Saturday, May 18
McLane Stadium at Kobs Field | East Lansing, Mich.
12:02 PM
Michigan State University
24-27, 11-13
11
vs
6
Nebraska
34-19, 16-8
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5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Nebraska
0
0
0
0
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4
2
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6
11
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Michigan State
2
2
0
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0
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X
11
14
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Photo by: MSU Baseball Social Squad
Spartans Stop Huskers Saturday For 11-6 Victory For MSU On Spartan Senior Day
5/18/2024 4:46:00 PM | Baseball
MSU sends seniors out in winning style.
EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Michigan State baseball honored its seniors in a pre-game ceremony, then got significant contributions from them in their final game as Spartans on the way to an 11-6 Victory for MSU over Nebraska Saturday afternoon at a sun-drenched McLane Stadium at Kobs Field.
MSU honored the nine 2024 spartan seniors making their final appearance at McLane Stadium at Kobs Field: Harrison Cook, Jack Frank, Dillon Kark, Nick Powers, Sam Thompson, Greg Ziegler, along with student managers Jack Behan, Olivia Hans, George Hunt, Chloe Lanning and Ava Woodruff.
"I just told our guys, the seniors especially, their task when they get here is to leave the program in a better place than they found it and I think they did just that," MSU head coach Jake Boss Jr. said. "If you measure our year by wins and losses, it's a disappointing year. Obviously we want to play in the tournament. You can go back and look at games we lost but we should have won, when you miss the tournament by one game there's a lot of frustration there. At the same time, if you look at the leadership the seniors have given us this year, the culture of our program is much better now than when they were here as freshman. They really took over the leadership role and I stepped out of the way and let them do it. They were fantastic."
All six of the Spartan senior players were major contributors on the field all season, as well as off the field and in the locker room.
"Hopefully the culture they created leads to more success next year. I told our younger guys, 'If you weren't paying attention how those six guys led our ball club, then you just wasted a year.' We'll find out next fall. Some guys will go play summer ball, a lot of guys got some things to work on and get better," Boss said. "We're going to get on the recruiting trail, into the transfer portal and try to make ourselves better. The culture of the program is really good right now as a result of the six seniors."
Michigan State finishes the 2024 season 24-27 overall and 11-13 in B1G action, missing the Big Ten Tournament by one game. The Spartans denied the Huskers from a chance at the regular-season title, as Nebraska could have tied Illinois for the regular-season crown with a win at the time, before the Illini secured the title outright with a win at Purdue later Saturday evening. Nebraska ends regular-season action with a 34-19 record and 16-8 in B1G play, and will be the No. 2 seed for next week's B1G Tournament that opens Tuesday in Omaha, Neb.
MSU rapped out 14 hits on the day in scoring runs in five of the eight innings in which they batted and scoring multiple runs each time.
The Spartans' 11 runs was the most scored on the Huskers by the home team in a Nebraska B1G road game, while matching the most runs scored on them by a B1G opponent overall, matching 11 scored by Maryland on April 20.
"We sung the bat very well, right from the get-go," Boss said about the unsureness of how the seniors would respond after an emotional pre-game senior recognition. "It's always an emotional time and I leave it up to the seniors every year on when we want to do senior day and they wanted to do it before the game. It's a great idea and a great decision on their part, however they have to shake those emotions and get ready to play. To their credit they did and we got momentum early and kept adding on; there was times this year where we scored early and went dry. Today we just kept coming at you and that's the goal of our offense."
The Spartans jumped out to a 4-0 lead after two frames with two runs in each of the opening two innings, adding two more in the fourth for a 6-0 advantage. After the Huskers closed to 6-4 with a four-run top of the sixth, MSU responded with two runs in the home half of the stanza to make it 8-4. Nebraska countered with two runs in the top of the seventh, before Michigan State countered back with three runs after the stretch for an 11-6 lead and neither team scored in the final two innings.
Senior outfielder Jack Frank went 4-for-5 with three RBI and two runs scored, matching his jersey number with his 21st multi-hit game, as well as his fourth game with four or more hits. Frank finishes the season with a .373 overall average as well as hitting .439 in B1G only games, which was tops in the league.
