Spartans Take Weekend Series Against Illinois

Sean Gagnier / Gang Green

By Sean Gagnier
@SeanGagnier 

The Spartans traveled to Illinois to take on the Fighting Illini this weekend and took two of three games from them; winning the first two contests before dropping the final game on Sunday. During the weekend, freshman Jimmy Pickens had a career series and earned himself conference honors.

Friday

Illinois pitching didn't stand a chance as the Spartans blasted 17 hits for 15 runs, recording eight of those runs against Illini starter Kevin Johnson in his 4.2 innings. Johnson, who had been tied for second in the Big Ten with seven wins, turned in a line that included eight allowed runs, seven earned runs on eight hits.

Spartan starter Tony Bucciferro stayed on the mound for 6.1 innings while giving up four runs on five hits and fanning five. He was tagged with the victory on the day, his fourth of the season and 24th of his career.

Pickens had a career day, going 3-for-5 with 6 RBI, a team and personal high. Highlights of Pickens' day were his two run double in the fifth and his bases-clearing triple in the sixth. Pickens' other RBI came on a single in the fourth that plated a runner.

After scoring four times in the fifth and five times in the sixth the Spartans held a ten-run, 13-3, lead over the Illini. Jared Hook would add another run on a solo home run in the seventh and Ryan Krill singled in the 15th run in the ninth inning.

Saturday

Yet another game went into extras and yet another time the Spartans came out on top - Michigan State improved its record to 7-1 in extra innings by beating the Illini 6-5 on Saturday. The victory secured the Spartans their first series win at Illinois since 2003.

Andrew Waszak tied a season high five strikeouts during his six innings of work; while on the mound he allowed eight hits and five runs, including a three-run home run in the first inning. Waszak calmed down after his shaky first inning and didn't allow another run until the fifth when the Illini scored two more to tie the game at five.

Jeff Kinley entered the game in the seventh in relief of Waszak and continued his dominance of late. Kinley threw 3.2 innings of shutout ball, adding to his scoreless streak that now sits at 26 innings. He was credited with the win, giving him a team-leading six victories on the season.

With the teams tied at five in the 10th, Jordan Keur drew a walk with one out. He then was able to get himself in scoring position by stealing second. Krill then hit a grounder to first base, but due to a bobble Keur was able to come around and score.

With Michigan State up 6-5, Kinley returned to the mound but didn't quite have it any more. An Illinois base-runner was able to get to second base on a two-base error by Pickens with one out. After fanning the next batter and walking the following one, Head Coach Jake Boss, Jr. turned to his closer Tony Wieber.

Runners on first and third and two outs, Wieber recorded his seventh save by getting the batter to pop out and close out the win for the Spartans.

Sunday

Michigan State wasn't able to complete the sweep over Illinois on Sunday, losing to the Illini, 8-6. The Spartans never led in the contest, but were able to tie things up three different times.

The see-saw match began when Illinois plated a run in the bottom of the second ahead of a Ryan Jones solo home run in the top of the third to tie the game at one. Illinois regained the lead in the bottom half of the inning by scoring an unearned run, but Pickens homered in the top of the fourth to tie the game at two all.

In the bottom of the fourth the Illini scored three more and racked up two more hits in the fifth before Spartan starter David Garner was pulled. Bryce Jenney came in as relief for Garner but allowed a sac-fly to extend the Illini lead to 6-2.

But three runs in the sixth and one in the seventh by the Spartans tied things at six. It was a three-run shot by John Martinez in the sixth that allowed the Spartans to get back into the game. Torsten Boss was able to cross the plate in the seventh after drawing a walk and eventually scoring on a wild pitch.

Jenney allowed a lead off single in the seventh before being relieved by Trey Popp. Popp allowed a sac-bunt, walked a batter and then gave up a single, loading the bases before being given the hook. Wieber was brought in to stop the Illinois rally but hit the first batter he faced. A sac-fly would tack on another run, giving the Illini their final 8-6 lead.

Big Ten Honors for Pickens

Pickens was named Big Ten Co-Freshman of the Week on Monday for his performance in the weekend series against Illinois. He went .500 in the series (6-for-12), racked up seven RBI, scored four times and hit his sixth homer of the season.

Comedy in the locker room

The Spartans aren't all business, take this picture from catcher Joel Fisher. It shows him and fellow backstop Blaise Salter engaged in what Fisher referred to as "locker room chicken."

@J_Fish32 / Twitter

No. 13 Purdue Takes First Two Games From Spartans

MSU Baseball Facebook Page

By Sean Gagnier
@SeanGagnier 

The Spartan baseball team traveled to West Lafayette, Ind. to take on No. 13 Purdue in a three-game weekend series. First on the mound for the Spartans was Tony Bucciferro, the ace of the staff, and despite giving Michigan State a complete game in the first game of the series, the Spartans fell 6-2. On Saturday, the Spartans lost a 14-inning heart breaker to the Boilermakers, 4-3.

