Saturday, March 22
State College, Pa.
2:02 PM
Michigan State University
15-7, 2-3
5
at
11
(RV) Penn State
16-6, 5-3
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Michigan State
0
1
0
2
2
0
0
0
0
5
7
2
Penn State
0
0
1
0
4
4
1
1
X
11
8
2
Photo by: MSU Baseball Social Squad
Michigan State Topped By Penn State Saturday
3/22/2025 11:14:00 PM | Baseball
MSU opens lead, overtaken by PSU to even series at a game apiece.
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Michigan State baseball had a lead in the middle innings at Penn State, only to be overtaken by the Nittany Lions later in the game on Saturday afternoon at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park evening the Big Ten Conference weekend series at a game apiece.
The Spartans won Friday's series opener, 4-0, before the Nittany Lions came back with an 11-5 win over MSU on Saturday.
Sunday's rubber match of the weekend series is slated for a 1 p.m. first pitch.
MSU is now 15-7 overall and 2-3 in B1G action with the loss. PSU moves to 16-6 overall and 5-3 in league play.
The Spartans got on the board with a run in the second stanza, before the Nittany Lions countered with a run of their own in the third frame. MSU plated a pair of runs in both the fourth and fifth frames to open a 5-1 lead.
The four-run lead was short-lived as PSU plated four in the home half of the fifth to tie it up, scoring four runs on three hits and taking advantage of two MSU errors, and chasing Spartan junior starting pitcher Nolan Higgins.
Penn State then added four more in the sixth on a grand slam by Jesse Jaconski, adding a run in both the seventh and eighth innings for the 11-5 final score.
"I thought we played really well in the first half of the game, but did not play well at all in the second half, and I thought Noland Higgins deserved better than that, to be quite honest. I thought he threw quite well and we didn't make the necessary plays behind him defensively. It's extremely disappointing," MSU head coach Jake Boss Jr. said. "After that it was the free runners led to free runs and that's what got us again today. We made a couple of errors, and then we walked a couple guys, hit a couple guys, and then all of sudden give up a grand slam and that's how you go up four to down four pretty quickly. So we need to play better defensively, and we'll be ready to go tomorrow knowing that we've still got a chance to win the series, we just need to be better defensively."
MSU's offense got the Spartans on the board in the second stanza, as senior infielder Sam Busch doubled to right, moved to second on a groundout by graduate infielder Will Shannon, and scored on a fielder's choice off the bat of junior infielder Randy Seymour and an early 1-0 advantage for the visitors.
Penn State evened the score at 1-all in the home half of the third on a Jaconski solo home run, the first of two round-trippers for him on the day.
In the fourth, Busch again sparked the Spartan rally, this time with a walk. Shannon followed with a single, preceding a Seymour sac bunt to move Busch and Shannon up to third and second, respectively. Senior outfielder Nick Williams was up next and he flew out to right field for a sacrifice fly to drive in Busch, and Shannon scored on a PSU error on the play, putting MSU ahead, 3-1.
The Spartan lead grew to 5-1 in the fifth, as senior outfielder JT Sokolove singled to center to start off the stanza, and sophomore infielder Ryan McKay drew a walk. Graduate catcher Caleb Berry then singled through the left side to score Sokolove. Two batters later Shannon singled up the middle to drive in McKay for the four-run gap.
Penn State quickly countered with its four-run fifth frame, scoring the four runs on three hits, all singles, and the two Michigan State errors, to level the score at 5-all.
Jaconski's grand slam came in the sixth, before the Nittany Lions added a run in the seventh and the eighth, to pull away for the 11-5 final score.
MSU's 1-5 hitters in the lineup all had at least one hit, with Shannon being the lone Spartan with multiple hits, going 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored. Busch ended 1-for-3 with the double, MSU's only extra-base hit of the game, and scored two runs.
Sokolove, McKay, Berry and junior outfielder Jake Dresselhouse were all 1-for-4, with Sokolove and McKary scoring a run apiece. Berry and N.Williams each added an RBI.
On the mound, Higgins went 4.2 IP, yielding five runs, with only two earned, on four hits, and two walks. Sophomore Garrett Brewer went 1.0 IP with two hits, four runs, two walks and two strikeouts. Graduate reliever Zach Maxey went 1.2 IP with two hits, two runs and one K, and redshirt-junior reliever Ryan Szczepaniak went the final 0.2 IP.
