Monday, May 9
MEDLAR FIELD AT LUBRANO PARK | UNIVERSITY PARK, PA.
11 AM ET
Michigan State University
21-24, 6-12
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10
Penn State
23-21, 10-8
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9
10
11
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Michigan State
1
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0
3
0
0
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0
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1
0
9
12
1
Penn State
2
0
0
3
0
0
0
1
2
1
1
10
19
5
Photo by: Kelly Branigan
Spartans Nipped By Nittany Lions In Extra Innings Monday
5/9/2022 5:14:00 PM | Baseball
Jebb Goes 4-for-5 with three RBI in loss.
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Michigan State baseball was nipped by Penn State, 10-9 in 11 innings, on Monday in the series finale at PSU's Medlar Field at Lubrano Park in University Park, Pennsylvania.
The three-game Big Ten Conference series between the Spartans and Nittany Lions was originally scheduled for Friday-Sunday, but rain pushed the series to a condensed three games starting in a span of 24 hours with a doubleheader Sunday afternoon, followed by an 11 a.m. first pitch on Monday for brunch and baseball.
After MSU's six-game win streak was halted in the opening game loss of Saturday's twinbill, the Spartans now have a 21-24 overall and 6-12 B1G ledger. The Nittany Lions improved to 23-21 overall and 10-8 in conference action.
The Spartans took an 8-6 lead into the ninth inning, but the Nittany Lions rallied with two run in the ninth to force extra innings. MSU scored a run in the top of the 10th, but PSU matched it, and then scored the game-winning run in the 11th.
"I really felt like we let one slip away today, so it's extremely disappointing," MSU head coach Jake Boss Jr. said. "I think we beat ourselves today, we had multiple opportunities to win the game at many different times during the course of the game, not only late but early. And while we did some good things, we clearly didn't do enough, and every run counts every run is precious, every at bat is critical, every pitch is important and every play defensively is equally important. We just didn't do enough of it today when we had opportunities."
Seven of the nine Spartans in the lineup had at least one hit, as the Spartan had 12 hits on the day, led by infielder Mitch Jebb going 4-for-5 with three RBI and two runs scored, knocking a double and also swiping his team-leading 18th stolen base of the season.
Junior outfielder Casey Mayes was 2-for-6 with three RBI, two of them coming on a two-run home run in the seventh inning. Sophomore infielder Dillon Kark was the third Spartan with multi-hits, going 2-for-5 with two runs scored.
"It was a good day at the plate for Mitch and for some other guys, but the offense is only half of the deal, we need to be we need to be solid offensively and we need to be solid defensively," Boss said.
Sophomore outfielder Jack Frank was 1-for-5 with two RBI and a run scored, while sophomore infielder Trent Farquhar and redshirt-freshman catcher Bryan Broecker were both 1-for-4, each with a run scored. Sophomore infielder Brock Vradenburg was 1-for-5 and touched home once.
On the mound, sophomore starter Harrison Cook went 3.2 IP, with eight hits, four runs, two earned, and two strikeouts. Graduate senior reliever Kyle Bischoff went 5.0 IP, also allowing eight hits and four runs, two earned, and striking out three. Junior reliever Andrew Carson came on in a two-out bases loaded jam in the bottom of the ninth and rang up a strikeout to end the frame and send the game to extras. Freshman Ryan Szczepaniak came on in with one out in the 10th to relieve Carson, who finished with one hit, one run and one strikeout. Szczepaniak yielded one hit, one run and two walks in being dealt the loss, sliding to 4-2.
The Spartans struck first as Jebb led off the game with a single and moved up to second on a sac bunt attempt by Farquhar, reaching on a fielding error. Two batters later, Mayes laced a Texas Leaguer single to center and Jebb came around to score to get the visitors on the board first.
MSU's lead was short-lived as PSU scored two runs in the Nittany Lions' first at bat on a two-run single.
The Spartans quickly countered with two runs of their own in the top of the second on a two-run single by Jebb, plating Vradenburg and Kark, who led off the inning with back-to-back singles.
Jebb struck again in the top of the fourth with an RBI double to left, again plating Kark, who starting the stanza off with a single. After PSU made a pitching change, Farquhar was hit by a pitch, and both he and Jebb moved up a base on a wild pitch. Frank then knocked a triple to right to drive in Farquhar and Jebb and give MSU a 6-2 lead.
Penn State responded with a three-run fourth on four hits and taking advantage of one MSU error, to pull back within a run at 6-5.
Mayes padded the Spartan lead to 8-5 with a two-run towering home run to right field, driving in Frank who led off with a walk.
