Saturday, March 16
Greenville, SC / Fluor Field
1 PM ET
Michigan State University
vs
UConn
Photo by: Jeremy Fleming
Spartans Defeated By Huskies In Doubleheader Saturday
3/16/2019 10:19:00 PM | Baseball
MSU topped twice by UConn at Fluor Field in Greenville.
GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Michigan State baseball was defeated by UConn in both games of Saturday's doubleheader on Saturday at Flour Field, home of the Greenville Drive, in games two and three of a four-game weekend series between the Spartans and Huskies.
UConn won game one, 17-4, before taking the game two of the twinbill, 9-3. The Spartans and Huskies wrap up their weekend series on Sunday at 11 a.m.
"It was a tough day for our guys. We didn't play well offensively or defensively, and we didn't pitch well, and against a good and well-coached team like Connecticut, they'll make you pay," MSU head coach Jake Boss Jr. said. "We need to clean some things up for tomorrow, but rest assured, our guys will come out and play hard; they always do, and that will be no different in game four."
Freshman outfielder Zaid Walker was 3-for-5 with a double and a pair of singles, adding a run scored in the opener, then went 1-for-3 with a run driven in and another scored in the nightcap. Junior infielder Justin Antoncic was 2-for-5 with a run scored in game two after going 0-for-2 with two walks and an RBI in the opener. Senior infielder Royce Ando was 2-for-4 with an RBI in the game one and 1-for-2 with a run scored in the second contest. Senior infielder Marty Bechina was 1-for-4 in both games, with a double and a run scored in the opener, adding a stolen base in the nightcap.
UConn took advantage of an MSU error and scored six runs in the top of the first, also capitalizing on a controversial hit by pitch call that kept the rally going, for an early lead.Â
Michigan State countered with four runs in the bottom of the second, sending nine batters to plate, with Bechina sparking the rally with a double to right, the first of four Spartan hits in the inning, later taking advantage of back-to-back bases-loaded RBI walks by sophomore infielder Zach Iverson and Antoncic, to close to 6-4.
The Huskies tacked on two runs in the third, with a two-run double, adding two runs in the fifth and sixth innings, respectively, and another in the seventh, before plating four in the eighth.
The Spartans threatened in the sixth, with Walker leading off with a single and Iverson and Antoncic again drawing walks, to load the bases, but a flyout ended the inning. MSU again loaded the bases in the seventh on a leadoff infield single by senior outfielder Dan Chmielewski, before Ando and sophomore catcher Adam Proctor later drew walks to fill the bases with Spartans with two outs, but a line out thwarted the threat. Michigan State loaded the bases again in the eighth with a two-out single by junior outfielder Bryce Kelley, Chmielewski reached on an error and Bechina drew a walk, but a groundout snuffed out the rally.
In the nightcap, UConn scored a run in the top of the first on an RBI single, but Michigan State countered with a run of its own in the home half of the opening inning to level the score at 1-all. Antoncic led off with a single up the middle and moved to third on a Bechina single and scored on a Walker groundout to second. The Huskies plated a pair of runs in the second on a two-run double for a 3-1 lead.Â
However, the Spartans again drew even with two runs of their own in the fourth. Walker and Ando had back-to-back singles to lead off the inning. After a sac bunt by Kelley moved them up, redshirt-freshman designated hitter Joe Stewart drew a walk to load the bases. Next, Walker and Ando scored on two-run play on a UConn error off the bat of redshirt-freshman catcher Scott Combs, to even the score at 3-3.
The Huskies broke the tie in the top of the fifth with two runs, scoring on an MSU error and later a sac fly, and UConn added four runs in the eighth on three hits, including a two-run home run to complete the scoring.
Michigan State and UConn wrap up the weekend at Fluor Field on Sunday at 11 a.m.
Any schedule updates will be posted on MSUSpartans.com and on twitter @statebaseball.
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UConn won game one, 17-4, before taking the game two of the twinbill, 9-3. The Spartans and Huskies wrap up their weekend series on Sunday at 11 a.m.
"It was a tough day for our guys. We didn't play well offensively or defensively, and we didn't pitch well, and against a good and well-coached team like Connecticut, they'll make you pay," MSU head coach Jake Boss Jr. said. "We need to clean some things up for tomorrow, but rest assured, our guys will come out and play hard; they always do, and that will be no different in game four."
Freshman outfielder Zaid Walker was 3-for-5 with a double and a pair of singles, adding a run scored in the opener, then went 1-for-3 with a run driven in and another scored in the nightcap. Junior infielder Justin Antoncic was 2-for-5 with a run scored in game two after going 0-for-2 with two walks and an RBI in the opener. Senior infielder Royce Ando was 2-for-4 with an RBI in the game one and 1-for-2 with a run scored in the second contest. Senior infielder Marty Bechina was 1-for-4 in both games, with a double and a run scored in the opener, adding a stolen base in the nightcap.
UConn took advantage of an MSU error and scored six runs in the top of the first, also capitalizing on a controversial hit by pitch call that kept the rally going, for an early lead.Â
Michigan State countered with four runs in the bottom of the second, sending nine batters to plate, with Bechina sparking the rally with a double to right, the first of four Spartan hits in the inning, later taking advantage of back-to-back bases-loaded RBI walks by sophomore infielder Zach Iverson and Antoncic, to close to 6-4.
The Huskies tacked on two runs in the third, with a two-run double, adding two runs in the fifth and sixth innings, respectively, and another in the seventh, before plating four in the eighth.
The Spartans threatened in the sixth, with Walker leading off with a single and Iverson and Antoncic again drawing walks, to load the bases, but a flyout ended the inning. MSU again loaded the bases in the seventh on a leadoff infield single by senior outfielder Dan Chmielewski, before Ando and sophomore catcher Adam Proctor later drew walks to fill the bases with Spartans with two outs, but a line out thwarted the threat. Michigan State loaded the bases again in the eighth with a two-out single by junior outfielder Bryce Kelley, Chmielewski reached on an error and Bechina drew a walk, but a groundout snuffed out the rally.
In the nightcap, UConn scored a run in the top of the first on an RBI single, but Michigan State countered with a run of its own in the home half of the opening inning to level the score at 1-all. Antoncic led off with a single up the middle and moved to third on a Bechina single and scored on a Walker groundout to second. The Huskies plated a pair of runs in the second on a two-run double for a 3-1 lead.Â
However, the Spartans again drew even with two runs of their own in the fourth. Walker and Ando had back-to-back singles to lead off the inning. After a sac bunt by Kelley moved them up, redshirt-freshman designated hitter Joe Stewart drew a walk to load the bases. Next, Walker and Ando scored on two-run play on a UConn error off the bat of redshirt-freshman catcher Scott Combs, to even the score at 3-3.
The Huskies broke the tie in the top of the fifth with two runs, scoring on an MSU error and later a sac fly, and UConn added four runs in the eighth on three hits, including a two-run home run to complete the scoring.
Michigan State and UConn wrap up the weekend at Fluor Field on Sunday at 11 a.m.
Any schedule updates will be posted on MSUSpartans.com and on twitter @statebaseball.
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Players Mentioned
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