"I just try to do the same thing every day," Frank said about his outstanding individual performance in his final game as a Spartan. "Stick to my approach, stick to the things I'm good at. Like I said in the past, I've played a long time, so I know what I want to do ultimately. Today was a good day for me personally. The game was back and forth, we did a good job scoring runs, it was great to see [Nick] Powers throw well. At the end of the day it was fun, but it was great to see everyone else succeed too.
Frank also made two amazing catches in right field, perfectly navigating the hill along with fence that he's known so well in his five years as a Spartan.
"It's been the best five years I could ask for. I'll try not to get emotional again, but I told the guys earlier, there's nothing I'll change about it. I had the best time here; I love playing baseball here and representing Michigan State. It was a lot of fun. It was good to see the other fifth years and seniors, just play well and do well that I know they can do. It felt good to go out and get a victory on top of that," Frank said.
Spartan senior southpaw starter Nick Powers went 6.0 IP with six strikeouts, his eighth game this season with five or more Ks, scattering five hits in yielding four runs, ending with a 7-4 record. Powers didn't yield a hit to Nebraska, nor allow a runner past first through the first three frames.
"Senior Day is a big day obviously. I been looking forward to this day for four years now; now that it's actually here, its surreal," Powers said. "Being able to pitch my final game in a Spartan uniform on Senior Day is something that meant a lot to me. I just went into it like I had nothing to lose, just make pitches when I can and I know the team behind me was going to back me up."
Frank's two catches were part of a handful of leather-flashing plays the defense made behind him, including being part of a rare 3-5-1 double play.
The solid pitching and defensive play behind him left a lasting image on Powers, capping off an emotional Senior Day.
"It feels absolutely amazing," Powers said. "I've had a couple rough outings in the last few weeks so going out on top here on Senior Day made it all worth it. There was a lot of ups and downs throughout the season, I had my share of ups and downs. Just being able to come out on top on Senior Day is the icing on the cake."
Senior infielder Dillon Kark was 2-for-4 with an RBI and run scored, while senior outfielder Greg Ziegler was 2-for-5 with three ribbies. Senior catcher Sam Thompson drew two walks and scored a run in three at bats, while catching and navigating Powers and reliever Aaron Mishoulam, who went 3.0 IP in tallying four Ks while spraying six hits and yielding two runs and one walk.
Redshirt-sophomore infielder Jacob Anderson was 3-for-5 with two runs scored and an RBI, while classmate and fellow infielder, Randy Seymour was 2-for-4 with three runs score and an RBI. Freshman infielder Ryan McKay was 1-for-5. Junior designated hitter Christian Williams scored two runs after getting on base after getting hit by a pitch both times.
Frank made a smashing start to the Spartan line-up, leading off the bottom of the first with a double to left. Kark followed by getting hit by a pitch to set up Ziegler with a two-run double to the left-center gap to get the Spartans on the board in their first at bat.
The Spartan senior trio at the top of their line-up came through again in the third. After Anderson sparked the rally with a one-out single, Seymour reached on a fielder's choice that erased Anderson from the basepaths, but Frank laded a two-out single to left center and Seymour scampered around to third. Kark then smacked a hot shot to his counterpart at the hot corner for an infield single to drive in Seymour. Nebraska starting pitcher Jackson Brockett tried to pick Kark off at first, but an errant throw went down the right field line, allowing Frank to score an unearned run and a 4-0 Spartan lead.
C.Williams led off the fourth by getting plunked by a pitch and Anderson doubled down the left-field line and Williams motored around from first to home to score.
Frank later drove Anderson on an RBI groundout, the only time Frank was retired all day, and putting the home team on top, 6-0.
The Huskers rallied with four runs on four hits in the top of the sixth, before Powers rang up a strikeout on his final official pitch in a Spartan uniform to end the stanza, walking off to a great applause from the Spartan faithful.
The score didn't stay 6-4 for very long, as Anderson led off the home half of the sixth stanza with a single through the left side, and Seymour laded down a textbook bunt down the third base line. Frank followed with a single through the right to plate Anderson. After a Husker pitching change and a pop up out, Ziegler singled to left to score Seymour to regain a cushion for the Spartans at 8-4.
Nebraska tallied two runs in the top of the seventh, but the Spartans rallied with three of their own after the final seventh inning stretch of the season.
