Sunday, May 15
McLane Stadium at Kobs Field | East Lansing, Mich.
1:05 PM ET
Michigan State University
23-27, 7-14
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Iowa
30-17, 14-7
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Michigan State
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Spartans Celebrate Senior Day Sunday With 11-8 Victory For MSU Over Iowa
5/15/2022 9:23:00 PM | Baseball
MSU plates nine in second inning to open big lead in home finale.
EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Michigan State baseball celebrated Spartan Senior Day in exciting fashion with an 11-8 Victory For MSU over Iowa, Sunday afternoon at a sun-basked McLane Stadium at Kobs Field.
After Saturday's game was marred with multiple weather delays, Sunday's weather was fantastic for baseball and even better for Senior Day. MSU honored its three senior players, Peter Ahn, Kyle Bischoff and Zach Iverson, along with two student managers, Aaron Boise and Tommy Merlo, in a pre-game ceremony.
"It's always bittersweet, these are three outstanding young men and two of them (Ahn and Iverson) have been here for a long time, been here for five years, and this is Kyle's his first and only year here," MSU head coach Jake Boss Jr. said. "I know all three of them are just tremendous young men, they represent our program in the best possible way, they've worked hard for us here, given us really everything that they have and they're three classy kids, and they're ready for whatever is next, and that's why you come to Michigan State. I'm just really proud of them, and wish we had them for longer, but they're ready for whatever's next."
Following the win, the three Spartan senior players and two student managers went out to centerfield to kiss the painted Spartan head, the Michigan State tradition for Senior Day, and posed for photos and interviews with the media.
"It was fantastic. I've seen it in years past from knowing people that have played and graduated from Michigan State, and it's just such a really cool tradition and I'm glad I could be a part of it," Bischoff said.
While the kissing of the Spartan head had a strong impact on the one-year senior Bischoff, it had even deeper impact on Iverson and Ahn.
"I owe this school the world, coming out of high school I didn't think I could play baseball at a school this big, and I was fortunate enough that (assistant coach/recruiting coordinator) Coach Sikes and Coach Boss gave me a chance and five years later, here I am and I couldn't be happier with my experience," Iverson said. "I got some grass in my mouth from kissing the Spartan head, but it was worth it. I've waited a long time to do that, I've seen guys do that the last five years, and I've just been looking forward to that moment for a while now. So I'm very happy I got to do it."
Ahn echoed his fellow fifth-year senior.
"I love this school, and I'm really glad I'm able to call myself a Spartan and will soon be twice graduated, so I'm very excited," said Ahn, who earned his bachelor's degree in December of 2021 and will be finishing his Master's degree in December of 2022. "There's a lot of emotions that you feel and you go through, and like Zach (Iverson) mentioned, five years ago for us and you hear guys say all the time that it goes fast, but it really does. It feels like yesterday that him and I were in some tiny dorm room over in Wonders Hall."
MSU was boosted by a nine-run second inning Sunday, sending 13 Spartans to the plate. The nine runs was their most runs in an inning this season and most since a nine-run inning on April 7, 2018 in the seventh inning of a home game vs. Nebraska, part of a 17-5 triumph over the Huskers.
"It was a lot of good at bats, we were balanced at the plate, hitting the ball hard to all fields and took advantage of a couple opportunities and I thought Peter Ahn got the big hit, with the bases loaded and two outs, having already scored six in the inning, but the triple down the right field line was the big one today," Boss said.
Ahn had a banner day in his final home game, going 2-for-2 with three RBI, coming on a triple in the second, and also scored a run and drew a walk, along with getting hit by a pitch, his team-leading 11th HBP.
"Consistency at the plate is something that's been kind of a roller coaster this year for us, but we put it together for the second inning and then they made a couple changes and their guys really threw well, but I thought our guys still really competed though," Boss said. "When you put up a big number like that, sometimes guys coast and I don't think we did that, and their guys were making pitches when they needed to but that was a was a fun second inning for sure."
Iverson was 1-for-3 with two runs and walk. Fellow senior Bischoff, came on in the eighth with one out and got out of the jam and finished off the ninth to earn his B1G leading 11th save of the season. The 11 saves moves Bischoff up to tie for No. 2 on MSU's single-season saves list, tied with Mike Ericson with 11 in 1990.
"We really needed him today and after he had a tough outing yesterday," Boss said of Bischoff. "The question was if he going to be able to be ready today to throw based on the number of pitches he threw yesterday. With those kinds of guys, those closers, those hard throwers, the adrenaline gets pumping and he wasn't going to not take the ball, I guess you could say. So he was ready when we when we called upon him and especially in a big spot, and then another big spot there in the ninth, with our best guy against their best guy and he got him so it was a good one for us. It was a tough weekend, but today was a really good win against a good team."
