Friday, April 1
Charles H. Braun Stadium | Evansville, Ind.
7 PM ET / 6 PM CT
Michigan State University
12-11
2
at
7
Evansville
11-14
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Michigan State
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
0
2
8
2
Evansville
1
0
3
0
2
1
0
0
X
7
9
0
Photo by: Sarah Smith
Spartans Downed By Aces Friday Night
4/1/2022 11:34:00 PM | Baseball
MSU defeated by Evansville in series-opener.
EVANSVILLE, Ind. -- Michigan State baseball was downed by Evansville, 7-2, Friday night at UE's German American Bank Field at Charles H. Braun Stadium in the opening contest of a three-game weekend series.
MSU slides to 12-11 overall with the loss, while UE is 11-14 with the win. Friday was the first meeting between the Spartans and Aces since 2011, also in Evansville, when UE took two of three.
Michigan State was led by sophomore infielder Trent Farquhar going 3-for-5 with a run scored, while junior outfielder Casey Mayes was 2-for-4. Redshirt-freshman infielder Bryan Broecker was 1-for-4 with a run scored, while sophomore infielder Mitch Jebb (1-for-2) and sophomore outfielder Jack Frank (1-for-3) added the Spartans' other hits. Junior outfielder Zaid Walker had an RBI walk and redshirt-freshman catcher Christian Williams added a ribbie on a sacrifice fly.
Evansville jumped out to a 4-0 lead after three innings, adding two in the fifth and one in the sixth to open a 7-0 advantage, before MSU plated a pair in the eighth to close to 7-2.
MSU's bats were stymied by Evansville starter Shane Gray, who went 7.0 IP and only gave up four hits, while striking out five.
"It was a tough night for us, we couldn't seem to get the last out, early in the game especially, so that was a little disappointing," MSU head coach Jake Boss Jr. said. "Credit their guy, their starter threw four pitches for strikes and commanded both sides of the plate and commanded up in the zone and down in the zone, and he was pretty dominant. We couldn't seem to get on top of the fastball at all. But our guys kept fighting, and kept competing and we just got a beat tonight."
Seven of Evansville's nine hits came with two outs and the Aces scored all seven of their runs with two outs, with two coming on sacrifice flies that were the second out of the frame.
Sophomore Spartan starter Harrison Cook went 4.2 IP, yielding eight hits and six runs, with three strikeouts and three walks. Redshirt-freshman reliever Dominic Pianto came on in the fifth and finished with 3.1 IP with one hit and one run to go with three BB and two Ks.
This weekend is Evansville's third series in a row against Big Ten opponents, having played Northwestern on March 20 and Indiana last weekend, and UE is now 2-4 against B1G foes, with both wins coming on Friday nights, after beating Indiana, 17-14 last week. The Aces have also played nationally-ranked NC State, Vanderbilt and Tulane this season, sweeping Tulane in New Orleans.
"Evansville is no joke down here. They've played a really difficult schedule, and we talked about it before the game, 'don't be fooled by the numbers,'" Boss said. "They went down and swept a pretty good Tulane at their place, they played NC State, and took Vanderbilt to a one-run game, they've played Indiana a couple times and beat them once and they played Northwestern up at their place. There are no patsies on their schedule. They kind of took it to us tonight, especially early and that's what good teams do at home, they're comfortable playing at home, they get going and have an opportunity to get some momentum at home and our job was to take that away from them, and again, unfortunately, we couldn't seem to get strike three with two outs or get the last out. Resiliency is going to be extremely important moving forward. This is the equivalent of a conference weekend in my opinion, that's a really good team over there."
After Evansville scored a run in the home half of the first, the Aces were threatening again in the bottom of the second, getting two on with two outs and Mark Shallenberger smacked a deep shot to right field. Junior outfielder made a spectacular diving stop, snaring the ball just before it hit the wall to end the inning and deny the extra-base hit and keep two runs off the board. Walker even got a fist bump of congratulations from Shallenberger on their way back to their respective dugouts.
The Aces tacked on three runs in the third inning, on four hits, including a two-run home run, two doubles and a single, to open a 4-0 lead.
EU added two more in the fifth and one in the sixth for its 7-0 advantage.
