Tuesday, May 14
McLane Stadium at Kobs Field | East Lansing, Mich.
6:05 PM
Michigan State University
23-25
9
vs
8
Eastern Michigan
14-35
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Eastern Michigan
0
1
1
4
0
0
0
2
0
8
9
2
Michigan State
2
3
0
0
0
1
3
0
X
9
7
1
Photo by: MSU Baseball Social Squad
MSU Edges Eastern Michigan, 9-8, Tuesday Night
5/14/2024 11:41:00 PM | Baseball
Spartans beat Eagles for fifth-straight meeting in MSU’s final non-conference contest of regular-season.
EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Michigan State baseball pulled away from a mid-inning tie with Eastern Michigan and held off a late-inning rally and the Spartans edged the Eagles for a 9-8 Victory for MSU Tuesday night at McLane Stadium at Kobs Field.
Tuesday was MSU's final non-conference midweek contest of the 2024 regular season, as well as the opener of a four-game homestand to wrap up regular-season action.
With the win, Michigan State is now 23-25 overall, while Eastern Michigan is 14-35.
The Spartans beat the Eagles for the fifth-straight meeting and the 11th time in last 14 meetings, moving to 101-61-1 all-time against EMU. Tuesday's 1-run ballgame was the third-straight meeting decided by a run and sieve of the last eight match-ups between the Spartans and Eagles have been decided by two runs or less. The Spartan triumph also secured the home team with a victory in eight of the last 10 meetings played on campus.
MSU head coach Jake Boss Jr. was head coach at EMU for one season (2008), and is now 18-7 as head coach in the MSU-EMU series. Boss was also an assistant for the Eagles (1997-2004), and has been involved with many Spartans-Eagles battles.
"Every win's a good one and we knew Eastern Michigan was going to be highly-motivated," Boss said. "I've been in that dugout, I worked there for a long time, I know what it's like over there to come in and play at a place like Michigan State or any other power-five school. We knew we were going to get a really good effort out of those guys and they're young, they've had their ups and downs but he's (EMU head coach Robbie Britt) going to do a good job with that program. We knew we had to be ready to go tonight but unfortunately it wasn't pretty, but they don't have to be pretty, you just have to score one more than they do. So we found a way to get that done."
Both teams used six pitchers apiece in the three-hour, 50-minute ballgame, with Spartan redshirt-sophomore reliever Aidan Arbaugh earning the win after going 3.0 IP of solid relief, striking out three while only allowing one hit an no runs. Arbaugh earned his first win since April 27, 2022 against Purdue Fort Wayne, after missing the 2023 season with an injury.
Sophomore Nolan Higgins closed out the final 2.0 IP with three Ks and only two hits without a run to pick up his second save of the season.
"I'm happy for Aidan Arbaugh, it's been a long time since he's pitched that much. I thought he really pitched well tonight and Nolan Higgins has had his struggles too, but I thought he was really good tonight too," Boss said.
Freshman Garrett Brewer made his first start for the Green & White, going 2.0 IP with two Ks. Freshman Gavin Moczydlowsky, senior Nick Ferazzi and freshman Logan Pikur also got action on the mound.
At the plate, sophomore infielder Randy Seymour was 2-for-3 and scored three runs, knocking the Spartans' lone extra-base hit, a double. Senior infielder Dillon Kark was 2-for-6 with three RBI and a run scored. Fellow seniors, outfielders Jack Frank and Greg Ziegler, along with freshman infielder Ryan McKay all had a hit apiece. Frank, Ziegler and McKay, in addition to junior outfielder Nick Williams each registered one RBI, while N.Williams, Ziegler and junior catcher Noah Bright scored a run apiece, while junior infielder Sam Busch touched home twice after reaching base by drawing a pair of walks.
Frank also swiped one stolen base, his 19th of the season, which ties his single-season personal best, matching 19 swipes from last season, and tied for No. 17 on MSU's single-season stolen base list, needing one more to tie former teammate Mitch Jebb, along with Chuck Fawcett (1932) and Jeff Holm (2011) for the No. 14 spot. Frank also now has 52 stolen bases in his career, solidifying his hold on the No. 5 mark on MSU's career stolen bases list.
The Spartans got on the board in their opening at bat scoring two runs without a hit, taking advantage of three walks to N.Wiliams, Ziegler and McKay in successive order. Senior catcher Sam Thompson then reached on an error that allowed N.Williams and Ziegler to come in to score.
EMU cut the MSU lead in half with a run in the top of the second stanza on an RBI double, but Brewer got out of the jam with a snazzy double play by his defense behind him, started by Seymour with a nice stop, flipping to McKay at second for a quick turn and fire to Busch at first to complete the 6-4-3 two-outs, one-play.
