Michigan State:
beat Kansas 11-2, on Friday
lost to No. 12 Notre Dame 2-1, on Saturday
beat No. 25 West Virginia today, 9-3
Michigan State plays Clemson on Wednesday in Greenville, S.C.
from msuspartans.com:
MINNEAPOLIS -- Michigan State baseball was boosted by Mitch Jebb's four RBI as the Spartans rapped out 15 hits in knocking off nationally ranked West Virginia, 9-3, in MSU's final game of the 2022 Cambria College Classic Sunday morning and afternoon at U.S. Bank Stadium, home of the Minnesota Vikings.
In a 10 a.m. local start time, the Spartans bats were awake early and often as the 15 hits was MSU's third game with 15 or more hits, helping Michigan State to a 2-1 finish on the weekend, with the lone loss to No. 12 Notre Dame Saturday, in leveling their record at 5-5 overall on the young season. The nine runs in the Victory for MSU marked the Spartans' first win in single digits this season, as their four previous victories came on double-digit runs.
"I'm very, very pleased with how our guys played today," MSU head coach Jake Boss Jr. said. "I thought Ryan Szczepaniak really threw well today, and we got some good starting pitching really all weekend. Their starter (Chris Sleeper) was lights out and that was two freshmen on the mound today that are both going to be really, really good. Fortunately, we were able to kind of get to them in the fourth inning and our guys just kept grinding out at bats and we were able to put up a big number up there. I thought we did a lot of really, really good things today and played extremely well against a really good opponent that is going to win a lot of games this year, so a quality win for our guys, and we're happy to go 2-1 against three really good teams this weekend."
Jebb's four RBI and four hits were career-highs, as he was a home run shy of the cycle, with two singles, a double and triple. The sophomore infielder also had solid play at short all day, including turning a solo double play in the fifth to snub a Mountaineer rally.
"Mitch obviously felt comfortable today and kind of got things started for us in the fourth inning with the first hit of the game for us, and then it just kind of snowballed from there," Boss said. "He can do a lot of things, he definitely makes our offense go, and he had a hustle-double and a triple in there too, and he's just got a lot of different weapons from an offensive standpoint. We needed somebody to get us going there and he did that, and then kind of everybody else followed suit."
WVU, which was among others receiving votes in the majority of the national polls, and as high as No. 25 in the Perfect Game Top 25 Poll, finished the weekend 1-2, sliding to 7-4 overall.
The Spartans and Mountaineers met on the diamond for the first time since 2010, and MSU now leads the all-time series, 8-3, including 3-0 on neutral fields. With Sunday's win, MSU has won the last three and seven of the last nine match-ups with WVU.
Along with Jebb's 4-for-5 outing with four RBI and two runs scored, sophomore infielder Trent Farquhar was 3-for-5 with an RBI and run scored. Junior outfielders Zaid Walker and Casey Mayes along with sophomore infielder Parker Pilat were both 2-for-4, with Pilat knocking two doubles and scoring a run, while Mayes had a ribbie and run scored, and Walker knocked in one run on a double. Junior infielder Peter Ahn was 1-for-3 with two runs scored, while sophomore outfielder Jack Frank was 1-for-4 with a run scored.
On the mound, freshman starter Ryan Szczepaniak went 5.0 IP with four Ks, yielding three hits and one earned run to improve to 2-0. Junior relievers Conner Tomasic and Andrew Carsoncame on, with Tomasic pitching 1.0 IP and Carson 1.2 with two Ks. Graduate senior Kyle Bischoffcame on in the eighth and thwarted another Mountaineer rally, then pitched a 1-2-3 ninth to earn his second save of the season.
After a scoreless first third of the ballgame, WVU scored first with an RBI single in the fourth frame for an early 1-0 lead.
MSU's deficit didn't last long as Jebb started off the bottom of the fourth inning with a single and stole second. After Farquhar followed with a single, Mayes roped a single to center to score Jebb and move Farquhar up to third. Sophomore infielder Brock Vradenburg was up next and he flew out to left for a sacrifice fly to play Farquhar, bringing Walker up to bat. Walker then doubled to the right center gap to drive in Mayes and put MSU ahead, 3-1.
With his first lead of the day, Szczepaniak had a shutdown fifth, getting his offense back to the dugout in a hurry.
AFter WVU made a pitching change to open the frame, Parker knocked a 1-out double, then Jebb belted a two-out triple off the 400-foot mark of the center field wall, plating Pilat and putting the Green & White on top, 4-1.