Friday

Michigan State went up against Purdue's ace, Joe Haase, who improved to 7-0 on the season, allowing just one run and maintaining his perfect record. Haase gave the Boilermakers seven innings of work while giving up six hits and fanning three. 

In Bucciferro's eight-inning outing he scattered eight Boilermaker hits, while allowing six runs, four earned. Purdue struck big in the fourth inning when RF Barrett Sarrato turned on a Bucciferro pitch and sent the ball over the fences for a grand slam - erasing the one-run lead the Spartans had and putting the Boilermakers up 4-1.

Two unearned Boilermaker runs came across in the seventh inning to extend their lead to 6-1. With the win Purdue improved it's nation-leading winning percentage to .846 and their record to 33-6. Michigan State failed to scratch across another run until the ninth inning when they loaded the bases with no outs.

With the bases loaded and no one out the Spartans bounced into a double play, which allowed a run to score but all but put the nail in the Spartans coffin. 

Jordan Keur improved his team-leading batting average to .406, by going 2-for-4 and being the only Spartan with more than one hit.

Saturday

The Spartans were in familiar territory on Saturday when they took the Purdue Boilermakers into 14 innings, but for the first time in seven attempts, Michigan State did not come out on top in the extra inning match-up, falling to Purdue, 4-3.

Both pitchers were on their game on Saturday - with a pitchers duel going on, the Spartans did not score until they were able to get three in the eighth inning. Torsten Boss cleared the bases with two outs in the top of the eighth for the Spartans when he took a pitch and drove it into the gap.

Andrew Waszak was on the mound for the Spartans and went 7.2 innings, exiting in the eighth inning having allowed just one run on the day. Waszak was in line for the win with closer Tony Wieber on the mound with a 0.94 ERA. But Wieber didn't seem to have it on Saturday.

With one out in the ninth, Wieber loaded the bases, but after getting a fly out for the second out of the inning, a clutch hit plated the two tying runs, tying the game a three and sending it into extras. The Spartans threatened but did not score in the 11th inning when they squandered a Ryan Jones single and Torsten Boss reaching on an error with no outs.

Purdue took home the win in the 14th when Tyler Spillner was able to reach first base on a fielding error by Jones. The next batter, Eric Charles, got on first on a throwing error by Boss. With men on first and second, a wild pitch moved them each up 90-ft. Cameron Perkins then singled to right field to score Spillner and win the game for the Boilermakers, 4-3.

Spartans Baseball Take Two of Three Against Minnesota

MSU Baseball

By Sean Gagnier
@SeanGagnier
 
After a rain soaked Friday forced a double header on Saturday the Spartans and Golden Gophers of Minnesota split the twin billing with Michigan State winning on a walk-off in game one before having their five game winning streak snapped in game two. On Sunday, the Spartans shook off their loss and beat the Gophers in the 10th inning on a Torsten Boss walk-off allowing the Spartans to win two out of three games on the weekend.

Saturday - Double Header

The first game of the double header featured some of the best pitchers, starting and relievers, in the Big Ten. Michigan State had Tony Bucciferro on the mound going against Minnesota's TJ Oakes. Oakes entered the game ranked No. 1 in the Big Ten in ERA, IP and wins.

Minnesota struck first in the game when they strung together three hits in the first inning and were able to plate a runner, but the Spartans Jordan Keur tied things up in the bottom of the third inning with an RBI single.

Michigan State got to Oakes in the fifth with two outs when Ryan Jones singled to center field and was able to scamper around the bases and score on a Boss double to left field. After a shaky first inning, Bucciferro was able to toss four scoreless innings for the Spartans, allowing them to get out to a 2-1 lead in the fifth inning.

The Gophers tied the game at two in the sixth when catcher Matt Halloran singled in a run. Minnesota was able to chase Bucciferro from the game in the seventh when they loaded the bases with two outs. Spartans coach Jake Boss, Jr. gave the ball to Jeff Kinley to get his team out of the jam. Kinley did his job and got the next batter to ground out to end the inning.

Oakes also left after throwing 6.2 innings; he left runners on first and second with two outs for his reliever who was able to get Boss to pop out to end the threat.

Kinley and Gophers reliever Tom Windle both continued the pitchers duel into the 11th inning when Joel Fisher singled with two outs to put Spartans on first and third. Minnesota turned to their closer Kevin Kray to stop the rally but he walked Jones, loading the bases. Then Boss was able to draw a five pitch walk that forced in the game winning run.

The win was the Spartans third walk-off of the season, the fifth win of the season for Kinley and expanded Michigan State's extra innings record to 5-0.

Game two did not go the Spartans way. Michigan State, looking for their sixth win in a row, jumped out to a early 1-0 lead in the first inning. Ryan Krill, continued to shine in his freshman season when he drove in an RBI in the first with a ground out. The Spartans struggled to bring runners home in the early innings, leaving four runners on in the first two innings.