Michigan State plated three in the second on an RBI fielder's choice by Kark, preceding back-to-back RBI singles by Ziegler and McKay, respectively for a 5-1 advantage after two frames of action.
Eastern Michigan went ahead with a run in third before four in the fourth on a grand slam home run for a 6-5 lead.
The Spartans tied it up in the sixth on an RBI single by Kark, plating Seymour from second, who reached by getting hit by a pitch to lead off the stanza, and moved to second on a groundout.
MSU tallied three runs on just one hit in the seventh, loading the bases on walks by EMU pitchers, before Frank drew another free pass to bring Bright in to score. Kark followed with an RBI single, preceding a sac fly by N.Williams to put the home team ahead at 8-5, and MSU had the bases loaded when a fielder's choice ended the Spartan rally and the inning.
The Eagles rallied in the eighth scoring two runs, the second on an RBI double, before Higgins rang up a strikeout and a groundout to snuff out the comeback.
Higgins then worked around a two-out single, chalking up a strikeout to seal the Victory for MSU.
The Spartans now turn their attention to a Big Ten Conference weekend showdown with Nebraska to close out the regular-season. MSU is currently tied for seventh in the B1G standings, needing to finish in the top eight to qualify for the Big Ten Tournament next week in Omaha, while the Huskers enter the week in second-place, just a game back from the top spot.
"Everybody knows what's at stake for us this weekend and we're kind of in very much the same position as a year ago with Indiana coming into town. I think the guys have done a nice job bouncing back from a tough day and the next day giving ourselves a chance to win, which we actually did at Minnesota after giving up 21 runs on Saturday and came back and lost a heart-breaker, having led for the majority of the game [Sunday]. We bounced back from that pretty quick and bounced back from a loss today. We'll be ready to go this weekend. We need to play well; Nebraska's really talented, they're playing for a championship this weekend and so we need to be ready to go.
Two of this weekend's three Michigan State baseball games against Nebraska have had time changes after the Big Ten Conference announced that Friday and Saturday's games will be nationally televised on Big Ten Network.
The series opens on Thursday, May 16 at 6:05 p.m. ET. Game two of the weekend on Friday, May 17 will now start at 5 p.m. ET. The series finale and MSU's regular-season finale on Saturday, May 18 will now start at 12 p.m. ET.
Saturday is also MSU's Senior Day as the Spartans will honor their senior players and managers in a pre-game ceremony. Fans are encouraged to arrive early to join in the celebration.
Friday is MSU's 517 Night, celebrating the greater Lansing community and connecting local non-profits, organizations, and businesses with fans. An exclusive 517 Spartan Baseball sticker will be available to fans while supplies last.
The Spartans will also be recognizing organ donor awareness on Friday, celebrating MSU assistant coach/pitching coach Mark Van Ameyde and MSU's Team Impact Kid, Andrew.
Van Ameyde had a kidney transplant on March 20 and rejoined the team on April 27, while Andrew had a heart transplant in late December and joined the Spartans in West Lafayette for the Purdue series.
It is also Fan Appreciation Weekend the entire weekend, as Spartan Baseball thanks their fans for their support throughout the regular season.
Fans can visit https://sprtns.co/MSUBSBTix to purchase tickets to Spartan baseball games, or visit https://sprtns.co/24BSBPromoSched for complete promotion information.
For those fans that can't make it in person, they can follow this week's MSU baseball action with "Watch Live," "Listen Live" and "Live Stats" links at MSUSpartans.com.
Michigan State's schedule is subject to change, stay tuned to MSUSpartans.com and @MSUBaseball on X/Twitter for schedule updates.
Tuesday was MSU's final non-conference midweek contest of the 2024 regular season, as well as the opener of a four-game homestand to wrap up regular-season action.
With the win, Michigan State is now 23-25 overall, while Eastern Michigan is 14-35.
The Spartans beat the Eagles for the fifth-straight meeting and the 11th time in last 14 meetings, moving to 101-61-1 all-time against EMU. Tuesday's 1-run ballgame was the third-straight meeting decided by a run and sieve of the last eight match-ups between the Spartans and Eagles have been decided by two runs or less. The Spartan triumph also secured the home team with a victory in eight of the last 10 meetings played on campus.
MSU head coach Jake Boss Jr. was head coach at EMU for one season (2008), and is now 18-7 as head coach in the MSU-EMU series. Boss was also an assistant for the Eagles (1997-2004), and has been involved with many Spartans-Eagles battles.
"Every win's a good one and we knew Eastern Michigan was going to be highly-motivated," Boss said. "I've been in that dugout, I worked there for a long time, I know what it's like over there to come in and play at a place like Michigan State or any other power-five school. We knew we were going to get a really good effort out of those guys and they're young, they've had their ups and downs but he's (EMU head coach Robbie Britt) going to do a good job with that program. We knew we had to be ready to go tonight but unfortunately it wasn't pretty, but they don't have to be pretty, you just have to score one more than they do. So we found a way to get that done."