PSU closed to 8-6 in the eighth, then Billy Gerlott led off the ninth with a home run to pull within 8-7, and Matt Wood drew a bases-loaded walk to tie it up at 8-all, before Carson came on and struck out Josh Spiegel to send the game to extras.
Broecker led off the 10th with a single, and later came around to score on a wild pitch and PSU error for a 9-8 Spartan advantage. However, the Nittany Lions scored a run in the bottom of the 10th on an RBI single to extend the game to the 11th.
Jebb drew a walk and Farquhar followed with bunt single, but the Spartan rally came to an end without a run in the top of the 11th. In the bottom, the Nittany Lions again loaded the bases and Johnny Piacentino drew a walk for the walk-off ending.
Michigan State has a super quick turnaround, as this weekend's series at Penn State were the first three of five games in four days. The Spartans will return from Penn State late Monday night, and then head to South Bend, Ind., to play at Notre Dame on Tuesday, May 10 at 6 p.m. at Frank Eck Stadium. The Spartans then head to Kalamazoo, Mich. to take on Western Michigan on Wednesday, May 11 at 4:05 p.m. at WMU's Robert J. Bobb Stadium at Hyames Field.
MSU then returns home to host Iowa, Friday-Sunday, May 13-15 in the final home games and Sunday will be MSU's Senior Day. The Spartans and Hawkeyes open the series on Friday evening at 6:35 p.m., before Saturday's 4:05 p.m. first pitch and the series finale on Spartan Senior Day with a 1:05 p.m. start time.
The Spartans' schedule is subject to change based on weather.
Along with any further schedule updates, fans can find "Watch Live," "Listen Live" and "Live Stats" links at MSUSpartans.com to follow along with the upcoming action.
The three-game Big Ten Conference series between the Spartans and Nittany Lions was originally scheduled for Friday-Sunday, but rain pushed the series to a condensed three games starting in a span of 24 hours with a doubleheader Sunday afternoon, followed by an 11 a.m. first pitch on Monday for brunch and baseball.
After MSU's six-game win streak was halted in the opening game loss of Saturday's twinbill, the Spartans now have a 21-24 overall and 6-12 B1G ledger. The Nittany Lions improved to 23-21 overall and 10-8 in conference action.
The Spartans took an 8-6 lead into the ninth inning, but the Nittany Lions rallied with two run in the ninth to force extra innings. MSU scored a run in the top of the 10th, but PSU matched it, and then scored the game-winning run in the 11th.
"I really felt like we let one slip away today, so it's extremely disappointing," MSU head coach Jake Boss Jr. said. "I think we beat ourselves today, we had multiple opportunities to win the game at many different times during the course of the game, not only late but early. And while we did some good things, we clearly didn't do enough, and every run counts every run is precious, every at bat is critical, every pitch is important and every play defensively is equally important. We just didn't do enough of it today when we had opportunities."
Seven of the nine Spartans in the lineup had at least one hit, as the Spartan had 12 hits on the day, led by infielder Mitch Jebb going 4-for-5 with three RBI and two runs scored, knocking a double and also swiping his team-leading 18th stolen base of the season.
Junior outfielder Casey Mayes was 2-for-6 with three RBI, two of them coming on a two-run home run in the seventh inning. Sophomore infielder Dillon Kark was the third Spartan with multi-hits, going 2-for-5 with two runs scored.
"It was a good day at the plate for Mitch and for some other guys, but the offense is only half of the deal, we need to be we need to be solid offensively and we need to be solid defensively," Boss said.
Sophomore outfielder Jack Frank was 1-for-5 with two RBI and a run scored, while sophomore infielder Trent Farquhar and redshirt-freshman catcher Bryan Broecker were both 1-for-4, each with a run scored. Sophomore infielder Brock Vradenburg was 1-for-5 and touched home once.
On the mound, sophomore starter Harrison Cook went 3.2 IP, with eight hits, four runs, two earned, and two strikeouts. Graduate senior reliever Kyle Bischoff went 5.0 IP, also allowing eight hits and four runs, two earned, and striking out three. Junior reliever Andrew Carson came on in a two-out bases loaded jam in the bottom of the ninth and rang up a strikeout to end the frame and send the game to extras. Freshman Ryan Szczepaniak came on in with one out in the 10th to relieve Carson, who finished with one hit, one run and one strikeout. Szczepaniak yielded one hit, one run and two walks in being dealt the loss, sliding to 4-2.