Krill's RBI would be the only run the Spartans would get until in the late game as they struggled to get anything going against Minnesota's DJ Snelton. The Gophers would bounce back in the second inning and plate two runners before adding two more in the fifth to take a 4-1 lead.

After a shaky first two innings Snelton settled in and faced the minimum through the next four innings. In the seventh the Spartans were able to scratch across another run when Jimmy Pickens was able to ground out to the right side of the infield.

Snelton completed the game, his first of the season, while throwing 121 pitches, allowing seven hits and fanning three. His counterpart, Andrew Waszak allowed just four runs through 5.2 innings, but his offense wasn't able to bail him out and he suffered his third loss of the season, making his record 4-3.

Sunday

In another extra innings game, the Spartans counted on Torsten Boss once again as he drove in the winning run on an RBI single to lift Michigan State over Minnesota in the rubber match of the series by a score of 5-4.

Extra innings have been good to the Spartans this year, with Sunday's victory being the fourth walk-off win of the season and second of the series for the Spartans. Michigan State's bats were hot on Sunday, racking up 15 hits, lead by Jordan Keur who matched a career high four hits on the day.

Minnesota scored twice in the eighth to tie the game at four, then Michigan State loaded the bases with no outs for the second straight inning, but came up short in both instances. Jimmy Pickens attempted to break the tie with two outs in the eighth when he made a break for the plate on a fly ball to center, but Gopher's center fielder Jake Bergren cut him down at the plate to end the inning.

In the 10th inning the Spartans once again filled the bases with no one out when Pickens launched a deep hit to right-center field, but as he was rounding first base he ran into Gophers first baseman Dan Olinger. The collision with Olinger sent Pickens stumbling but he was able to round second base and dig for third where he was thrown out. The umpires called Olinger for interference however, and awarded Pickens third base on the play.

Joel Fisher hit a hard liner between the shortstop and third baseman, but Gophers SS Matt Puhl was able to knock it down before it got out of the infield and held Pickens at third while Fisher reached first on the infield hit. In the next at bat, Ryan Jones was able to hit a pop up that dropped just in front of the Minnesota left fielder; it allowed Fisher to advance to second and Jones to reach first but was not deep enough to score Pickens.

With the bases loaded and no outs Boss stepped to the plate. He had worked a five pitch walk to score the game-winning run in the first game of the double header on Saturday and now he looked to do the same. On the first pitch Boss saw he connected with it and drove it to left-center field to score Pickens and give Michigan State the 5-4 win.

Spartans' Waszak and Krill Take Home Big Ten Honors

The State News

By Sean Gagnier
@SeanGagnier 

The Big Ten Baseball Awards came out for the week and two Spartans earned honors. Junior right-hander Andrew Waszak was named Big Ten Pitcher of the Week and Ryan Krill was named Freshman of the Week honors from the Big Ten.

Waszak's performance in the first game of a double header on Sunday earned him his award. On Sunday Waszak threw seven scoreless innings while allowing just three hits against Indiana. Michigan State beat the Hoosiers in Waszak's start, due to his career-high five strike outs. The Spartans won 6-0 on Sunday.

With the win on Sunday Waszak improved his record to 4-2, it was also his eighth quality start of the season. Waszak ranks second in the Big Ten in ERA with a 1.82 mark and holds the lead in the conference with a .191 batting average against. His four wins has him tied for tenth in the Big Ten while his 59.1 innings pitched places him seventh.

Krill tore up pitching the past week, going 13-for-21, or .691 BA in the five games last week. On Tuesday against Notre Dame Krill went 1-for-3 with an RBI and a run before racking up three hits and two RBI the following day against Eastern Michigan.

The weekend series with Indiana is where Krill really shined. During the series he hit .643, getting three hits in each of the three games. On Sunday, Krill went 3-for-4 and scored two runs in game one and went 3-for-6 in game two with four runs and two RBI.

With his efforts on the week Krill bumped his season batting average to .305 and is tied at fourth on the team in slugging at .421. The freshman has started 19 games at first base and four as designated hitter and has seen action in 31 games this season.

Spartans Sweep Doubleheader Against Indiana

By Sean Gagnier
@SeanGagnier 

After a rain out on Saturday the Spartans and Hoosiers met up on Sunday for a double header in which Michigan State came out the victor in both games. Michigan State finished the weekend in Bloomington, Ind. with the sweep of the double header to take the series, 2-1.

The first game of the double header was a 6-0 shutout by the Spartans and the second was a 20-10 slugfest that went the way of Michigan State.

With the temperatures in the upper-70's the Spartans racked up season high runs, 20, and hits, 25, in game two of the double header. Ryan Jones led the charge in the 20-10 route by collecting five hits, tying a career high, after recording just one hit in the day's first game. His six hit day pushed him over the 200-hit mark, making him just the 15th Spartan to accomplish that feat. Jones' 204 current hits has him ranked 12th in the all-time school hits record books.