Both teams used six pitchers apiece in the three-hour, 50-minute ballgame, with Spartan redshirt-sophomore reliever Aidan Arbaugh earning the win after going 3.0 IP of solid relief, striking out three while only allowing one hit an no runs. Arbaugh earned his first win since April 27, 2022 against Purdue Fort Wayne, after missing the 2023 season with an injury.
Sophomore Nolan Higgins closed out the final 2.0 IP with three Ks and only two hits without a run to pick up his second save of the season.
VICTORY FOR MSU!!!!
— Michigan State Baseball (@MSUBaseball) May 15, 2024
High fives and handshakes allllll around!!
Final score from McLane Stadium at Kobs Field:
Michigan State 9, Eastern Michigan 8
Higgins rings up the strikeout to end it!!#VictoryForMSU pic.twitter.com/VlePyrL9p6
"I'm happy for Aidan Arbaugh, it's been a long time since he's pitched that much. I thought he really pitched well tonight and Nolan Higgins has had his struggles too, but I thought he was really good tonight too," Boss said.
Freshman Garrett Brewer made his first start for the Green & White, going 2.0 IP with two Ks. Freshman Gavin Moczydlowsky, senior Nick Ferazzi and freshman Logan Pikur also got action on the mound.
Pitchers are fielders too!!
— Michigan State Baseball (@MSUBaseball) May 14, 2024
Moczydlowsky fields position and takes it himself, out-running EMU runner to the bag to end the inning!!#GoGreen | @MuzzyGavin pic.twitter.com/1QnCTi4iXL
At the plate, sophomore infielder Randy Seymour was 2-for-3 and scored three runs, knocking the Spartans' lone extra-base hit, a double. Senior infielder Dillon Kark was 2-for-6 with three RBI and a run scored. Fellow seniors, outfielders Jack Frank and Greg Ziegler, along with freshman infielder Ryan McKay all had a hit apiece. Frank, Ziegler and McKay, in addition to junior outfielder Nick Williams each registered one RBI, while N.Williams, Ziegler and junior catcher Noah Bright scored a run apiece, while junior infielder Sam Busch touched home twice after reaching base by drawing a pair of walks.
Frank also swiped one stolen base, his 19th of the season, which ties his single-season personal best, matching 19 swipes from last season, and tied for No. 17 on MSU's single-season stolen base list, needing one more to tie former teammate Mitch Jebb, along with Chuck Fawcett (1932) and Jeff Holm (2011) for the No. 14 spot. Frank also now has 52 stolen bases in his career, solidifying his hold on the No. 5 mark on MSU's career stolen bases list.
The Spartans got on the board in their opening at bat scoring two runs without a hit, taking advantage of three walks to N.Wiliams, Ziegler and McKay in successive order. Senior catcher Sam Thompson then reached on an error that allowed N.Williams and Ziegler to come in to score.
EMU cut the MSU lead in half with a run in the top of the second stanza on an RBI double, but Brewer got out of the jam with a snazzy double play by his defense behind him, started by Seymour with a nice stop, flipping to McKay at second for a quick turn and fire to Busch at first to complete the 6-4-3 two-outs, one-play.
Double play!! A pitcher's best friend!!
— Michigan State Baseball (@MSUBaseball) May 14, 2024
Brewer induces a nifty 6-4-3 double play as Seymour flashes the leather w/ nice stop, flips to McKay at 2B and on to Busch at 1B!!
Mid 2nd |
EMU 1
MSU 2#GoGreen | @GarrettBrewer08 | @RandySeymour14 | @Ryanmckay51 | @Samwbusch pic.twitter.com/N7fPTbT1HN
Michigan State plated three in the second on an RBI fielder's choice by Kark, preceding back-to-back RBI singles by Ziegler and McKay, respectively for a 5-1 advantage after two frames of action.
End 2nd |
— Michigan State Baseball (@MSUBaseball) May 14, 2024
EMU 1
MSU 5
Spartans plate 3 runs in frame, boosted by back-to-back RBI singles by Ziegler and McKay.
Brewer back to bump for T3rd.#GoGreen | @GKZ27 | @Ryanmckay51 pic.twitter.com/juYCoIBzZ9
Eastern Michigan went ahead with a run in third before four in the fourth on a grand slam home run for a 6-5 lead.
The Spartans tied it up in the sixth on an RBI single by Kark, plating Seymour from second, who reached by getting hit by a pitch to lead off the stanza, and moved to second on a groundout.
