Saturday, March 9
Fluor Field | Greenville, S.C.
5 PM (UPDATED TIME)
Michigan State University
5-8
5
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9
Western Carolina
5-9
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5
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9
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H
E
Western Carolina
0
0
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5
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9
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Michigan State
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1
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7
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Photo by: Jeremy Fleming
MSU Rally Comes Up Short In Loss To Western Carolina Saturday In Greenville
3/9/2024 10:33:00 PM | Baseball
Spartans clawed by Catamounts in First Pitch Invite II action.
GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Michigan State baseball rallied in the ninth inning, but the rally came up short, falling to Western Carolina, 9-5, Saturday night in First Pitch Invitational II action at Fluor Field, home of the Greenville Drive.
MSU plated three runs in the ninth and had the bases loaded with the tying run at the plate before the rally and the game to an end.
Michigan State scored in its first at bat, and had a 1-0 lead until the fourth, when WCU took the lead with a pair of runs. The Spartans tied it back up in the sixth, before WCU broke the game open in the seventh, as the Catamounts scratched across five runs, chasing MSU starting senior pitcher Nick Powers early in the frame, and continued the rally. WCU added two more in the eighth, before the Spartan rallied in the ninth.
Freshman catcher Adam Broski started the rally getting hit by a pitch, and junior pinch hitter Jacob Anderson also got hit. After a WCU pitching change, senior outfielder Jack Frank drew a walk to load the bases. Junior outfielder Nick Williams followed with a two-run single to right center. Freshman infielder Ryan McKay then drew a walk to reload the bases. Junior DH Christian Williams then was hit by pitch, bringing Frank in. However the Spartan threat and the game ended with two strikeouts and a groundout.
"I thought we gave ourselves a chance there in the ninth, and I give our guys a lot of credit for that," MSU head coach Jake Boss Jr. said. "I thought Nick Powers threw very well tonight, and I probably left him in there two hitters too long, so that's on me, but I thought he really did a nice job. We didn't make any errors tonight, but there were a couple of situations defensively that we didn't handle very well. We got a couple hits in the first inning before their guy settled into it pretty good, and their bullpen got the job done, so give them credit. They executed when they needed to, and we just got beat today."
The Spartans are 1-1 in the FPI II weekend action, wrapping up Sunday vs. VCU at 2 p.m. Overall, MSU is now 5-8 on the season. Saturday's loss snapped Michigan State's four-game win streak in the series with Western Carolina, while MSU still leads the all-time series, 6-2.
Senior infielder Dillon Kark was 3-for-5 with a run scored. N.Williams was 1-for-4 with two RBI and scored a run. Frank was 1-for-2 with a run scored. C.Williams and junior infielder Sam Busch were also 1-for-4, while Broski had a ribbie and scored a run.
On the mound, Powers went 6.0 IP with seven strikeouts, not allowing a hit until the fourth, firing two Ks in each of the first and second frames. Senior Nick Ferazzi (1.0 IP, 2 Ks), senior Harrison Cook (1.0 IP, 1 K) and freshman Gavin Moczydlowsky (1.0 IP, 2 K) closed it out.
Michigan State concludes action at the First Pitch Invitational II and it's 2024 stint at MSU's home-away-from-home, Fluor Field, home of the Greenville Drive, on Sunday, March 10, squaring off with VCU at 2 p.m.
Tickets for this weekend's action at Fluor Field can be found at the "Tickets" link on the MSU Baseball schedule at MSUSpartans.com for this weekend's respective games.
Fans can follow this weekend's action with "Watch Live" and "Live Stats" links at MSUSpartans.com, with video streaming available for free through the Greenville Drive's YouTube channel.
The weekend schedule is subject to continued change based on weather.
---------
For the first time ever, Michigan State baseball fans have the ability to purchase season tickets.
Season tickets packages are on sale through the Spartan Ticket Office. The MSU baseball season ticket package, which includes 24 home games at McLane Stadium at Kobs Field, is available for $50.
All ticket levels for seniors, adults and children are the same price. Admission remains free for all Michigan State students by showing their MSU ID at the entry gate.
The 2024 Spartan baseball season includes Big Ten match-ups against Rutgers, Penn State and Nebraska, along with regional clashes with Central Michigan, Oakland and Notre Dame, in addition to giving fans admission to all three home games of baseball Rivalry Week against Michigan.
Individual game tickets will go on sale later this spring.
Fans can contact the Spartan Ticket Office at 517-355-1610 or by email at tickets@msu.edu for questions or more information. A direct link to purchase season tickets is here.
MSU plated three runs in the ninth and had the bases loaded with the tying run at the plate before the rally and the game to an end.
Michigan State scored in its first at bat, and had a 1-0 lead until the fourth, when WCU took the lead with a pair of runs. The Spartans tied it back up in the sixth, before WCU broke the game open in the seventh, as the Catamounts scratched across five runs, chasing MSU starting senior pitcher Nick Powers early in the frame, and continued the rally. WCU added two more in the eighth, before the Spartan rallied in the ninth.
