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Western Michigan
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Photo by: MSU Baseball Social Squad
MSU Baseball Beaten On Walk-Off By WMU Wednesday In 12-Inning Battle
5/7/2025 10:29:00 PM | Baseball
Spartans and Broncos go back-and-forth in MSU’s final midweek match-up.
KALAMAZOO, Mich. -- Michigan State baseball scored a run in the top of the 12th inning, only to have Western Michigan counter with two in the 12th in the 6-5 final score on a walk-off since to complete a back-and-forth battle at WMU's Robert J. Bobb Stadium at Hyames Field.
Wednesday was MSU's final midweek match-up, as the Spartans have six Big Ten Conference games left. Michigan State heads to Los Angeles this weekend for a three-game series at No. 25 USC, Friday-Sunday, May 9-11, in the first-ever meeting between the Spartans and Trojans. Michigan State hosts Minnesota next Thursday-Saturday, May 15-17 in the last three games of the regular-season.
With Wednesday's result, the Spartans are now 25-22 overall, while Western Michigan moves to 18-27, winning its last six in a row and eight of the last nine.
MSU was meeting WMU for the fourth time this season, finishing 3-1 in the season series, and the Spartans had their nine-game winning streak over the Broncos snapped. With the one-run outcome, a total of 15 of the last 22 match-ups between MSU and WMU were decided by three runs or less, now including eight one-run decisions after Wednesday.
The 12-inning contest was MSU's longest game of the season, and was the fourth extra-inning game this season, as the previous three all went 11 innings. It was the Spartans' first 12-inning game since a year ago, nearly to the day, last going a dozen frames on May 5, 2024 and it was also against an in-state opponent in Michigan, being downed in that one as well.
Michigan State scored its five runs on six hits, plating one run in the sixth, then three in the seventh and one in the top of the 12th. Western Michigan tallied its six runs on nine hits, and scored its runs in pairs, taking a 2-0 lead in the fifth, then plating a pair in the ninth to force extras and then the two in the 12th for the walk-off.
Senior Will Shannon belted a three-run pinch-hit home run in the seventh, his third pinch-hit homer of the season, with four total round-trippers.
Shannon's HR was MSU's 46th home run of the season, tying the 2024 squad for No. 11 on MSU's single-season team HR list, needing one more to tie for No. 9 with the 1987 and 2017 teams with 47 homers.
Sophomore outfielder Parker Picot was the lone Spartan with multiple hits, going 2-for-5 with a run scored. Senior infielder Jacob Anderson was 1-for-2 with a bunt single in the 12th and later scored. Graduate designated hitter Caleb Berry was 1-for-4 with an RBI on a bases-loaded walk, while senior outfielder Nick Williams was 1-for-6.
Sophomore infielder Ryan McKay drove Anderson in to score in the 12th, knocking a hard-hit ball to first that the WMU first baseman misplayed for an error, and he also reached on a Bronco error in the sixth and later scored when Berry drew his bases-loaded walk. Senior outfielder JT Sokolove also reached on a WMU error on a sac bunt, and later scored on Shannon's homer.
On the bump, sophomore starting pitcher Logan Pikur fired a career-high five strikeouts in 3.0 IP, allowing just two hits. Out of the bullpen came graduate Zach Maxey (2.0 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 1 K), graduate George Viebrock III (3.1 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 3 K), redshirt-junior Ryan Szczpaniak (0.0 IP), junior Tommy Szczepanski (0.2 IP, 1 K), sophomore Gavin Moczydlowsky (2.1 IP, 0 H, 2 R, 2 K) and sophomore Josh Klug (0.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R).
The first four frames of the game were scoreless, before the Broncos got on the board with two runs in the home half of the fifth. WMU could have had more, but N.Williams made an amazing diving catch in the left-center gap, keeping it 2-0.
It was significant to keep it 2-0, as the Spartans made it 2-1 in the top of the sixth, as McKay reached on a one-out error, and N.Williams later reached on a single, and WMU intentionally walked senior infielder Sam Busch to load the bases. Berry then drew an RBI walk to bring McKay in for the Spartans' first run of the day.
That brought senior catcher Noah Bright to bat, and after a lengthy back-and-forth battle with WMU pitcher Zach Vriesenga, Bright was called out due to clock violation on a controversial call, ending MSU's rally with the bases full of Spartans, leaving the score 2-1.
