MSU Blanked By Kansas State, 8-0

Feb. 29, 2008

BEAUMONT, Texas - The Spartan offense couldn't pick up any steam as the Michigan State baseball team lost, 8-0, to Kansas State Friday afternoon at the Lamar Invitational. Senior infielder Brandon Doherty had two hits for MSU, which managed five hits as a team. The Spartans fall to 2-3, while Kansas State is now 1-3.

KSU's Ben Hornbeck pitched five innings to pick up his first win of the season. Freshman lefty Tyler Newsome, making his first career start, pitched five innings and took the loss.

Kansas State took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first as Carter Jurica and Jordan Cruz hit back-to-back doubles and Drew Biery singled.

The Wildcats continued to put runners on base, but Newsome and the Spartan defense made plays in key spots. In the bottom of the third, KSU put runners on second and third with no outs and Newsome rallied for a strikeout and two fly-outs. In the fourth, freshman third baseman A.J. Shindler threw out a runner at home and the Wildcats stranded two more runners.

Kansas State then put the game out of reach by scoring two runs in the fifth and three more in the sixth. Justin Bloxom hit a two-run homer to left in the fifth and Adam Muenster had an RBI single in the sixth. Muenster and Jurica scored on a two-run single by Cruz that put the Wildcats ahead 7-0.

Kansas State added another run in the bottom of the eighth to provide the final margin.

Michigan State continues play at the Lamar Invitational with a 6 p.m. (ET) contest against Arkansas State on Saturday.