Saturday, April 23
ROCKY AND BERENICE MILLER PARK | EVANSTON, ILL.
12 PM ET / 11 AM CT
Michigan State University
15-20, 0
2
at
14
Northwestern
16-16, 0
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3
4
5
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7
8
9
R
H
E
Michigan State
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
1
2
7
3
Northwestern
3
1
0
7
3
0
0
0
X
14
10
0
Photo by: Kelly Branigan
Spartans Clawed By Wildcats In Saturday Twinbill
4/23/2022 7:15:00 PM | Baseball
Mayes, Jebb knock solo HRs on day.
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Michigan State baseball was topped twice in a twinbill at Northwestern Saturday afternoon at a sunny Rocky and Berenice Miller Park.
After Friday's scheduled game got washed out by rain and thunderstorms in the Evanston area, temperatures were in the upper 70s for Saturday's doubleheader, as the homestanding Wildcats won both games, taking the opener, 14-2, and game two, 4-1.
Northwestern's bats were warmed up as much as the mercury Saturday, getting on the board early in the opener on a three-run home run in the bottom of the first. NU added one in the second before breaking the game open with seven runs in the fourth, adding three more in the fifth for a 14-0 lead.
The Spartans broke the shutout in the sixth on the solo home run by junior outfielder Casey Mayes. MSU added a run in the ninth on an RBI single by sophomore infielder Dillon Kark, plating redshirt-freshman infielder Sam Busch who singled.Â
"Tough day for us today, we game up a big number in the first inning of game one again today," MSU head coach Jake Boss Jr. said. "Unfortunately, we're doing a lot of things that can't be done in order to win ballgames."Â
Redshirt-freshman Bryan Broecker is a Chicago native and is one of three Illinois natives on the Spartans' roster. The hometown kid was the lone Spartan with multiple hits in the opener, going 2-for-4, knocking a single in his first at bat in a college game in Chicago. Mayes finished 1-for-4 with the RBI and run scored, while junior outfielder Peter Ahn and sophomore infielder Mitch Jebb were both 1-for-3, and Kark was 1-for-4. Busch's hit came in his lone at bat as he came on late in the game.Â
In game two, Jebb joined in the home run hitting with a solo shot to left field. Jebb finished 2-for-4, matched by Mayes, with a double. Kark was 1-for-3, while junior outfielder Jack Frank was 1-for-4, also with a double.
"Bryan had a good day in game one," Boss said. "The wind was blowing out a little bit and we've got some left-handed power to the opposite field, and Casey and Mitch both barrelled-up a couple balls that went out, so that was good to see. Consistency just has to be better from inning one through inning nine in order for us to put up a big number, and defend against the big number that we're getting put up against us."
On the mound in game one, sophomore southpaw starter Nick Powers went 3.1 IP, spraying five hits, with one K, five walks and yielding 10 runs, nine earned. Redshirt-freshman reliever Dominic Pianto threw 1.2 IP, allowing four hits, four runs and ringing up one strikeout. Sophomore reliever Dominic Hann pitched the final 3.0 IP with two Ks, two walks and holding NU to just one hit.
In the second game, junior starter Conner Tomasic went 5.2 IP, scattering nine hits while yielding four runs, three earned, with one strikeout and a walk. Junior reliever Wyatt Rush pitched the final 2.1 IP, chalking up Ks with one walk, and didn't allow a hit or a run.
"In game two, I thought Conner Tomasic battled for us. Solo home runs don't beat ya, and he was able to limit their offense and stayed away from a big inning. I thought Wyatt Rush did a nice job on the mound as well," Boss said.
Game two was similar to game one with the Wildcats getting on the board in the home half of the first on a solo home run. NU added a run in the second on an RBI single, in the fourth on a solo HR and in the sixth on an RBI single to take a 4-0 lead.
Michigan State got on the board in the eighth on Jebb's homer to left.
"We just didn't generate many opportunities on offense today," Boss said. "We had one chance early in the game and missed a sign and ran ourselves out of the inning. We just seem to make too many mistakes and can't overcome them. We need to execute the things we work on in practice, and we're back at it tomorrow to try and do that."
Michigan State and Northwestern conclude the three-game weekend series on Sunday at 3 p.m. ET / 2 p.m. CT, and Sunday's clash between the Spartans and Wildcats will be nationally televised on Big Ten Network.
The week schedule is subject to change based on weather.
Â
Along with any further schedule updates, fans can follow the games with links for live stats, live audio (when available) and live streaming of home games from Big Ten Network+ at MSUSpartans.com.