Thompson drew a walk to spark the rally and C.Williams was hit again. A wild pitch and a Husker error on the play allowed Thompson to score, and two batters later, Seymour smacked a double down the line to drive in C.Williams. Following another Nebraska pitching change, as they used eight pitchers on the day, Frank roped a double to right center to score Seymour for an 11-6 lead.
Mishoulam locked down the eighth and ninth to secure the Spartan Senior Day Victory for MSU.
MSU honored the nine 2024 spartan seniors making their final appearance at McLane Stadium at Kobs Field: Harrison Cook, Jack Frank, Dillon Kark, Nick Powers, Sam Thompson, Greg Ziegler, along with student managers Jack Behan, Olivia Hans, George Hunt, Chloe Lanning and Ava Woodruff.
"I just told our guys, the seniors especially, their task when they get here is to leave the program in a better place than they found it and I think they did just that," MSU head coach Jake Boss Jr. said. "If you measure our year by wins and losses, it's a disappointing year. Obviously we want to play in the tournament. You can go back and look at games we lost but we should have won, when you miss the tournament by one game there's a lot of frustration there. At the same time, if you look at the leadership the seniors have given us this year, the culture of our program is much better now than when they were here as freshman. They really took over the leadership role and I stepped out of the way and let them do it. They were fantastic."
SPARTAN SENIOR DAY VICTORY FOR MSU!!!!!
— Michigan State Baseball (@MSUBaseball) May 18, 2024
MSU sends the 6 seniors out in winning style!
High fives, handshakes & hugs allllll around!!!
Final score:
Michigan State 11, Nebraska 6#VictoryForMSU pic.twitter.com/tMavHAOaHJ
All six of the Spartan senior players were major contributors on the field all season, as well as off the field and in the locker room.
"Hopefully the culture they created leads to more success next year. I told our younger guys, 'If you weren't paying attention how those six guys led our ball club, then you just wasted a year.' We'll find out next fall. Some guys will go play summer ball, a lot of guys got some things to work on and get better," Boss said. "We're going to get on the recruiting trail, into the transfer portal and try to make ourselves better. The culture of the program is really good right now as a result of the six seniors."
Michigan State finishes the 2024 season 24-27 overall and 11-13 in B1G action, missing the Big Ten Tournament by one game. The Spartans denied the Huskers from a chance at the regular-season title, as Nebraska could have tied Illinois for the regular-season crown with a win at the time, before the Illini secured the title outright with a win at Purdue later Saturday evening. Nebraska ends regular-season action with a 34-19 record and 16-8 in B1G play, and will be the No. 2 seed for next week's B1G Tournament that opens Tuesday in Omaha, Neb.
MSU rapped out 14 hits on the day in scoring runs in five of the eight innings in which they batted and scoring multiple runs each time.
The Spartans' 11 runs was the most scored on the Huskers by the home team in a Nebraska B1G road game, while matching the most runs scored on them by a B1G opponent overall, matching 11 scored by Maryland on April 20.
"We sung the bat very well, right from the get-go," Boss said about the unsureness of how the seniors would respond after an emotional pre-game senior recognition. "It's always an emotional time and I leave it up to the seniors every year on when we want to do senior day and they wanted to do it before the game. It's a great idea and a great decision on their part, however they have to shake those emotions and get ready to play. To their credit they did and we got momentum early and kept adding on; there was times this year where we scored early and went dry. Today we just kept coming at you and that's the goal of our offense."
The Spartans jumped out to a 4-0 lead after two frames with two runs in each of the opening two innings, adding two more in the fourth for a 6-0 advantage. After the Huskers closed to 6-4 with a four-run top of the sixth, MSU responded with two runs in the home half of the stanza to make it 8-4. Nebraska countered with two runs in the top of the seventh, before Michigan State countered back with three runs after the stretch for an 11-6 lead and neither team scored in the final two innings.
Senior outfielder Jack Frank went 4-for-5 with three RBI and two runs scored, matching his jersey number with his 21st multi-hit game, as well as his fourth game with four or more hits. Frank finishes the season with a .373 overall average as well as hitting .439 in B1G only games, which was tops in the league.
A Spartan Senior Day to remember for Jack Frank in final game in the Green & White!!