Ahn and Iverson were two of the eight Spartans in the lineup that had at least one hit, as sophomore infielder Mitch Jebb was 2-for-4 with a run, while his keystone combination partner sophomore infielder Trent Farquhar was 1-for-3 with two RBI and a run scored, and both Jebb and Farquhar drew a walk. Junior outfielder Casey Mayes was 1-for-5 with two runs scored and one batted in, while sophomore infielders Dillon Kark and Brock Vradenburg along with redshirt-freshman catcher Bryan Broecker were all 1-for-4, with Broecker and Vradenburg knocking in a pair of RBI each. Vradenburg also scored two runs, while Broecker and Kark touched home once each.
On the mound, sophomore Harrison Cook picked up his first win as a Spartan, going 6.0 IP, scattering six hits while allowing just one run, and ringing up five strikeouts and walking three.
Junior reliever Wyatt Rush went 1.0 IP with two runs on one hit and a walk, while junior Andrew Carson yielded five runs on three hits and two walks, before Bischoff came on and closed the door on the Hawkeyes. The Spartan closer pitched the final 1.2 IP, allowing just one hit while ringing up a pair of strikeouts to pick up his 11th save.
The Hawkeyes struck in their first at bat, plating a run for the early 1-0 lead.
However, the Spartans responded in a big way, plating four runs before Iowa made a pitching change, and the rally continued, and when the dust settled, MSU had a 9-run inning on eight hits to open a 9-1 lead.
Broecker came to bat with the bases loaded and no outs, after Mayes led off the inning with a single, then Kark walked before Ahn singled, and the redshirt-freshman catcher smacked a double to the gap in right center for a two-run double for MSU's first two runs. Vradenburg then knocked a two-run single through the right side to plate Ahn and Broecker. Iverson followed with a single through the left side, chasing Iowa starter Ty Lagenberg.
Jebb welcomed Hawkeye reliever Jacob Henderson to the game by beating out an infield single. Farquhar followed with a single to left to drive in Vradenburg. Two batters later, Mayes reached and Iverson was safe at home on a bang-bang play at the plate.
Two batters later, Ahn stepped to the dish for the second time in the inning, this time with the bags full of Spartans, and smacked a shot down the right field and up the hill at the wall in the corner, darting around the bases for a bases-clearing triple to put MSU ahead, 9-1, capping the Green & White's biggest inning since 2018.
Cook kept the Hawkeyes in check through the middle innings, coasting through the middle innings before turning the ball over to the bullpen.
MSU added a run in the home half of the sixth after Iverson led off with a walk and Jebb laced a double down the line in left, moving Iverson to third. Farquhar came to bat and flew out to deep center field, driving in Iverson for the sac fly.
Iowa countered with a two-run home run by Peyton Williams in the seventh, before Rush ended the Hawkeye rally with a groundout. The visitors cut the gap to 10-8 in the top of the eighth, on and RBI groundout then a grand slam to right center by Keaton Anthony closed Iowa within a pair of runs with only one out in the frame.
Michigan State went to the pen and brought in Bischoff and he induced a flyout before getting a strikeout to end the inning.
Vradenburg led off the bottom of the eighth, and struck out swinging, but reached on a wild pitch. Two batters later, Jebb walked, then both Vradenburg and Jebb moved up a bag on a wild pitch, and Farquhar walked to load the bases, and Vradenburg scored on an error.
Bischoff got the first out of the ninth on a strikeout before yielding a one-out single, before fielding his position on a comebacker for the second out, but then hit the next batter, putting two Hawkeyes on with two outs. Williams flew out to Ahn at the edge of the warning track in left center field to end the game and spark the Spartans' Senior Day celebration.
Michigan State closes out regular-season action with four road games, opening with a single game at in-state rival Michigan in a non-conference contest on Tuesday, May 17 at Ann Arbor, with first pitch set for 6 p.m.
MSU then heads to Lincoln, Neb. for a three-game set at Nebraska, Thursday-Saturday, May 19-21, to wrap-up regular-season action, with Thursday and Friday's games starting at 7:35 p.m., before Saturday's finale at 1:05 p.m.
The weekend schedule is subject to change based on weather.
Along with any further schedule updates, fans can find "Watch Live," "Listen Live" and "Live Stats" links when available at MSUSpartans.com to follow along with the upcoming action.
After Saturday's game was marred with multiple weather delays, Sunday's weather was fantastic for baseball and even better for Senior Day. MSU honored its three senior players, Peter Ahn, Kyle Bischoff and Zach Iverson, along with two student managers, Aaron Boise and Tommy Merlo, in a pre-game ceremony.