The Spartans struck first as Jebb led off the game with a single and moved up to second on a sac bunt attempt by Farquhar, reaching on a fielding error. Two batters later, Mayes laced a Texas Leaguer single to center and Jebb came around to score to get the visitors on the board first.
MSU's lead was short-lived as PSU scored two runs in the Nittany Lions' first at bat on a two-run single.
The Spartans quickly countered with two runs of their own in the top of the second on a two-run single by Jebb, plating Vradenburg and Kark, who led off the inning with back-to-back singles.
Jebb struck again in the top of the fourth with an RBI double to left, again plating Kark, who starting the stanza off with a single. After PSU made a pitching change, Farquhar was hit by a pitch, and both he and Jebb moved up a base on a wild pitch. Frank then knocked a triple to right to drive in Farquhar and Jebb and give MSU a 6-2 lead.
Penn State responded with a three-run fourth on four hits and taking advantage of one MSU error, to pull back within a run at 6-5.
Mayes padded the Spartan lead to 8-5 with a two-run towering home run to right field, driving in Frank who led off with a walk.
PSU closed to 8-6 in the eighth, then Billy Gerlott led off the ninth with a home run to pull within 8-7, and Matt Wood drew a bases-loaded walk to tie it up at 8-all, before Carson came on and struck out Josh Spiegel to send the game to extras.
Broecker led off the 10th with a single, and later came around to score on a wild pitch and PSU error for a 9-8 Spartan advantage. However, the Nittany Lions scored a run in the bottom of the 10th on an RBI single to extend the game to the 11th.
Jebb drew a walk and Farquhar followed with bunt single, but the Spartan rally came to an end without a run in the top of the 11th. In the bottom, the Nittany Lions again loaded the bases and Johnny Piacentino drew a walk for the walk-off ending.
Michigan State has a super quick turnaround, as this weekend's series at Penn State were the first three of five games in four days. The Spartans will return from Penn State late Monday night, and then head to South Bend, Ind., to play at Notre Dame on Tuesday, May 10 at 6 p.m. at Frank Eck Stadium. The Spartans then head to Kalamazoo, Mich. to take on Western Michigan on Wednesday, May 11 at 4:05 p.m. at WMU's Robert J. Bobb Stadium at Hyames Field.
MSU then returns home to host Iowa, Friday-Sunday, May 13-15 in the final home games and Sunday will be MSU's Senior Day. The Spartans and Hawkeyes open the series on Friday evening at 6:35 p.m., before Saturday's 4:05 p.m. first pitch and the series finale on Spartan Senior Day with a 1:05 p.m. start time.
The Spartans' schedule is subject to change based on weather.
Along with any further schedule updates, fans can find "Watch Live," "Listen Live" and "Live Stats" links at MSUSpartans.com to follow along with the upcoming action.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Miller, Steven (3-2)
L: Szczepaniak, Ryan (4-2)
Batting:
2B: Jebb, Mitch 1
3B: Frank, Jack 1
HR: Mayes, Casey 1
RBI: Jebb, Mitch 3 ; Frank, Jack 2 ; Mayes, Casey 3
SH: Farquhar, Trent 1 ; Ahn, Peter 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Jebb, Mitch 2 ; Farquhar, Trent 1 ; Frank, Jack 1 ; Mayes, Casey 1 ; Broecker, Bryan 1 ; Vradenburg, Brock 1 ; Kark, Dillon 2
SB: Jebb, Mitch 1 ; Broecker, Bryan 1
HBP: Farquhar, Trent 1
PO: Ahn, Peter 1
Batting:
2B: Harry, Jay 1 ; Kelley, Tayven 1
HR: Gerlott, Billy 1
RBI: Bartels, Cole 1 ; Wood, Matt 1 ; Spiegel, Josh 1 ; Piacentino, Johnny 1 ; Gerlott, Billy 3 ; Hannon, Kyle 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Bartels, Cole 1 ; Harry, Jay 3 ; Wood, Matt 1 ; Spiegel, Josh 1 ; Piacentino, Johnny 1 ; Gerlott, Billy 1 ; Hannon, Kyle 1 ; Kailher, Ben 1
SB: Hannon, Kyle 1
HBP: Bartels, Cole 1 ; Spiegel, Josh 1 ; Piacentino, Johnny 2
Game Leaders
AB
5
R
2
H
4
RBI
3
AB
6
R
1
H
2
RBI
3
AB
5
R
2
H
2
RBI
0
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
RHP
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C
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RHP
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RHP
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/ Baseball
OF
/ BaseballINF
/ BaseballINF
/ BaseballOF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
INF
/ BaseballPursuit to Greatness | Spartans All-Access
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