Picot sparked the Spartan rally in the top of the seventh by leading off with a single up the middle. Sokolove followed by laying down a sac bunt that was fielded by WMU's pitcher, but the throw was off the mark and Sokolove was safe, while Picot advanced to second. That brought Shannon's pinch-hit heroics with his three-run homer to center field to give the Spartans a 4-2 lead.
That remained the score until the bottom of the ninth, when WMU tied it up to send the game to extras.
Neither team could push across a run in the 10th or 11th frames.
In the 12th, Anderson laid down a 1-out bunt down the third base line for a single. He moved up to second on a wild pitch, and scored on McKay's play and WMU error for the 5-4 MSU lead. However, WMU rallied with two runs in the bottom of the 12th for the walk-off win.
Michigan State now makes the cross-country trek to Los Angeles, to play a B1G weekend series at No. 25 USC, Friday-Sunday, May 9-11, as the Spartans and Trojans are meeting for the first time ever on the baseball diamond.
MSU and USC open action on Friday at 9:32 p.m. ET / 6:32 p.m. PT in game one. Saturday's second game is slated for a 5:02 p.m. ET / 2:02 p.m. PT first pitch. The Spartans and Trojans wrap up their series on Sunday at 4:02 p.m. ET / 1:02 p.m. PT.
Michigan State then wraps up regular-season action against Minnesota in a three-game B1G series, Thursday-Saturday, May 15-17, in which will be MSU Senior Weekend Celebrations, presented by HAP.
The Spartans' schedule is subject to further change, fans can stay tuned to MSUSpartans.com and @MSUBaseball on Twitter for schedule updates, along with follow this weekend's action with "Watch Live," "Listen Live" and "Live Stats" links where available.
Michigan State baseball tickets are available online at msuspartans.evenue.net, by contacting the Spartan Ticket Office at 517-355-1610 or by email at tickets@msu.edu for questions or more information.
Wednesday was MSU's final midweek match-up, as the Spartans have six Big Ten Conference games left. Michigan State heads to Los Angeles this weekend for a three-game series at No. 25 USC, Friday-Sunday, May 9-11, in the first-ever meeting between the Spartans and Trojans. Michigan State hosts Minnesota next Thursday-Saturday, May 15-17 in the last three games of the regular-season.
With Wednesday's result, the Spartans are now 25-22 overall, while Western Michigan moves to 18-27, winning its last six in a row and eight of the last nine.
MSU was meeting WMU for the fourth time this season, finishing 3-1 in the season series, and the Spartans had their nine-game winning streak over the Broncos snapped. With the one-run outcome, a total of 15 of the last 22 match-ups between MSU and WMU were decided by three runs or less, now including eight one-run decisions after Wednesday.
The 12-inning contest was MSU's longest game of the season, and was the fourth extra-inning game this season, as the previous three all went 11 innings. It was the Spartans' first 12-inning game since a year ago, nearly to the day, last going a dozen frames on May 5, 2024 and it was also against an in-state opponent in Michigan, being downed in that one as well.
Michigan State scored its five runs on six hits, plating one run in the sixth, then three in the seventh and one in the top of the 12th. Western Michigan tallied its six runs on nine hits, and scored its runs in pairs, taking a 2-0 lead in the fifth, then plating a pair in the ninth to force extras and then the two in the 12th for the walk-off.
Senior Will Shannon belted a three-run pinch-hit home run in the seventh, his third pinch-hit homer of the season, with four total round-trippers.
Shannon's HR was MSU's 46th home run of the season, tying the 2024 squad for No. 11 on MSU's single-season team HR list, needing one more to tie for No. 9 with the 1987 and 2017 teams with 47 homers.
Sophomore outfielder Parker Picot was the lone Spartan with multiple hits, going 2-for-5 with a run scored. Senior infielder Jacob Anderson was 1-for-2 with a bunt single in the 12th and later scored. Graduate designated hitter Caleb Berry was 1-for-4 with an RBI on a bases-loaded walk, while senior outfielder Nick Williams was 1-for-6.
Sophomore infielder Ryan McKay drove Anderson in to score in the 12th, knocking a hard-hit ball to first that the WMU first baseman misplayed for an error, and he also reached on a Bronco error in the sixth and later scored when Berry drew his bases-loaded walk. Senior outfielder JT Sokolove also reached on a WMU error on a sac bunt, and later scored on Shannon's homer.