Freshman catcher Adam Broski started the rally getting hit by a pitch, and junior pinch hitter Jacob Anderson also got hit. After a WCU pitching change, senior outfielder Jack Frank drew a walk to load the bases. Junior outfielder Nick Williams followed with a two-run single to right center. Freshman infielder Ryan McKay then drew a walk to reload the bases. Junior DH Christian Williams then was hit by pitch, bringing Frank in. However the Spartan threat and the game ended with two strikeouts and a groundout.
"I thought we gave ourselves a chance there in the ninth, and I give our guys a lot of credit for that," MSU head coach Jake Boss Jr. said. "I thought Nick Powers threw very well tonight, and I probably left him in there two hitters too long, so that's on me, but I thought he really did a nice job. We didn't make any errors tonight, but there were a couple of situations defensively that we didn't handle very well. We got a couple hits in the first inning before their guy settled into it pretty good, and their bullpen got the job done, so give them credit. They executed when they needed to, and we just got beat today."
The Spartans are 1-1 in the FPI II weekend action, wrapping up Sunday vs. VCU at 2 p.m. Overall, MSU is now 5-8 on the season. Saturday's loss snapped Michigan State's four-game win streak in the series with Western Carolina, while MSU still leads the all-time series, 6-2.
Senior infielder Dillon Kark was 3-for-5 with a run scored. N.Williams was 1-for-4 with two RBI and scored a run. Frank was 1-for-2 with a run scored. C.Williams and junior infielder Sam Busch were also 1-for-4, while Broski had a ribbie and scored a run.
On the mound, Powers went 6.0 IP with seven strikeouts, not allowing a hit until the fourth, firing two Ks in each of the first and second frames. Senior Nick Ferazzi (1.0 IP, 2 Ks), senior Harrison Cook (1.0 IP, 1 K) and freshman Gavin Moczydlowsky (1.0 IP, 2 K) closed it out.
Michigan State concludes action at the First Pitch Invitational II and it's 2024 stint at MSU's home-away-from-home, Fluor Field, home of the Greenville Drive, on Sunday, March 10, squaring off with VCU at 2 p.m.
Tickets for this weekend's action at Fluor Field can be found at the "Tickets" link on the MSU Baseball schedule at MSUSpartans.com for this weekend's respective games.
Fans can follow this weekend's action with "Watch Live" and "Live Stats" links at MSUSpartans.com, with video streaming available for free through the Greenville Drive's YouTube channel.
The weekend schedule is subject to continued change based on weather.
---------
For the first time ever, Michigan State baseball fans have the ability to purchase season tickets.
Season tickets packages are on sale through the Spartan Ticket Office. The MSU baseball season ticket package, which includes 24 home games at McLane Stadium at Kobs Field, is available for $50.
All ticket levels for seniors, adults and children are the same price. Admission remains free for all Michigan State students by showing their MSU ID at the entry gate.
The 2024 Spartan baseball season includes Big Ten match-ups against Rutgers, Penn State and Nebraska, along with regional clashes with Central Michigan, Oakland and Notre Dame, in addition to giving fans admission to all three home games of baseball Rivalry Week against Michigan.
Individual game tickets will go on sale later this spring.
Fans can contact the Spartan Ticket Office at 517-355-1610 or by email at tickets@msu.edu for questions or more information. A direct link to purchase season tickets is here.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Spenser Hamblen (2-2)
L: Powers, Nick (2-2)
Batting:
2B: Kyle Riesselmann 1 ; James Hinson 1 ; Tafton Hensley 1
HR: Nate Stocum 1
RBI: Kyle Riesselmann 3 ; James Hinson 2 ; Nate Stocum 2 ; Zach Ketterman 1
SH: Kyle Harbison 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Kyle Riesselmann 2 ; Jack Spyke 1 ; James Hinson 1 ; Tafton Hensley 1 ; Nate Stocum 2 ; Zach Ketterman 1 ; Mason Holton 1
HBP: Mason Holton 1
Batting:
2B: Frank, Jack 1
RBI: Williams, Nick 2 ; Williams, Christian 1 ; Busch, Sam 1 ; Broski, Adam 1
SH: Seymour, Randy 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Frank, Jack 1 ; Williams, Nick 1 ; Kark, Dillon 1 ; Broski, Adam 1 ; Anderson, Jacob 1
HBP: Williams, Christian 1 ; Broski, Adam 1 ; Anderson, Jacob 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
5
R
1
H
3
RBI
0
AB
2
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
2
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
INF
/ Baseball
C
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ BaseballOF
/ BaseballINF
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
LHP
/ BaseballC
/ BaseballOF
/ BaseballPursuit to Greatness | Spartans All-Access
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