Jones was not the only player to pile up the hits, Ryan Krill and John Martinez both got to Hoosiers pitching for six hits apiece. Krill scored six times on the day and split his six hits with three in each bout. Martinez used one of his six hits for his first career home run in the first game and came away with 3 RBI and four runs on the day.

Not to be outdone, Jordan Keur added five hits to the Spartans totals on Sunday. His performance improved his team-best batting average to .392.

By the third inning of game two the Spartans had already recorded 15 hits and had driven 12 runs home. Indiana's starter did not finish the first inning after he allowed four runs to score. His replacement faired no better and was ran off the mound in the second when Michigan State tacked on five more runs.

Jimmy Pickens chipped in with a home run in the third inning to make it 13-0, his fourth homer of the season which now has him tied with Torsten Boss for the team lead. The Hoosiers would scratch across two runs in the fourth but Michigan State responded by scoring two of their own in the fifth to make the score 15-2.

A homer in the seventh and four more runs in the ninth gave the Spartans their season-high 20, and earned a win for starter David Garner. Garner gave up six runs, four earned, but struck out a career-high nine batters while giving up just nine hits and not walking a hitter.

The Hoosiers made a run late, scoring eight runs in the final three innings, but the Spartans lead was too much to overcome.

Overshadowed by the fireworks of the second game, Andrew Waszak earned his fourth win of the season while tossing seven innings of three hit ball. He struck out a season-high five hitters and walked just one while keeping the Hoosiers off the board.

Michigan State collected runs from Martinez's two-run home run to left center and a Jones tally after a wild pitch in the fourth. With the score 3-0 the Spartans would add three more in the eighth when they began the inning with four straight singles, highlighted by a two-run single by Justin Scanlon.

Jeff Kinley was called on to give Michigan State a two inning save and despite loading the bases in the ninth, was able to toss two scoreless. With only one out Kinley allowed three straight hits but was able to close out the game with a popout and a strikeout.

Spartans Fall 4-3 To Michigan In Front of Record Crowd

MSU Athletics

By Sean Gagnier
@SeanGagnier 

Michigan State continued to struggle with runners on base for the second straight day, falling 4-3 to Michigan, in front of a McLane Baseball Stadium record 2,734 crowd, despite amassing 13 hits and leaving 10 runners on base. The loss dropped the Spartans record to 18-10, 2-3 in the Big Ten.

Five Spartans collected two hits apiece, but despite the efforts of Jordan Keur, Torsten Boss, Justin Scanlon, Blaise Salter and Anthony Cheky the Spartans couldn't hold onto an early lead.

Salter used his two hits to give the Spartans a 2-0 lead after four innings with his RBI singles in the second and fourth. The lead was short lived as Michigan tied things up in the fifth off a Dylan Delaney two-run single to center.

With things knotted at two, the Spartans regained the lead in the bottom of the fifth by capitalizing on two errors by the Wolverines. Keur singled to left to lead off the inning. Then on a wild pitch by Michigan starter Trent Szkutnik he advanced to second base, but the Wolverines catcher, Cole Martin, overthrew the bag and the ball landed in center field. Keur took advantage of this to advance 90 more feet to third base. Center fielder Patrick Biondi grabbed the overthrown ball and attempted to cut down Keur at third, he however, missed the bag which allowed Keur to cover the last 90 feet to give the Spartans a 3-2 lead.

The lead was not to be however, as the Wolverines tied and then passed the Spartans in the top of the sixth inning. Martin redeemed himself with an RBI groundout that tied the game at three. Then a John DiLaura single chased Spartan starter Andrew Waszak from the game leaving runners on first and third with two outs.

Spartans coach Jake Boss, Jr. turned to his beast in the bullpen, Jeff Kinley, who had not allowed a run in his previous four outings. Kinley was unable to keep that streak alive as he allowed a hit to pinch hitter Kevin Krantz that put the Wolverines ahead 4-3.

Despite giving up the run in the sixth Kinley gave Michigan State 3.1 innings of solid work, allowing just two more hits and striking out three batters. Waszak was charged with all four runs and the loss on Saturday. He was only able to stay on the mound for 5.2 innings while surrendering eight hits, walking one and striking out four.

Michigan State threatened but did not score in the bottom of the sixth after a leadoff single by Scanlon chased Szkutnik from the mound. The Wolverines handed the ball to Alex Lakatos who was able to wipe the runner from the diamond with a double play. However, he got himself into another jam when he walked Ryan Krill and then giving up a frozen rope to Cheky which reached the right field gap, but a late jump by Krill allowed him to be cut down at home to end the inning.

Like their game on Friday, the Spartans struggled with men on base, managing to get runners on base in the final three innings but failing to get any of them around to score. Michigan State left runners on base in seven innings on Saturday.