The Spartans got on the board with a two-run eighth, as Farquhar led off with a single to left, and he moved up to second on a wild pitch. Broecker singled to right to move Farquhar up a bag, and two batters later, Williams knocked a deep fly ball to center field for a sacrifice fly to drive in Farquhar. Frank followed with a double to move Broecker around to third, then Jebb walked to lead the bases and Walker walked to plate Broecker, and Evansville made a pitching change, and reliever Drew Dominik got a groundout to end the Spartan rally and the eighth.
Farquhar started an MSU rally in the ninth with a one-out single, but a fielder's choice and flyout ended the game.
MSU and Evansville return to the diamond for a 3 p.m. ET / 2 p.m. CT first pitch on Saturday, and then complete the three-game weekend series on Sunday at 2 p.m. ET / 1 p.m. CT.
Next week, the Spartans' lone midweek action is the 2022 Crosstown Showdown on Wednesday, April 6, resuming the Crosstown Showdown after a two-year hiatus. First pitch from Jackson® Field™ is slated for 7:05 p.m.
The Crosstown Showdown exhibition between the Lugnuts and Spartans began in 2007 as a celebration of baseball in Mid Michigan. From 2007-2019, the game was an enormous success, drawing over 100,000 total fans, averaging over 8,000 per game, airing on BTN in 2013, and bringing in the three largest crowds in stadium history, including a throng of 12,997 for the 2012 Showdown.
The game has featured 37 future Major Leaguers between the two teams, including current MLB superstars Vladimir Guerrero, Jr., and Bo Bichette, who faced off in a memorable pre-game Home Run Derby in 2016.
The week schedule is subject to change based on weather.
Along with any further schedule updates, fans can follow the games with links for live stats, live audio (when available) and live streaming from Big Ten Network+ at MSUSpartans.com.
MSU slides to 12-11 overall with the loss, while UE is 11-14 with the win. Friday was the first meeting between the Spartans and Aces since 2011, also in Evansville, when UE took two of three.
Michigan State was led by sophomore infielder Trent Farquhar going 3-for-5 with a run scored, while junior outfielder Casey Mayes was 2-for-4. Redshirt-freshman infielder Bryan Broecker was 1-for-4 with a run scored, while sophomore infielder Mitch Jebb (1-for-2) and sophomore outfielder Jack Frank (1-for-3) added the Spartans' other hits. Junior outfielder Zaid Walker had an RBI walk and redshirt-freshman catcher Christian Williams added a ribbie on a sacrifice fly.
Evansville jumped out to a 4-0 lead after three innings, adding two in the fifth and one in the sixth to open a 7-0 advantage, before MSU plated a pair in the eighth to close to 7-2.
MSU's bats were stymied by Evansville starter Shane Gray, who went 7.0 IP and only gave up four hits, while striking out five.
"It was a tough night for us, we couldn't seem to get the last out, early in the game especially, so that was a little disappointing," MSU head coach Jake Boss Jr. said. "Credit their guy, their starter threw four pitches for strikes and commanded both sides of the plate and commanded up in the zone and down in the zone, and he was pretty dominant. We couldn't seem to get on top of the fastball at all. But our guys kept fighting, and kept competing and we just got a beat tonight."
Seven of Evansville's nine hits came with two outs and the Aces scored all seven of their runs with two outs, with two coming on sacrifice flies that were the second out of the frame.
Sophomore Spartan starter Harrison Cook went 4.2 IP, yielding eight hits and six runs, with three strikeouts and three walks. Redshirt-freshman reliever Dominic Pianto came on in the fifth and finished with 3.1 IP with one hit and one run to go with three BB and two Ks.
This weekend is Evansville's third series in a row against Big Ten opponents, having played Northwestern on March 20 and Indiana last weekend, and UE is now 2-4 against B1G foes, with both wins coming on Friday nights, after beating Indiana, 17-14 last week. The Aces have also played nationally-ranked NC State, Vanderbilt and Tulane this season, sweeping Tulane in New Orleans.
"Evansville is no joke down here. They've played a really difficult schedule, and we talked about it before the game, 'don't be fooled by the numbers,'" Boss said. "They went down and swept a pretty good Tulane at their place, they played NC State, and took Vanderbilt to a one-run game, they've played Indiana a couple times and beat them once and they played Northwestern up at their place. There are no patsies on their schedule. They kind of took it to us tonight, especially early and that's what good teams do at home, they're comfortable playing at home, they get going and have an opportunity to get some momentum at home and our job was to take that away from them, and again, unfortunately, we couldn't seem to get strike three with two outs or get the last out. Resiliency is going to be extremely important moving forward. This is the equivalent of a conference weekend in my opinion, that's a really good team over there."
