Michigan State University Athletics
Michigan State University
Miami Fla
Spartan Baseball Stops Hurricanes, 13-11
3/9/2000 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 9, 2000
CORAL GABLES, Fla. - Michigan State University's baseball team - with a resilient effort - shocked the defending national champions and nation's No. 10 team Wednesday night on its home field in south Florida. With the win the Spartans won their second game of the young season and are now 2-7, while the Hurricanes fall to 14-7 following the loss.
In a game that featured five lead changes and three ties, MSU drew first blood in the top-half of the first inning when freshman center fielder Bob Malek (Canton, Mich.) drove a first pitch fastball off Miami starter Tom Farmer over the right field fence for his first collegiate homerun. Malek's blast drove himself and senior second baseman Ted Demetral (Sterling Heights, Mich.) home to put MSU on top 2-0.
Miami would battle back, though, and tie the game at two in its bottom-half of the first by cranking out three hits off of Spartan starter Dylan Putnam (So., Ann Arbor, Mich.). And, following a scoreless inning by the Spartans in the second, the `Canes scored two more runs in their half of the second to take a 4-2 lead, while knocking out Putnam in the process.
The Spartans, however, would respond in the third as designated hitter Joe Albaugh (Sr., Mt. Pleasant, Mich.) belted a three-run homer, his second of the year, which drove home Kyle Geswein (So., Dayton, Ohio) and Mike Pisani (Sr., Rochester, Mich.), putting MSU out front 5-4.
In the fourth the game would once again be tied as Miami rallied to get one run off MSU reliever Ryan Golem (Fr., Dearborn, Mich.). But with the score tied at 5-5 in the fifth, the defending national champs appeared to break the game open when they erupted for six runs in their half of the inning to go up 11-5.
MSU, however, would once again battle back. Catcher Matt Haynes (So., Midland, Mich.), following his one-out double down the right field line, scored off of Malek's RBI single, bringing MSU to within five (11-6). And, MSU reliever Domanick Squires (So., Rochester Hills, Mich.), after coming on in the fifth, held Miami's hitters in check by sitting them down in order in the sixth.
In the Spartans half of the seventh, the Geswein show started. The sophomore first baseman opened up the inning by cranking a sole homerun - his fifth of the season - off Hurricane reliever Alex Prendes, making the score 11-7 Miami. The Spartans, however, weren't finished in the seventh. Following a walk issued to Albaugh, sophomore outfielder Chris McCuiston (Birmingham, Mich.) singled to center and advanced to second, while Albaugh advanced to third following a wild pitch. Prendes would load the bases up with Spartans after Haynes walked. With two outs, Demetral would step to the plate and deliver. The senior second baseman, who is the only MSU player to hit safely in each of the nine games, drove in two more runs with right field single to bring the score to 11-9. Scoring on the single was Albaugh and McCuiston.
After a scoreless seventh inning by Miami, the MSU bats once again got going in the eighth inning. Following a walk by Pisani, Geswein tied the game at 11-11 - the third tie of the contest - with a monster two-run homer into right-center field. The two-run shot was Geswein's sixth of the season. After Geswein's homer, Albaugh singled to right field and then advanced to third following sophomore infielder Don Watchowski's (Shelby Township, Mich.) single into right field. Albaugh would come around to score - giving MSU a 12-11 lead - following McCuiston's ground out to second base. Watchowki gave the Spartans a much-needed insurance run as he crossed the plate after Haynes grounded out to short.
With one on and one out in Miami's half of the eighth, Spartan stopper Josh Axelson (Jr., Brooklyn, Mich.) came in and closed the door on the Hurricanes. Over the final one and two-thirds innings Axelson struck out four while allowing to just one base runner to preserve 13-11 victory for MSU.
After the win Head Coach Ted Mahan said he hopes the victory helps to jump-start the team into playing to its capabilities and winning more games.
"We haven't played well thus far, but we played well tonight. Hopefully this win will get us going. This should help prove to us that we can beat anybody. I think these guys know what it takes now, but we need to get better on the mound and we need to catch the ball better," Mahan said.
The Spartans will return to the field Thursday night when they will take on the Cardinals of Ball State in Boca Raton, Fla., at 7:00 p.m.
Score by innings: R H EMSU 2 0 3 0 0 1 3 4 0 13 15 2UM 2 2 0 1 6 0 0 0 0 11 11 3
Win - Squires (1-0)Loss - DeBold (1-2)Save - Axelson (2)
#MSU#