The Spartans once again threatened in the eighth when Jimmy Pickens singled and was able to advance to second off a wild pick off toss. A groundout moved him to third base but a popout to second base ended the threat by Michigan State.

Michigan State was able to get Boss on base with two outs in the ninth, but pinch hitter Jared Hook struck out to end the Spartans threat and the game. 

Tony Wieber Drives Home Winner and Sets Record as Spartans Top Buckeyes, 2-1

Sean Gagnier / Gang Green

By Sean Gagnier
@SeanGagnier 

The Spartans topped the Buckeyes 2-1 in a pitchers duel at McLane Baseball Stadium on Sunday with Tony Wieber delivering the game-winning run in the bottom of the seventh and then setting the Michigan State all-time saves record in the ninth.

Andrew Waszak took the mound for the Spartans against the Buckeyes and tossed eight innings of two hit ball. He allowed just one run and was credited with his third win of the season to push his record to 3-1.

The only run that Waszak allowed in the game came in the second when Ohio State's David Corna drove a ball to right field for a double before being sacrificed to third and coming home on a groundout tying the game at one. Not only was the second the only time the Buckeyes would score it was the only inning in which they would get a hit. Despite Waszak allowing three more baserunners to reach, on walks, they failed to come home and one was even picked off first.

Michigan State took the lead early with Ryan Jones leading off the first with a single before stealing second and moving to third on a groundout. Joel Fisher brought him home with a two-out single to give the Spartans a 1-0 lead at the time.

The Spartans racked up nine hits on Buckeye pitching, even getting runners on first and third in the sixth before an attempted squeeze play cut Fisher down at the plate.

In the seventh the Spartans got to Ohio State starter Brian King for their second run of the game when Jones hit a leadoff single to left. King then attempted to pick Jones off first but short armed the ball which sailed over the first baseman and into the open bullpen. By the time the Buckeyes got the ball back to the infield Jones had advanced to third.

The next two Spartans grounded out leaving Jones on third with two outs, then Wieber came to the plate and laced a hit through the shortstop-third base hole to score Jones and give Michigan State the 2-1 lead.

Starter Waszak threw another inning before handing the ball over to Spartan closer Wieber for a chance to break the all-time Michigan State saves record. Wieber did just that, his first batter flew out to left. Then he got the next to pop up to the catcher, Fisher, who was unable to hold onto the ball. He then hit the batter but erased his mistake with a 1-6-3 double play to close the game.

The save was Wieber's 15th of his career and sixth of the 2012 season. He passed Brad Lamont's previous school record of 14 saves set from 1987-90.  

Spartans Sweep Cincinnati Before Homestand

From the Lansing State Journal

By Sean Gagnier
@SeanGagnier
 
Saturday, Mar. 17   Spartans v. Cincinnati        Game 2 of 3

Last week the Spartans endured a 16-inning marathon of a game, started by Andrew Waszak, who went seven of those innings, and beat Seton Hall. On Saturday, Waszak was once again on the mound and the Spartans game against the Cincinnati Bearcats extended all the way to the 14th inning where John Martinez drove in the winning run to give the Spartans the 5-4 victory.

After being swept in College Station, Tex. in Feb. the Spartans have won five of their last six games and with their latest extra-innings win improve to 3-0 in extra inning games on the season.

Waszak again went seven innings on Saturday, giving up two runs on five hits while fanning four Bearcats. It was another quality start for the Spartans No. 2 pitcher who now boasts a 1.34 ERA on the season.

Michigan State was leading 4-3 heading into the bottom of the ninth and with their shutdown closer Tony Wieber toeing the rubber the Spartans thought they were in the clear. Wieber however struggled in his outing and the Bearcats were able to scratch two runs across off the pitcher who hadn't allowed a run in his last seven appearances.

With the game tied at four the Spartans called on Bryce Jenney out of the bullpen to keep the Bearcats from rallying in extras - he did just that. Jenney tossed three scoreless and handed the ball to the eventual winning pitcher Ryan Martin, his first career win.


The Bearcats threatened but did not score off Martin in the 13th. Martin allowed a single which due to an error and a flyout placed a runner on third with two outs, but Martin was able to get the next batter to pop out.

Torsten Boss reached base in the 14th when the Cincinnati shortstop bobbled the ball and allowed him to reach first on an error on a fielder's choice. With one out Jordan Keur bunted Boss over to second where he was able to score off a Martinez single up the middle.

Sunday, Mar. 18     Spartans v. Cincinnati    Game 3 of 3

The Spartans came out swinging on Sunday, compiling 16 hits off Cincinnati pitching while scoring nine runs in a 9-4 victory.With the win the Spartans have won the last six of seven and completed a sweep of the Bearcats.

Mike Theodore made his third start of the season for the Spartans but was still looking for his first win despite having allowed just one earned run and boasting a 0.89 ERA. Theodore had not enjoyed much run support in his previous starts, but Sunday was different.