"It's always bittersweet, these are three outstanding young men and two of them (Ahn and Iverson) have been here for a long time, been here for five years, and this is Kyle's his first and only year here," MSU head coach Jake Boss Jr. said. "I know all three of them are just tremendous young men, they represent our program in the best possible way, they've worked hard for us here, given us really everything that they have and they're three classy kids, and they're ready for whatever is next, and that's why you come to Michigan State. I'm just really proud of them, and wish we had them for longer, but they're ready for whatever's next."
Following the win, the three Spartan senior players and two student managers went out to centerfield to kiss the painted Spartan head, the Michigan State tradition for Senior Day, and posed for photos and interviews with the media.
"It was fantastic. I've seen it in years past from knowing people that have played and graduated from Michigan State, and it's just such a really cool tradition and I'm glad I could be a part of it," Bischoff said.
While the kissing of the Spartan head had a strong impact on the one-year senior Bischoff, it had even deeper impact on Iverson and Ahn.
"I owe this school the world, coming out of high school I didn't think I could play baseball at a school this big, and I was fortunate enough that (assistant coach/recruiting coordinator) Coach Sikes and Coach Boss gave me a chance and five years later, here I am and I couldn't be happier with my experience," Iverson said. "I got some grass in my mouth from kissing the Spartan head, but it was worth it. I've waited a long time to do that, I've seen guys do that the last five years, and I've just been looking forward to that moment for a while now. So I'm very happy I got to do it."
Ahn echoed his fellow fifth-year senior.
"I love this school, and I'm really glad I'm able to call myself a Spartan and will soon be twice graduated, so I'm very excited," said Ahn, who earned his bachelor's degree in December of 2021 and will be finishing his Master's degree in December of 2022. "There's a lot of emotions that you feel and you go through, and like Zach (Iverson) mentioned, five years ago for us and you hear guys say all the time that it goes fast, but it really does. It feels like yesterday that him and I were in some tiny dorm room over in Wonders Hall."
MSU was boosted by a nine-run second inning Sunday, sending 13 Spartans to the plate. The nine runs was their most runs in an inning this season and most since a nine-run inning on April 7, 2018 in the seventh inning of a home game vs. Nebraska, part of a 17-5 triumph over the Huskers.
"It was a lot of good at bats, we were balanced at the plate, hitting the ball hard to all fields and took advantage of a couple opportunities and I thought Peter Ahn got the big hit, with the bases loaded and two outs, having already scored six in the inning, but the triple down the right field line was the big one today," Boss said.
Ahn had a banner day in his final home game, going 2-for-2 with three RBI, coming on a triple in the second, and also scored a run and drew a walk, along with getting hit by a pitch, his team-leading 11th HBP.
"Consistency at the plate is something that's been kind of a roller coaster this year for us, but we put it together for the second inning and then they made a couple changes and their guys really threw well, but I thought our guys still really competed though," Boss said. "When you put up a big number like that, sometimes guys coast and I don't think we did that, and their guys were making pitches when they needed to but that was a was a fun second inning for sure."
Iverson was 1-for-3 with two runs and walk. Fellow senior Bischoff, came on in the eighth with one out and got out of the jam and finished off the ninth to earn his B1G leading 11th save of the season. The 11 saves moves Bischoff up to tie for No. 2 on MSU's single-season saves list, tied with Mike Ericson with 11 in 1990.
"We really needed him today and after he had a tough outing yesterday," Boss said of Bischoff. "The question was if he going to be able to be ready today to throw based on the number of pitches he threw yesterday. With those kinds of guys, those closers, those hard throwers, the adrenaline gets pumping and he wasn't going to not take the ball, I guess you could say. So he was ready when we when we called upon him and especially in a big spot, and then another big spot there in the ninth, with our best guy against their best guy and he got him so it was a good one for us. It was a tough weekend, but today was a really good win against a good team."
Ahn and Iverson were two of the eight Spartans in the lineup that had at least one hit, as sophomore infielder Mitch Jebb was 2-for-4 with a run, while his keystone combination partner sophomore infielder Trent Farquhar was 1-for-3 with two RBI and a run scored, and both Jebb and Farquhar drew a walk. Junior outfielder Casey Mayes was 1-for-5 with two runs scored and one batted in, while sophomore infielders Dillon Kark and Brock Vradenburg along with redshirt-freshman catcher Bryan Broecker were all 1-for-4, with Broecker and Vradenburg knocking in a pair of RBI each. Vradenburg also scored two runs, while Broecker and Kark touched home once each.
On the mound, sophomore Harrison Cook picked up his first win as a Spartan, going 6.0 IP, scattering six hits while allowing just one run, and ringing up five strikeouts and walking three.
Junior reliever Wyatt Rush went 1.0 IP with two runs on one hit and a walk, while junior Andrew Carson yielded five runs on three hits and two walks, before Bischoff came on and closed the door on the Hawkeyes. The Spartan closer pitched the final 1.2 IP, allowing just one hit while ringing up a pair of strikeouts to pick up his 11th save.