After Evansville scored a run in the home half of the first, the Aces were threatening again in the bottom of the second, getting two on with two outs and Mark Shallenberger smacked a deep shot to right field. Junior outfielder made a spectacular diving stop, snaring the ball just before it hit the wall to end the inning and deny the extra-base hit and keep two runs off the board. Walker even got a fist bump of congratulations from Shallenberger on their way back to their respective dugouts.
WHAT... A... CATCH!!
— Michigan State Baseball (@MSUBaseball) April 1, 2022
His last name may be Walker, but he was a flyer on this play!!
Zaid Walker with a #SCTop10 nominee diving catch at the wall to rob a hit and save two runs!!
End 2nd | UE 1, MSU 0#GoGreen | #REACH | @zwalk3 pic.twitter.com/khcGP97nbw
The Aces tacked on three runs in the third inning, on four hits, including a two-run home run, two doubles and a single, to open a 4-0 lead.
EU added two more in the fifth and one in the sixth for its 7-0 advantage.
The Spartans got on the board with a two-run eighth, as Farquhar led off with a single to left, and he moved up to second on a wild pitch. Broecker singled to right to move Farquhar up a bag, and two batters later, Williams knocked a deep fly ball to center field for a sacrifice fly to drive in Farquhar. Frank followed with a double to move Broecker around to third, then Jebb walked to lead the bases and Walker walked to plate Broecker, and Evansville made a pitching change, and reliever Drew Dominik got a groundout to end the Spartan rally and the eighth.
Farquhar started an MSU rally in the ninth with a one-out single, but a fielder's choice and flyout ended the game.
MSU and Evansville return to the diamond for a 3 p.m. ET / 2 p.m. CT first pitch on Saturday, and then complete the three-game weekend series on Sunday at 2 p.m. ET / 1 p.m. CT.
Next week, the Spartans' lone midweek action is the 2022 Crosstown Showdown on Wednesday, April 6, resuming the Crosstown Showdown after a two-year hiatus. First pitch from Jackson® Field™ is slated for 7:05 p.m.
The Crosstown Showdown exhibition between the Lugnuts and Spartans began in 2007 as a celebration of baseball in Mid Michigan. From 2007-2019, the game was an enormous success, drawing over 100,000 total fans, averaging over 8,000 per game, airing on BTN in 2013, and bringing in the three largest crowds in stadium history, including a throng of 12,997 for the 2012 Showdown.
The game has featured 37 future Major Leaguers between the two teams, including current MLB superstars Vladimir Guerrero, Jr., and Bo Bichette, who faced off in a memorable pre-game Home Run Derby in 2016.
The week schedule is subject to change based on weather.
Along with any further schedule updates, fans can follow the games with links for live stats, live audio (when available) and live streaming from Big Ten Network+ at MSUSpartans.com.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Gray, Shane (4-3)
L: Cook, Harrison (0-2)
Batting:
2B: Farquhar, Trent 1 ; Frank, Jack 1
RBI: Williams, Christian 1 ; Walker, Zaid 1
SF: Williams, Christian 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Farquhar, Trent 1 ; Broecker, Bryan 1
SB: Farquhar, Trent 1
Batting:
2B: Widder, Brent 1 ; Hord, Brendan 1
HR: Berkey, Evan 1
RBI: Widder, Brent 1 ; Berkey, Evan 3 ; Borgstrom, Danny 1 ; Hord, Brendan 1
SF: Berkey, Evan 1 ; Borgstrom, Danny 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Craig, Tanner 1 ; Scherry, Simon 1 ; Widder, Brent 2 ; Berkey, Evan 2 ; Borgstrom, Danny 1
SB: Scherry, Simon 1 ; Widder, Brent 1
HBP: Craig, Tanner 1
Game Leaders
AB
5
R
1
H
3
RBI
0
AB
4
R
0
H
2
RBI
0
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
C
/ Baseball
RHP
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/ Baseball
INF
/ BaseballOF
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RHP
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
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/ BaseballPursuit to Greatness | Spartans All-Access
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