Michigan State was able to plate five runs in the first two innings and give Theodore the support he needed. Theodore allowed two runs off six hits on the day and came home with his first victory as a Spartan.

John Martinez continued his hot streak and drove in another RBI in the seventh to give the Spartans a 7-2 lead before Jordan Keur singled in another in the eighth. With the score at 8-2 Jimmy Pickens drew a bases loaded walk later in the eighth to drive the score to 9-2.

Sunday was the first collegiate appearance for Mick VanVossen, drafted in 2011 by the Texas Rangers, when he relieved Theodore in the sixth inning. In his 2.2 innings of work VanVossen allowed just one run on four hits while fanning and walking two apiece.

The sweep of Cincinnati was the 11th sweep of a series for the Spartans under Coach Jake Boss Jr., which continues to allow Boss to add to the school record in that category.

Spartans Score Four In the 15th To Beat Seton Hall

The Spartans took on the Seton Hall Pirates on Saturday in the second game of the Snowbird Classic. In a game that went 15 innings and lasted six hours the only action in the game came in the 15th - when all seven runs of the game were scored.

Andrew Waszak started the game for the Spartans and threw 105 pitches in nine innings of work while refusing the Pirates any runs on the seven hits they got off him. Waszak dueled Pirates pitcher, Rick Mangione, who threw 6.1 innings and struck out eight while not allowing a run.

It was the Spartans relief pitching that lead to the necessity of a four-run 15th, when Seton Hall was able to plate three runs to take the lead going into the bottom of the inning.

Jeff Kinley pitched 2.2 innings for the Spartans and gave up three runs on five hits while failing to strike out a batter. Seton Hall got to Kinley in the 15th when they manufactured three runs utilizing sacrifice bunts and capitalized on a pair of Kinley wild pitches.

In the bottom of the 15th the Spartans knew they had to score at least three to keep the game going, but they did better than that. On the back of several walks by Pirates pitching and a few clutch hits the Spartans were able to tie the game at three before an Anthony Cheky single to right drove in the winning run.

Ryan Jones lead off the 15th with a single before a Jimmy Pickens walk pushed him to second base. Justin Scanlon then drew a walk off Josh Prevost who Seton Hall brought in to stymy to rally. With the bases loaded and no outs John Martinez drew another walk from the Pirates pitching which forced home Jones. After an Andy Johnson strike out, Andrew Carpenter singled to right field which scored Pickens and Scanlon. On the Carpenter single Martinez advanced to third where he was driven home on a Cheky single to right. 

Joel Fisher, the Spartans catcher, tweeted after the game, "If we are going to be there for a 6 hour game might as well win."

The win is the third straight for Michigan State who will play Pittsburgh to close out the Snowbird Classic at 11 a.m. on Sunday. The Spartans have gone 3-3 in their Spring Break road trip as of Sunday.

Aggies Shut Down Spartans

From MSU Spartans Baseball Facebook Page

By Sean Gagnier
@SeanGagnier

No. 5 Texas A&M shut out the Michigan State Spartans, 4-0, beating the green and white for the second straight day on Saturday. The Spartans got another spectacular outing from starter Andrew Waszak but were unable to get any runners across to help him out.

TAMU was held to just five hits on the day but made the most out of them, striking the Spartans starter Waszak for three runs, only one of which was earned, in his six innings of work. Waszak had another stellar performance on the mound for Michigan State as he scattered four hits and fanned four Aggies in his time on the mound.

Despite their pitcher's performance the Spartans were unable to get to TAMU starter Ross Stripling who simply out dueled Waszak surrendering just five hits and fanned five in his eight innings of work. Errors proved costly for the Spartans for the second straight game when Ryan Jones committed an error which lead to three runs in the second.

Michigan State threatened in the fifth when they loaded the bases off a TAMU error and two walks, but Jones grounded into a fielder's choice that ended the inning for the Spartans. Errors aside, Michigan State once again stranded 10 runners on base, something that Coach Jake Boss Jr. called "frustrating" in the opening game of the series.

Boss called on David Garner, usually a starter, to relieve Waszak in the seventh and he surrendered one run on a Matt Juengel single. The loss drops the Spartans to 4-5 on the season and the Aggies improved to 10-1.

Spartans Baseball To Play Big Series in College Station

Photo from MSU Baseball Facebook Page

By Sean Gagnier
@SeanGagnier

The 4-3 Michigan State Spartans face a weekend series this week that is as big as they come - they will be heading to College Station, Tex. March 2-4 for a three game series against the No. 5 ranked Texas A&M Aggies. The Spartans have faced two Top 25 teams this season, winning against No. 11 St. John's and losing to No. 15 Louisville in their first series of the season.