The Hawkeyes struck in their first at bat, plating a run for the early 1-0 lead.
However, the Spartans responded in a big way, plating four runs before Iowa made a pitching change, and the rally continued, and when the dust settled, MSU had a 9-run inning on eight hits to open a 9-1 lead.
Broecker came to bat with the bases loaded and no outs, after Mayes led off the inning with a single, then Kark walked before Ahn singled, and the redshirt-freshman catcher smacked a double to the gap in right center for a two-run double for MSU's first two runs. Vradenburg then knocked a two-run single through the right side to plate Ahn and Broecker. Iverson followed with a single through the left side, chasing Iowa starter Ty Lagenberg.
Jebb welcomed Hawkeye reliever Jacob Henderson to the game by beating out an infield single. Farquhar followed with a single to left to drive in Vradenburg. Two batters later, Mayes reached and Iverson was safe at home on a bang-bang play at the plate.
Two batters later, Ahn stepped to the dish for the second time in the inning, this time with the bags full of Spartans, and smacked a shot down the right field and up the hill at the wall in the corner, darting around the bases for a bases-clearing triple to put MSU ahead, 9-1, capping the Green & White's biggest inning since 2018.
Cook kept the Hawkeyes in check through the middle innings, coasting through the middle innings before turning the ball over to the bullpen.
MSU added a run in the home half of the sixth after Iverson led off with a walk and Jebb laced a double down the line in left, moving Iverson to third. Farquhar came to bat and flew out to deep center field, driving in Iverson for the sac fly.
Iowa countered with a two-run home run by Peyton Williams in the seventh, before Rush ended the Hawkeye rally with a groundout. The visitors cut the gap to 10-8 in the top of the eighth, on and RBI groundout then a grand slam to right center by Keaton Anthony closed Iowa within a pair of runs with only one out in the frame.
Michigan State went to the pen and brought in Bischoff and he induced a flyout before getting a strikeout to end the inning.
Vradenburg led off the bottom of the eighth, and struck out swinging, but reached on a wild pitch. Two batters later, Jebb walked, then both Vradenburg and Jebb moved up a bag on a wild pitch, and Farquhar walked to load the bases, and Vradenburg scored on an error.
Bischoff got the first out of the ninth on a strikeout before yielding a one-out single, before fielding his position on a comebacker for the second out, but then hit the next batter, putting two Hawkeyes on with two outs. Williams flew out to Ahn at the edge of the warning track in left center field to end the game and spark the Spartans' Senior Day celebration.
Michigan State closes out regular-season action with four road games, opening with a single game at in-state rival Michigan in a non-conference contest on Tuesday, May 17 at Ann Arbor, with first pitch set for 6 p.m.
MSU then heads to Lincoln, Neb. for a three-game set at Nebraska, Thursday-Saturday, May 19-21, to wrap-up regular-season action, with Thursday and Friday's games starting at 7:35 p.m., before Saturday's finale at 1:05 p.m.
The weekend schedule is subject to change based on weather.
Along with any further schedule updates, fans can find "Watch Live," "Listen Live" and "Live Stats" links when available at MSUSpartans.com to follow along with the upcoming action.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Cook, Harrison (1-4)
L: Ty Langenberg (5-2)
S: Bischoff, Kyle (11)
Batting:
2B: Sam Petersen 1
HR: Peyton Williams 1 ; Keaton Anthony 1
RBI: Ben Wilmes 1 ; Peyton Williams 2 ; Keaton Anthony 4 ; Sam Hojnar 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Ben Wilmes 2 ; Peyton Williams 2 ; Keaton Anthony 1 ; Sam Petersen 1 ; Michael Seegers 1 ; Kyle Huckstorf 1
HBP: Ben Wilmes 2 ; Keaton Anthony 1 ; Kyle Huckstorf 1
PO: Sam Petersen 1
Batting:
2B: Jebb, Mitch 1 ; Broecker, Bryan 1
3B: Ahn, Peter 1
RBI: Farquhar, Trent 2 ; Mayes, Casey 1 ; Ahn, Peter 3 ; Broecker, Bryan 2 ; Vradenburg, Brock 2
SF: Farquhar, Trent 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Jebb, Mitch 1 ; Farquhar, Trent 1 ; Mayes, Casey 2 ; Kark, Dillon 1 ; Ahn, Peter 1 ; Broecker, Bryan 1 ; Vradenburg, Brock 2 ; Iverson, Zach 2
HBP: Ahn, Peter 1
PO: Ahn, Peter 1
Game Leaders
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Players Mentioned
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INF/OF/RHP
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/ BaseballPursuit to Greatness | Spartans All-Access
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