On the bump, sophomore starting pitcher Logan Pikur fired a career-high five strikeouts in 3.0 IP, allowing just two hits. Out of the bullpen came graduate Zach Maxey (2.0 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 1 K), graduate George Viebrock III (3.1 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 3 K), redshirt-junior Ryan Szczpaniak (0.0 IP), junior Tommy Szczepanski (0.2 IP, 1 K), sophomore Gavin Moczydlowsky (2.1 IP, 0 H, 2 R, 2 K) and sophomore Josh Klug (0.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R).
The first four frames of the game were scoreless, before the Broncos got on the board with two runs in the home half of the fifth. WMU could have had more, but N.Williams made an amazing diving catch in the left-center gap, keeping it 2-0.
It was significant to keep it 2-0, as the Spartans made it 2-1 in the top of the sixth, as McKay reached on a one-out error, and N.Williams later reached on a single, and WMU intentionally walked senior infielder Sam Busch to load the bases. Berry then drew an RBI walk to bring McKay in for the Spartans' first run of the day.
That brought senior catcher Noah Bright to bat, and after a lengthy back-and-forth battle with WMU pitcher Zach Vriesenga, Bright was called out due to clock violation on a controversial call, ending MSU's rally with the bases full of Spartans, leaving the score 2-1.
Picot sparked the Spartan rally in the top of the seventh by leading off with a single up the middle. Sokolove followed by laying down a sac bunt that was fielded by WMU's pitcher, but the throw was off the mark and Sokolove was safe, while Picot advanced to second. That brought Shannon's pinch-hit heroics with his three-run homer to center field to give the Spartans a 4-2 lead.
That remained the score until the bottom of the ninth, when WMU tied it up to send the game to extras.
Neither team could push across a run in the 10th or 11th frames.
In the 12th, Anderson laid down a 1-out bunt down the third base line for a single. He moved up to second on a wild pitch, and scored on McKay's play and WMU error for the 5-4 MSU lead. However, WMU rallied with two runs in the bottom of the 12th for the walk-off win.
Michigan State now makes the cross-country trek to Los Angeles, to play a B1G weekend series at No. 25 USC, Friday-Sunday, May 9-11, as the Spartans and Trojans are meeting for the first time ever on the baseball diamond.
MSU and USC open action on Friday at 9:32 p.m. ET / 6:32 p.m. PT in game one. Saturday's second game is slated for a 5:02 p.m. ET / 2:02 p.m. PT first pitch. The Spartans and Trojans wrap up their series on Sunday at 4:02 p.m. ET / 1:02 p.m. PT.
Michigan State then wraps up regular-season action against Minnesota in a three-game B1G series, Thursday-Saturday, May 15-17, in which will be MSU Senior Weekend Celebrations, presented by HAP.
The Spartans' schedule is subject to further change, fans can stay tuned to MSUSpartans.com and @MSUBaseball on Twitter for schedule updates, along with follow this weekend's action with "Watch Live," "Listen Live" and "Live Stats" links where available.
Michigan State baseball tickets are available online at msuspartans.evenue.net, by contacting the Spartan Ticket Office at 517-355-1610 or by email at tickets@msu.edu for questions or more information.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: MALONEY, Matt (1-0)
L: Moczydlowsky, Gavin (0-1)
Batting:
HR: Shannon, Will 1
RBI: Berry, Caleb 1 ; Shannon, Will 3
SH: Sokolove, JT 1
Base Running:
RUNS: McKay, Ryan 1 ; Picot, Parker 1 ; Sokolove, JT 1 ; Shannon, Will 1 ; Anderson, Jacob 1
CS: Berry, Caleb 1
HBP: Bright, Noah 1
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Batting:
2B: NEVAR, Dylan 1 ; OSTRANDER, Connor 1
RBI: MALLY, Tanner 1 ; MALONEY, Michael 1 ; NEVAR, Dylan 2 ; THIELMAN, Avery 1 ; HUMS, Cooper 1
SH: PENA, Diego 1
Base Running:
RUNS: MALLY, Tanner 2 ; MALONEY, Michael 1 ; HARRITY, Brendan 1 ; MEE, Grady 2
SB: MEE, Grady 1
HBP: MEE, Grady 1
Game Leaders
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RBI
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AB
6
R
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H
1
RBI
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AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
1
AB
1
R
1
H
1
RBI
3
Players Mentioned
INF
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RHP
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
RHP
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/ Baseball
RHP
/ BaseballOF/INF
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
LHP
/ BaseballOF
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