May 8, 1999

Gm. 1 Box Score | Gm. 2 Box Score

EAST LANSING, Mich. - The Michigan State baseball team split a doubleheader with Ohio State on Saturday at Oldsmobile Park in Lansing, and in doing so stopped two streaks. After falling to the Buckeyes 11-1 in game one, the Spartans beat OSU 10-5 in game two, snapping Ohio State's nation-leading 21-game winning streak and Michigan State's seven game losing streak. On the season MSU stands at 25-22, 8-14 in the Big Ten, while OSU is 42-8, 21-2 in conference.

Game one saw Ohio State jump on top early and not look back as they cruised to an 11-1 victory. Doug Dendinger, who entered the game in the fifth inning, led the Buckeyes with three RBI, but the real star was starting pitcher Andy Lee. Lee pitched a complete game, striking out seven and allowing only five hits, to improve his record to a perfect 7-0. Kyle Geswein (Dayton, Ohio) (2-2) took the loss for the Spartans.

Although they had been beaten badly in the first two games of the series, the Spartans opened game three ready to win. Mike Wagner (Cincinnati, Ohio) led off the bottom of the first inning with a home run, giving MSU its first lead of the series. Wagner would finish the game 4-5 with 3 RBI. The Spartans would score three more in the second to take a 4-0 lead. The last two runs coming on a Ted Demetral (Sterling Heights, Mich.) single.

The Buckeyes would score twice in the fourth, but the Spartans would respond with three in the fifth. Troy Bergman (Grosse Pointe, Mich.) drove in one run with a single and Wagner added a bases-loaded single, scoring two more to give MSU a 7-2 lead. OSU would score twice in the sixth, but Spartan reliever Josh Axelson (Brooklyn, Mich.) would strike out Doug Dendinger with men on second and third to kill the rally.

MSU would cement its victory in the bottom half of the inning with three more runs. Mike Pisani (Rochester, Mich.) led off the inning with a double down the left field line and scored on a Geswein single to center field. Kevin Crews (Hinckley, Ohio) would also add a RBI single, giving the Spartans a comfortable 10-4 lead. The Buckeyes would score once in the seventh but it was not enough as they saw their winning streak snapped at 21.

Chris Yens (Mayville, Mich.) earned the win in his first start of the season to improve to 3-2. It was only the second start of his career. In five innings of work, he allowed four runs on four hits. OSU's E.J. Laratta took the loss to drop to 8-2.

After the game, senior co-captain Tom Hartley explained that the team rode an emotional wave to victory.

"The emotional level was way up," said Hartley. "Guys were making noise in the dugout. We were tired of losing and wanted to win badly. We got big hits and great pitching.

"Yens was awesome. He set the tone with his intensity and focus when he came in from his pre-game warmups. He gave the team momemtum and confidence that just grew as the game went on."

Head coach Ted Mahan was equally impressed with Yens' performance.

"It was a tremendous effort by the whole team, but starting pitching was key," said Mahan. Yens did such a great job in his first start of the year. He pitched five strong innings and gave us a chance to win."

"We figured we had nothing to lose, so we stuck together and beat a very good team. Tomorrow, we have a chance to even the series, which no one in the Big Ten has done. That would be a tremendous accomplishment for our team."

The four game series will conclude with a single game on Sunday at Oldsmobile Park at 1 p.m. Seniors Carlos Fernandez, Tom Hartley, Mike Wagner and Chris Yens will be honored before the game.