— Michigan State Baseball (@MSUBaseball) May 18, 2024
• Matches jersey number w/ 21st multi-hit game
• 4th 4-hit game
• 2 doubles, 2 singles
• 3 RBI / 2 R
• 2 sweeeeet catches
👏👏👏#GoGreen | #SpartanSeniorDay | @JackF_22 pic.twitter.com/q453g51lP9
"I just try to do the same thing every day," Frank said about his outstanding individual performance in his final game as a Spartan. "Stick to my approach, stick to the things I'm good at. Like I said in the past, I've played a long time, so I know what I want to do ultimately. Today was a good day for me personally. The game was back and forth, we did a good job scoring runs, it was great to see [Nick] Powers throw well. At the end of the day it was fun, but it was great to see everyone else succeed too.
Frank also made two amazing catches in right field, perfectly navigating the hill along with fence that he's known so well in his five years as a Spartan.
Spartan Senior Day would be a pretty good day to have @B1Gbaseball on the #SCTop10...
— Michigan State Baseball (@MSUBaseball) May 18, 2024
And Jack Frank is saying Hey... yeah it should!
...with not 1 but 2 "Say Hey, Willie Mays" catches on hill in right center!!#GoGreen | #SpartanSeniorDay | @ESPNAssignDesk pic.twitter.com/X6mxBSr0wc
"It's been the best five years I could ask for. I'll try not to get emotional again, but I told the guys earlier, there's nothing I'll change about it. I had the best time here; I love playing baseball here and representing Michigan State. It was a lot of fun. It was good to see the other fifth years and seniors, just play well and do well that I know they can do. It felt good to go out and get a victory on top of that," Frank said.
Spartan senior southpaw starter Nick Powers went 6.0 IP with six strikeouts, his eighth game this season with five or more Ks, scattering five hits in yielding four runs, ending with a 7-4 record. Powers didn't yield a hit to Nebraska, nor allow a runner past first through the first three frames.
Powers-ful strikeout!!
— Michigan State Baseball (@MSUBaseball) May 18, 2024
Nick Powers rings up a strikeout to end the third frame.
NEB 0
MSU 0#GoGreen | #SpartanSeniorDay | @Nick_Powers22 pic.twitter.com/2M1KuNXn20
"Senior Day is a big day obviously. I been looking forward to this day for four years now; now that it's actually here, its surreal," Powers said. "Being able to pitch my final game in a Spartan uniform on Senior Day is something that meant a lot to me. I just went into it like I had nothing to lose, just make pitches when I can and I know the team behind me was going to back me up."
Frank's two catches were part of a handful of leather-flashing plays the defense made behind him, including being part of a rare 3-5-1 double play.
If ya had a 3-5-1 double play on your bingo card... ya can cross that one off!! ✅
— Michigan State Baseball (@MSUBaseball) May 18, 2024
Anderson to Kark covering 2nd w/ shift and to Powers at 1st for PFP drill perfect execution!!
Mid 4th |
NEB 0
MSU 4#GoGreen | #SpartanSeniorDay | @jacobdanderson5 | @KarkDillon | @Nick_Powers22 pic.twitter.com/CnJQsiD4XT
The solid pitching and defensive play behind him left a lasting image on Powers, capping off an emotional Senior Day.
"It feels absolutely amazing," Powers said. "I've had a couple rough outings in the last few weeks so going out on top here on Senior Day made it all worth it. There was a lot of ups and downs throughout the season, I had my share of ups and downs. Just being able to come out on top on Senior Day is the icing on the cake."
Senior infielder Dillon Kark was 2-for-4 with an RBI and run scored, while senior outfielder Greg Ziegler was 2-for-5 with three ribbies. Senior catcher Sam Thompson drew two walks and scored a run in three at bats, while catching and navigating Powers and reliever Aaron Mishoulam, who went 3.0 IP in tallying four Ks while spraying six hits and yielding two runs and one walk.
Redshirt-sophomore infielder Jacob Anderson was 3-for-5 with two runs scored and an RBI, while classmate and fellow infielder, Randy Seymour was 2-for-4 with three runs score and an RBI. Freshman infielder Ryan McKay was 1-for-5. Junior designated hitter Christian Williams scored two runs after getting on base after getting hit by a pitch both times.
Frank made a smashing start to the Spartan line-up, leading off the bottom of the first with a double to left. Kark followed by getting hit by a pitch to set up Ziegler with a two-run double to the left-center gap to get the Spartans on the board in their first at bat.