MSU tallied three runs on just one hit in the seventh, loading the bases on walks by EMU pitchers, before Frank drew another free pass to bring Bright in to score. Kark followed with an RBI single, preceding a sac fly by N.Williams to put the home team ahead at 8-5, and MSU had the bases loaded when a fielder's choice ended the Spartan rally and the inning.
The Eagles rallied in the eighth scoring two runs, the second on an RBI double, before Higgins rang up a strikeout and a groundout to snuff out the comeback.
Higgins then worked around a two-out single, chalking up a strikeout to seal the Victory for MSU.
The Spartans now turn their attention to a Big Ten Conference weekend showdown with Nebraska to close out the regular-season. MSU is currently tied for seventh in the B1G standings, needing to finish in the top eight to qualify for the Big Ten Tournament next week in Omaha, while the Huskers enter the week in second-place, just a game back from the top spot.
"Everybody knows what's at stake for us this weekend and we're kind of in very much the same position as a year ago with Indiana coming into town. I think the guys have done a nice job bouncing back from a tough day and the next day giving ourselves a chance to win, which we actually did at Minnesota after giving up 21 runs on Saturday and came back and lost a heart-breaker, having led for the majority of the game [Sunday]. We bounced back from that pretty quick and bounced back from a loss today. We'll be ready to go this weekend. We need to play well; Nebraska's really talented, they're playing for a championship this weekend and so we need to be ready to go.
Two of this weekend's three Michigan State baseball games against Nebraska have had time changes after the Big Ten Conference announced that Friday and Saturday's games will be nationally televised on Big Ten Network.
The series opens on Thursday, May 16 at 6:05 p.m. ET. Game two of the weekend on Friday, May 17 will now start at 5 p.m. ET. The series finale and MSU's regular-season finale on Saturday, May 18 will now start at 12 p.m. ET.
Saturday is also MSU's Senior Day as the Spartans will honor their senior players and managers in a pre-game ceremony. Fans are encouraged to arrive early to join in the celebration.
Friday is MSU's 517 Night, celebrating the greater Lansing community and connecting local non-profits, organizations, and businesses with fans. An exclusive 517 Spartan Baseball sticker will be available to fans while supplies last.
The Spartans will also be recognizing organ donor awareness on Friday, celebrating MSU assistant coach/pitching coach Mark Van Ameyde and MSU's Team Impact Kid, Andrew.
Van Ameyde had a kidney transplant on March 20 and rejoined the team on April 27, while Andrew had a heart transplant in late December and joined the Spartans in West Lafayette for the Purdue series.
It is also Fan Appreciation Weekend the entire weekend, as Spartan Baseball thanks their fans for their support throughout the regular season.
Fans can visit https://sprtns.co/MSUBSBTix to purchase tickets to Spartan baseball games, or visit https://sprtns.co/24BSBPromoSched for complete promotion information.
For those fans that can't make it in person, they can follow this week's MSU baseball action with "Watch Live," "Listen Live" and "Live Stats" links at MSUSpartans.com.
Michigan State's schedule is subject to change, stay tuned to MSUSpartans.com and @MSUBaseball on X/Twitter for schedule updates.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Arbaugh, Aidan (1-0)
L: KREUZER, Niko (0-2)
S: Higgins, Nolan (2)
Batting:
2B: MILLER, Glenn 2 ; KLEIMAN, Brendan 1
HR: MILLER, Glenn 1 ; HUGO, Logan 1
RBI: MILLER, Glenn 2 ; KLEIMAN, Brendan 1 ; HUGO, Logan 4
Base Running:
RUNS: MILLER, Glenn 1 ; TAYLOR, Cory 1 ; ZUCCARO, Giano 1 ; KLEIMAN, Brendan 1 ; SCHROEDLE, Kyle 2 ; HUGO, Logan 2
CS: MCRAE, Blake 1
HBP: JOHNSON, Lucas 1
Batting:
2B: Seymour, Randy 1
RBI: Frank, Jack 1 ; Kark, Dillon 3 ; Williams, Nick 1 ; Ziegler, Greg 1 ; McKay, Ryan 1
SF: Williams, Nick 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Kark, Dillon 1 ; Williams, Nick 1 ; Ziegler, Greg 1 ; Bright, Noah 1 ; Busch, Sam 2 ; Seymour, Randy 3
SB: Frank, Jack 1 ; Dresselhouse, Jake 1
CS: Dresselhouse, Jake 1
HBP: Seymour, Randy 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
6
R
1
H
2
RBI
3
AB
3
R
3
H
2
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
1
AB
2
R
1
H
1
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
LHP/OF
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LHP
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RHP
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/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
INF
/ BaseballINF
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ BaseballINF
/ Baseball
C
/ Baseball
OF
/ BaseballOF
/ BaseballPursuit to Greatness | Spartans All-Access
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