter 1
RBI: Glasser, Phillip 1 ; Whalen, Bobby 2 ; Mathison, Carter 1 ; Pyne, Josh 1 ; Jessee, Hunter 1
SF: Pyne, Josh 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Taylor, Devin 1 ; Tibbitts, Brock 1 ; Pyne, Josh 1 ; Jessee, Hunter 1 ; Cerny, Tyler 2
SB: Mathison, Carter 1
HBP: Cerny, Tyler 1
Batting:
2B: Frank, Jack 1
HR: Farquhar, Trent 1
RBI: Frank, Jack 3 ; Farquhar, Trent 3 ; Kark, Dillon 1 ; Mayes, Casey 1
SF: Farquhar, Trent 1 ; Mayes, Casey 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Frank, Jack 2 ; Farquhar, Trent 1 ; Jebb, Mitch 1 ; Broecker, Bryan 1 ; Busch, Sam 1 ; Kark, Dillon 1 ; Ziegler, Greg 1
HBP: Jebb, Mitch 1 ; Ziegler, Greg 1
PO: Jebb, Mitch 1
Game Leaders
AB
5
R
2
H
3
RBI
3
AB
4
R
1
H
3
RBI
1
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
3
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
C
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
LHP
/ BaseballINF
/ BaseballOF
/ Baseball
LHP
/ Baseball
INF
/ BaseballINF
/ Baseball
1B/OF
/ Baseball
OF/RHP
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ 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