Senior Day barrel for 2 ribbies!!
— Michigan State Baseball (@MSUBaseball) May 18, 2024
Greg Ziegler gets bat to ball for a 2-run double to the LC gap, driving in fellow seniors Jack Frank & Dillon Kark!!
NEB 0
MSU 2
End 1st#GoGreen | #SpartanSeniorDay | @GKZ27 | @JackF_22 | @KarkDillon pic.twitter.com/jwY5Vhcy6y
The Spartan senior trio at the top of their line-up came through again in the third. After Anderson sparked the rally with a one-out single, Seymour reached on a fielder's choice that erased Anderson from the basepaths, but Frank laded a two-out single to left center and Seymour scampered around to third. Kark then smacked a hot shot to his counterpart at the hot corner for an infield single to drive in Seymour. Nebraska starting pitcher Jackson Brockett tried to pick Kark off at first, but an errant throw went down the right field line, allowing Frank to score an unearned run and a 4-0 Spartan lead.
C.Williams led off the fourth by getting plunked by a pitch and Anderson doubled down the left-field line and Williams motored around from first to home to score.
Anderson ropes an RBI double!!
— Michigan State Baseball (@MSUBaseball) May 18, 2024
Jacob Anderson with an RBI double, driving in Christian Williams and it's a 5-0 Spartan lead!!#GoGreen | @jacobdanderson5 pic.twitter.com/nQ3ayniiTe
Frank later drove Anderson on an RBI groundout, the only time Frank was retired all day, and putting the home team on top, 6-0.
The Huskers rallied with four runs on four hits in the top of the sixth, before Powers rang up a strikeout on his final official pitch in a Spartan uniform to end the stanza, walking off to a great applause from the Spartan faithful.
The score didn't stay 6-4 for very long, as Anderson led off the home half of the sixth stanza with a single through the left side, and Seymour laded down a textbook bunt down the third base line. Frank followed with a single through the right to plate Anderson. After a Husker pitching change and a pop up out, Ziegler singled to left to score Seymour to regain a cushion for the Spartans at 8-4.
Nebraska tallied two runs in the top of the seventh, but the Spartans rallied with three of their own after the final seventh inning stretch of the season.
Thompson drew a walk to spark the rally and C.Williams was hit again. A wild pitch and a Husker error on the play allowed Thompson to score, and two batters later, Seymour smacked a double down the line to drive in C.Williams. Following another Nebraska pitching change, as they used eight pitchers on the day, Frank roped a double to right center to score Seymour for an 11-6 lead.
Mishoulam locked down the eighth and ninth to secure the Spartan Senior Day Victory for MSU.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Powers, Nick (7-4)
L: Brockett, Jackson (2-1)
S: Mishoulam, Aaron (4)
Batting:
2B: Carey, Dylan 1
RBI: Sanderson, Case 1 ; Stone, Tyler 1 ; Carey, Dylan 2 ; Swansen, Gabe 1
SF: Stone, Tyler 1 ; Swansen, Gabe 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Brumbaugh, Cayden 1 ; Sanderson, Case 1 ; Stone, Tyler 1 ; Jesske, Will 1 ; Carey, Dylan 1 ; Evans, Cole 1
CS: Sanderson, Case 1
HBP: Silva, Riley 1
Batting:
2B: Frank, Jack 2 ; Ziegler, Greg 1 ; Anderson, Jacob 1 ; Seymour, Randy 1
RBI: Frank, Jack 3 ; Kark, Dillon 1 ; Ziegler, Greg 3 ; Anderson, Jacob 1 ; Seymour, Randy 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Frank, Jack 2 ; Kark, Dillon 1 ; Thompson, Sam 1 ; Williams, Christian 2 ; Anderson, Jacob 2 ; Seymour, Randy 3
SB: Williams, Nick 1
HBP: Kark, Dillon 1 ; Williams, Christian 2
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
5
R
2
H
4
RBI
3
AB
5
R
2
H
3
RBI
1
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
AB
5
R
0
H
2
RBI
3
Players Mentioned
INF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ BaseballOF
/ BaseballINF
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
LHP
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
C
/ Baseball
C
/ BaseballOF
/ 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