Tomasic took over for Szczepaniak to open the sixth and rang up another 1-2-3 inning, before the Mountaineers threatened in the seventh, loading the bases without an out. MSU went to the bullpen and called Carson in. After an RBI single made the score 4-2, Carson induced a line drive that went right to Jebb, who was playing just behind the second base bag and he stepped on second for the double play to thwart the Mountaineer threat and end the inning.
After some stretching and singing about peanuts and crackerjacks, Ahn led off with a double to right, and moved up to third on a Pilat groundout. Jebb then laced a hustle-double to center, sliding in ahead of the tag. Farquhar then knocked a single up the middle to drive in Jebb and open a 6-2 advantage for MSU.
WVU quickly closed to 6-3 as McGwire Holbrook hit a 1-out solo home run, but Bischoff came on and closed the door on a rally.
The Spartans got the run back and more in the bottom of the eighth, as Frank singled to center to lead off the frame. Two batters later, Ahn was hit by pitch, then Frank and Ahn pulled off the double steal and Frank scored on a WVU throwing error. Pilat doubled to right to move Ahn up to third, then Jebb singled through the right side of the drawn-in infield for his third and fourth RBI of the day and MSU's eighth and ninth, and final runs of the game.
Bischoff retired the Mountaineers 1-2-3 in the ninth, getting a strikeout looking to end the game and spark the Spartan celebration.
Michigan State continues the second leg of its Spring Break trip, flying from Minneapolis to Greenville, S.C. on Sunday night to spend the second leg of the trip at their home-away-from home, Fluor Field. MSU will open action facing Clemson on Wednesday, March 9, before hosting the 2022 First Pitch Invitational, Friday-Sunday, March 11-13, playing Kansas for the second-straight weekend, along with Cincinnati and Western Carolina.
The Spartans will tangle with the Bearcats of Cincinnati on Friday, March 11 in a 2 p.m. first pitch, followed by taking on Western Carolina on Saturday, March 12, also in a 2 p.m. start time, before wrapping up the weekend on Sunday, March 13 against Kansas in a 1 p.m. first pitch.
Fans can follow the action with links available at MSUSpartans.com.
beat Kansas 11-2, on Friday
lost to No. 12 Notre Dame 2-1, on Saturday
beat No. 25 West Virginia today, 9-3
Michigan State plays Clemson on Wednesday in Greenville, S.C.
from msuspartans.com:
MINNEAPOLIS -- Michigan State baseball was boosted by Mitch Jebb's four RBI as the Spartans rapped out 15 hits in knocking off nationally ranked West Virginia, 9-3, in MSU's final game of the 2022 Cambria College Classic Sunday morning and afternoon at U.S. Bank Stadium, home of the Minnesota Vikings.
In a 10 a.m. local start time, the Spartans bats were awake early and often as the 15 hits was MSU's third game with 15 or more hits, helping Michigan State to a 2-1 finish on the weekend, with the lone loss to No. 12 Notre Dame Saturday, in leveling their record at 5-5 overall on the young season. The nine runs in the Victory for MSU marked the Spartans' first win in single digits this season, as their four previous victories came on double-digit runs.
"I'm very, very pleased with how our guys played today," MSU head coach Jake Boss Jr. said. "I thought Ryan Szczepaniak really threw well today, and we got some good starting pitching really all weekend. Their starter (Chris Sleeper) was lights out and that was two freshmen on the mound today that are both going to be really, really good. Fortunately, we were able to kind of get to them in the fourth inning and our guys just kept grinding out at bats and we were able to put up a big number up there. I thought we did a lot of really, really good things today and played extremely well against a really good opponent that is going to win a lot of games this year, so a quality win for our guys, and we're happy to go 2-1 against three really good teams this weekend."
Jebb's four RBI and four hits were career-highs, as he was a home run shy of the cycle, with two singles, a double and triple. The sophomore infielder also had solid play at short all day, including turning a solo double play in the fifth to snub a Mountaineer rally.
"Mitch obviously felt comfortable today and kind of got things started for us in the fourth inning with the first hit of the game for us, and then it just kind of snowballed from there," Boss said. "He can do a lot of things, he definitely makes our offense go, and he had a hustle-double and a triple in there too, and he's just got a lot of different weapons from an offensive standpoint. We needed somebody to get us going there and he did that, and then kind of everybody else followed suit."