Â
After Friday's scheduled game got washed out by rain and thunderstorms in the Evanston area, temperatures were in the upper 70s for Saturday's doubleheader, as the homestanding Wildcats won both games, taking the opener, 14-2, and game two, 4-1.
Northwestern's bats were warmed up as much as the mercury Saturday, getting on the board early in the opener on a three-run home run in the bottom of the first. NU added one in the second before breaking the game open with seven runs in the fourth, adding three more in the fifth for a 14-0 lead.
The Spartans broke the shutout in the sixth on the solo home run by junior outfielder Casey Mayes. MSU added a run in the ninth on an RBI single by sophomore infielder Dillon Kark, plating redshirt-freshman infielder Sam Busch who singled.Â
"Tough day for us today, we game up a big number in the first inning of game one again today," MSU head coach Jake Boss Jr. said. "Unfortunately, we're doing a lot of things that can't be done in order to win ballgames."Â
Redshirt-freshman Bryan Broecker is a Chicago native and is one of three Illinois natives on the Spartans' roster. The hometown kid was the lone Spartan with multiple hits in the opener, going 2-for-4, knocking a single in his first at bat in a college game in Chicago. Mayes finished 1-for-4 with the RBI and run scored, while junior outfielder Peter Ahn and sophomore infielder Mitch Jebb were both 1-for-3, and Kark was 1-for-4. Busch's hit came in his lone at bat as he came on late in the game.Â
In game two, Jebb joined in the home run hitting with a solo shot to left field. Jebb finished 2-for-4, matched by Mayes, with a double. Kark was 1-for-3, while junior outfielder Jack Frank was 1-for-4, also with a double.
"Bryan had a good day in game one," Boss said. "The wind was blowing out a little bit and we've got some left-handed power to the opposite field, and Casey and Mitch both barrelled-up a couple balls that went out, so that was good to see. Consistency just has to be better from inning one through inning nine in order for us to put up a big number, and defend against the big number that we're getting put up against us."
On the mound in game one, sophomore southpaw starter Nick Powers went 3.1 IP, spraying five hits, with one K, five walks and yielding 10 runs, nine earned. Redshirt-freshman reliever Dominic Pianto threw 1.2 IP, allowing four hits, four runs and ringing up one strikeout. Sophomore reliever Dominic Hann pitched the final 3.0 IP with two Ks, two walks and holding NU to just one hit.
In the second game, junior starter Conner Tomasic went 5.2 IP, scattering nine hits while yielding four runs, three earned, with one strikeout and a walk. Junior reliever Wyatt Rush pitched the final 2.1 IP, chalking up Ks with one walk, and didn't allow a hit or a run.
"In game two, I thought Conner Tomasic battled for us. Solo home runs don't beat ya, and he was able to limit their offense and stayed away from a big inning. I thought Wyatt Rush did a nice job on the mound as well," Boss said.
Game two was similar to game one with the Wildcats getting on the board in the home half of the first on a solo home run. NU added a run in the second on an RBI single, in the fourth on a solo HR and in the sixth on an RBI single to take a 4-0 lead.
Michigan State got on the board in the eighth on Jebb's homer to left.
"We just didn't generate many opportunities on offense today," Boss said. "We had one chance early in the game and missed a sign and ran ourselves out of the inning. We just seem to make too many mistakes and can't overcome them. We need to execute the things we work on in practice, and we're back at it tomorrow to try and do that."
Michigan State and Northwestern conclude the three-game weekend series on Sunday at 3 p.m. ET / 2 p.m. CT, and Sunday's clash between the Spartans and Wildcats will be nationally televised on Big Ten Network.
The week schedule is subject to change based on weather.
Â
Along with any further schedule updates, fans can follow the games with links for live stats, live audio (when available) and live streaming of home games from Big Ten Network+ at MSUSpartans.com.
Â
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Michael Farinelli (4-4)
L: Tomasic, Conner (2-2)
S: Jay Beshears (3)
Batting:
2B: Frank, Jack 1 ; Mayes, Casey 1
HR: Jebb, Mitch 1
RBI: Jebb, Mitch 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Jebb, Mitch 1
SB: Mayes, Casey 1
Batting:
HR: Ethan O'Donnell 2
RBI: Ethan O'Donnell 2 ; Anthony Calarco 1 ; Patrick Herrera 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Ethan O'Donnell 2 ; Alex Calarco 1 ; Patrick Herrera 1
SB: Patrick Herrera 1
HBP: Vincent Bianchina 1 ; Patrick Herrera 1
Game Leaders
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
AB
4
R
0
H
2
RBI
0
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
C
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OF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ BaseballINF
/ Baseball
INF
/ BaseballOF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
LHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
RHP/INF
/ BaseballPursuit to Greatness | Spartans All-Access
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