Playing southern teams has always been a struggle for Michigan State because teams like Texas A&M have the luxury of warm weather that allows them to practice outdoors year-round, but Spartans head coach Jake Boss Jr. has stated that the mild winter has been a blessing for his team because they have been able to be on Kobs Field much more than usual.

In their first series of the year the Spartans headed to Dunedin, Fla. and played some of the top teams in the Big East and despite losing to No. 15 Louisville and South Florida, Boss' team was happy with the way they played. They beat No. 11 St. John's on Opening Day and their pitchers had a solid weekend despite the win-loss numbers.

Last weekend Michigan State traveled to play in the First Pitch Invitational for the fifth consecutive year and came very close to sweeping the tournament. In the first day of the tournament the Spartans played a double-header against Miami-Ohio and the host team Furman and beat them both. The following day the Spartans came out on top of Furman once again but they couldn't keep things rolling when they played the RedHawks for the second time, losing 1-0 to close out the tournament.

Boss has said that he is happy with how his team is playing, but has stated that their record could very easily be much more impressive. With the way that his top pitchers are throwing, he is very right. Spartans ace Tony Bucciferro has won both of his starts this season while posting a 2.25 ERA while fanning nine and allowing just three earned runs. Michigan State's second pitcher, Andrew Waszak has been stellar in his two appearances earning himself a 1-0 record while recording a 1.38 ERA, seven strikeouts and allowing just two earned runs. Waszak his holding opposing batters to a .156 batting average so far this season.

Third in the Spartans rotation is David Garner, who had a less than stellar performance against No. 15 Louisville in his first start of the season, but bounced back well in his second appearance against Furman. On the season Garner has a 7.27 ERA while allowing seven earned runs but he is missing bats, as evident by his 10 strikeouts on the season. If the Spartans will defend their Big Ten championship he will need to play like he did against Furman and continue to miss bats.

The Aggies are a formidable 8-1 on the season with their most recent win coming as an 8-1 victory over Northwestern State. Texas A&M's top pitcher, Michael Wacha has posted outstanding numbers in his first two appearances this season - compiling two victories, 19 strikeouts and a 0.00 ERA. During his starts opponents are hitting .075 and have recorded just three hits. Things don't get much easier as the Aggies also have Rafael Pineda who through his two starts has given up six hits, struck out 11 and recorded a 1.29 ERA.

Michigan State will need their big bats the show up in College Station, Tex. to have a chance to pull out a series win this weekend. OF Jordan Keur leads the Spartans with a .458 batting average and a .548 OBP. C John Martinez trails Keur with a .368 BA and a .400 OBP. 2B Ryan Jones has a .323 BA and .382 OBP on the season and is closely trailed by SS Justin Scanlon who has posted a .313 BA and a .333 OBP.

While Coach Boss would surely like to see his team OBP be higher, he has to be happy with the production he has been getting so far, but his leading batters will need to stay as such in the series with the Aggies. If the bats of Keur, Martinez and Jones go silent in College Station then the Spartans may be swept out of Tex. without a win. Needless to say this is a big weekend for the green and white.

Spartans Sweep Day One of First Pitch Invitational

MSU Baseball Facebook Photo

By Sean Gagnier
@SeanGagnier 

Coming off a 1-2 weekend in the Big Ten / Big East Challenge the Spartans were looking to bounce back in their fifth trip to the First Pitch Invitational in Greenville, S.C. Day one held a double header for Michigan State against Miami-Ohio and Furman. The Spartans proved to be too much for both clubs as they locked up a 13-4 drubbing of the Red Hawks and a 4-2 victory over Furman.

Riding an 11-run third inning the Spartans cruised to a 13-4 win over Miami-Ohio in the opening game of the First Pitch Invitational on Friday. Michigan State roughed up Red Hawks pitching for 16 hits with Ryan Jones, John Martinez and Jared Hook racking up three apiece.

The Spartans ace Tony Bucciferro toed the rubber for the second time this season and earned his 22nd career victory in a solid outing. In his six innings of work, Bucciferro allowed four runs, three earned, while surrendering 10 hits and fanning two. It was Bucciferro's second straight game in which he did not walk a batter.

Jones led off the third inning with a single before stealing second and made it home off a Justin Scanlon single. Following a Torsten Boss flyout, Michigan State went on to get eight straight hits with 11 batters reaching base consecutively.

The Spartans punished RedHawks pitching and were only retired after a double play was turned with the bases loaded. Spartans batters had tallied 11 runs on 11 hits in the third, the most since a 12 run inning against Iowa in 2010.

Miami-Ohio trimmed the Spartans 12-0 lead in the fourth by scoring one run and then plating three more in the fifth inning. Coach Jake Boss Jr. said he hoped his team could have scored more and wished his pitcher could have gone longer but attributed the surrendered runs to the rain delays throughout the game.