WVU, which was among others receiving votes in the majority of the national polls, and as high as No. 25 in the Perfect Game Top 25 Poll, finished the weekend 1-2, sliding to 7-4 overall.
The Spartans and Mountaineers met on the diamond for the first time since 2010, and MSU now leads the all-time series, 8-3, including 3-0 on neutral fields. With Sunday's win, MSU has won the last three and seven of the last nine match-ups with WVU.
Along with Jebb's 4-for-5 outing with four RBI and two runs scored, sophomore infielder Trent Farquhar was 3-for-5 with an RBI and run scored. Junior outfielders Zaid Walker and Casey Mayes along with sophomore infielder Parker Pilat were both 2-for-4, with Pilat knocking two doubles and scoring a run, while Mayes had a ribbie and run scored, and Walker knocked in one run on a double. Junior infielder Peter Ahn was 1-for-3 with two runs scored, while sophomore outfielder Jack Frank was 1-for-4 with a run scored.
On the mound, freshman starter Ryan Szczepaniak went 5.0 IP with four Ks, yielding three hits and one earned run to improve to 2-0. Junior relievers Conner Tomasic and Andrew Carsoncame on, with Tomasic pitching 1.0 IP and Carson 1.2 with two Ks. Graduate senior Kyle Bischoffcame on in the eighth and thwarted another Mountaineer rally, then pitched a 1-2-3 ninth to earn his second save of the season.
After a scoreless first third of the ballgame, WVU scored first with an RBI single in the fourth frame for an early 1-0 lead.
MSU's deficit didn't last long as Jebb started off the bottom of the fourth inning with a single and stole second. After Farquhar followed with a single, Mayes roped a single to center to score Jebb and move Farquhar up to third. Sophomore infielder Brock Vradenburg was up next and he flew out to left for a sacrifice fly to play Farquhar, bringing Walker up to bat. Walker then doubled to the right center gap to drive in Mayes and put MSU ahead, 3-1.
With his first lead of the day, Szczepaniak had a shutdown fifth, getting his offense back to the dugout in a hurry.
AFter WVU made a pitching change to open the frame, Parker knocked a 1-out double, then Jebb belted a two-out triple off the 400-foot mark of the center field wall, plating Pilat and putting the Green & White on top, 4-1.
Tomasic took over for Szczepaniak to open the sixth and rang up another 1-2-3 inning, before the Mountaineers threatened in the seventh, loading the bases without an out. MSU went to the bullpen and called Carson in. After an RBI single made the score 4-2, Carson induced a line drive that went right to Jebb, who was playing just behind the second base bag and he stepped on second for the double play to thwart the Mountaineer threat and end the inning.
After some stretching and singing about peanuts and crackerjacks, Ahn led off with a double to right, and moved up to third on a Pilat groundout. Jebb then laced a hustle-double to center, sliding in ahead of the tag. Farquhar then knocked a single up the middle to drive in Jebb and open a 6-2 advantage for MSU.
WVU quickly closed to 6-3 as McGwire Holbrook hit a 1-out solo home run, but Bischoff came on and closed the door on a rally.
The Spartans got the run back and more in the bottom of the eighth, as Frank singled to center to lead off the frame. Two batters later, Ahn was hit by pitch, then Frank and Ahn pulled off the double steal and Frank scored on a WVU throwing error. Pilat doubled to right to move Ahn up to third, then Jebb singled through the right side of the drawn-in infield for his third and fourth RBI of the day and MSU's eighth and ninth, and final runs of the game.
Bischoff retired the Mountaineers 1-2-3 in the ninth, getting a strikeout looking to end the game and spark the Spartan celebration.
Michigan State continues the second leg of its Spring Break trip, flying from Minneapolis to Greenville, S.C. on Sunday night to spend the second leg of the trip at their home-away-from home, Fluor Field. MSU will open action facing Clemson on Wednesday, March 9, before hosting the 2022 First Pitch Invitational, Friday-Sunday, March 11-13, playing Kansas for the second-straight weekend, along with Cincinnati and Western Carolina.
The Spartans will tangle with the Bearcats of Cincinnati on Friday, March 11 in a 2 p.m. first pitch, followed by taking on Western Carolina on Saturday, March 12, also in a 2 p.m. start time, before wrapping up the weekend on Sunday, March 13 against Kansas in a 1 p.m. first pitch.
Fans can follow the action with links available at MSUSpartans.com.