Michigan State tacked on one more in the seventh to bring the score to 13-4 before Joe Zwierzynski tossed three scoreless innings to earn his second career save for the Spartans.

vs. Furman

The Spartans were still hot coming off their 13-4 win over Miami-Ohio when they took on Furman in the second game of the First Pitch Invitational. Michigan State jumped out to a quick lead with a three-run first and successfully defended their lead the right of the game.

Jones had another successful game, going 2-for-4 against Furman and 5-for-9 on the day. He showed why Coach Boss has him written into the lead off position with a solo home run to start the game. A Jordan Keur sac fly and a Jared Hook groundout plated Scanlon and Boss to extend the Spartans first inning lead to 3-0.

Furman answered right back with a solo home run in the bottom of the first but were then shut down by Andrew Waszak. The Paladins were unable to muster anything else against Waszak until the sixth when an RBI groundout cut the Spartans lead to 3-2.

LHP Trey Popp made his second appearance of the season in the seventh when he came in the relieve Waszak and held the Paladins to their two runs. Waszak had his second successful start of the season, but the first in which he earned a decision. Through sixth innings, Waszak struck out four while surrendering just three hits and two runs.

In the top of the ninth Jones continued his hot day and drove home Ryan Krill to extend the Spartans lead to 4-2. Tony Wieber entered the game in the eighth and ran into some trouble in the ninth. After surrendering two singles putting the tying runs on base Wieber was able to retire the Paladins and record his 11th career save.

Spartan Baseball Opens Season in Big Ten/Big East Challenge

Photo from SpartanNation.com

By Sean Gagnier
@SeanGagnier 

Baseball season is already here for the Spartans who traveled down to Dunedin, Fla. to compete in the final year of the Big Ten-Big East Challenge. Michigan State drew a tough slate of opponents for the tournament facing off against No. 11 St. John's, South Florida, and No. 15 Louisville over the weekend.

RHP Tony Bucciferro becomes the Spartans ace this season and took the mound in the opener against St. John's, securing a victory on the power of his teammates bats. The team wasn't able to keep things rolling on Saturday when they fell late to South Flordia in a 2-1 loss.

Opening Day vs. No. 11 St. John's - Feb. 17

Michigan State never trailed on the day to St. John's and rode a six-run eight inning to claim an 11-4 victory. The Opening Day win is nothing new for Spartan Head Coach Jake Boss Jr. who extended his Opening Day record to 4-0 in green and white.

Bucciferro stepped up and showed why Coach Boss considers him the ace of the staff and why he was named co-captain by getting his 21st career victory and surrendering just one hit through six innings while sitting down his first 13 batters. On the day Bucciferro struck out six while walking just one.

The performance of his ace pitcher is exactly what Coach Boss wanted to see out of the gates as he is looking to fill the void left by Kurt Wunderlich. Wunderlich dominated the opposition and clearly established himself as the ace of the staff last season - something Coach Boss wanted to see from Bucciferro. If the senior can continue with the kind of stuff he displayed Friday, he will do Wunderlich justice.

Pre-season All American Torsten Boss played his first career game in center field on Friday, a move that didn't appear to phase him as he turned in a 3-for-5 performance with a home run in his first plate appearance and three RBI on the day. Boss had previously played third base the past two seasons but Coach Boss, no relation, said that he felt that Boss was too athletic for the hot corner and could do much more in center field.

The Spartans relief corps looked a bit shaky once Bucciferro left the game, allowing St. John's to creep back into the game, getting as close as 5-4 before closer Tony Wieber came in to shut down the rally. Following clutch RBI knocks in the eighth Wieber recorded his 10th career save, tied for fourth most in Michigan State history.

vs. South Florida - Feb. 18

The Spartans suffered their first loss of the season on a solo-home run by South Florida's Andrew Longely in the bottom of the ninth inning, handing MSU a 2-1 defeat. Longely's home run was just the coup-de-gras in the collapse - the Spartans led the Bulls 1-0 heading into the eighth but following an RBI double and Longely's homer the next inning green and white went home losers.

RHP Andrew Waszak dominated the Bulls through seven, holding them scoreless while surrendering just four hits, walking two and striking out three. The junior looks to solidify his spot in the rotation with a number of quality starts early in the season.

LHP Jeff Kinley relieved Waszak in the eighth and was hit around to some extent, allowing an RBI double with two outs in the eighth before surrendering the game-winning homer in the ninth. Kinley's performance wasn't all bad, the contact pitcher was able to strike out a batter and secure a ground-out before Longely's one-out walk-off homer in the ninth.

The only run the Spartans were able to plate came off the bat of junior Jordan Keur who singled in Joel Fisher in the 2nd. Keur's RBI wasn't the only scoring opportunity the Spartans had as they stranded seven runners, four of whom were in scoring position on the day.

Boss may have some competition this season as Keur is 5-for-7 over the Spartans first two games this season. The Spartans have RHP David Garner on the mound as they take on No. 15 Louisville on Feb. 19.