MSU and PSU wrap up the weekend at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park on Sunday at 1 p.m.
Michigan State then plays at Notre Dame on Wednesday, March 26, in a first pitch now at 6 p.m.
The Spartans return home to host Illinois in their B1G home opening weekend series at Jeff Ishbia Field at McLane Stadium, Friday-Sunday, March 28-30 at Jeff Ishbia Field at McLane Stadium. First pitch in the series opener is slated for 3:32 p.m. on Friday, March 28, followed by game two's start time of 3:32 p.m. on Saturday, March 29. The series finale on Sunday, March 30 has a 1:02 p.m. first pitch.
MSU's schedule is subject to change, fans can stay tuned to MSUSpartans.com and @MSUBaseball on Twitter for schedule updates, along with follow this weekend's action with "Watch Live," "Listen Live" and "Live Stats" links where available.
Michigan State baseball tickets are available online at msuspartans.evenue.net, by contacting the Spartan Ticket Office at 517-355-1610 or by email at tickets@msu.edu for questions or more information.
The Spartans won Friday's series opener, 4-0, before the Nittany Lions came back with an 11-5 win over MSU on Saturday.
Sunday's rubber match of the weekend series is slated for a 1 p.m. first pitch.
MSU is now 15-7 overall and 2-3 in B1G action with the loss. PSU moves to 16-6 overall and 5-3 in league play.
The Spartans got on the board with a run in the second stanza, before the Nittany Lions countered with a run of their own in the third frame. MSU plated a pair of runs in both the fourth and fifth frames to open a 5-1 lead.
The four-run lead was short-lived as PSU plated four in the home half of the fifth to tie it up, scoring four runs on three hits and taking advantage of two MSU errors, and chasing Spartan junior starting pitcher Nolan Higgins.
Penn State then added four more in the sixth on a grand slam by Jesse Jaconski, adding a run in both the seventh and eighth innings for the 11-5 final score.
"I thought we played really well in the first half of the game, but did not play well at all in the second half, and I thought Noland Higgins deserved better than that, to be quite honest. I thought he threw quite well and we didn't make the necessary plays behind him defensively. It's extremely disappointing," MSU head coach Jake Boss Jr. said. "After that it was the free runners led to free runs and that's what got us again today. We made a couple of errors, and then we walked a couple guys, hit a couple guys, and then all of sudden give up a grand slam and that's how you go up four to down four pretty quickly. So we need to play better defensively, and we'll be ready to go tomorrow knowing that we've still got a chance to win the series, we just need to be better defensively."
MSU's offense got the Spartans on the board in the second stanza, as senior infielder Sam Busch doubled to right, moved to second on a groundout by graduate infielder Will Shannon, and scored on a fielder's choice off the bat of junior infielder Randy Seymour and an early 1-0 advantage for the visitors.
Penn State evened the score at 1-all in the home half of the third on a Jaconski solo home run, the first of two round-trippers for him on the day.
In the fourth, Busch again sparked the Spartan rally, this time with a walk. Shannon followed with a single, preceding a Seymour sac bunt to move Busch and Shannon up to third and second, respectively. Senior outfielder Nick Williams was up next and he flew out to right field for a sacrifice fly to drive in Busch, and Shannon scored on a PSU error on the play, putting MSU ahead, 3-1.
The Spartan lead grew to 5-1 in the fifth, as senior outfielder JT Sokolove singled to center to start off the stanza, and sophomore infielder Ryan McKay drew a walk. Graduate catcher Caleb Berry then singled through the left side to score Sokolove. Two batters later Shannon singled up the middle to drive in McKay for the four-run gap.
Penn State quickly countered with its four-run fifth frame, scoring the four runs on three hits, all singles, and the two Michigan State errors, to level the score at 5-all.
Jaconski's grand slam came in the sixth, before the Nittany Lions added a run in the seventh and the eighth, to pull away for the 11-5 final score.
MSU's 1-5 hitters in the lineup all had at least one hit, with Shannon being the lone Spartan with multiple hits, going 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored. Busch ended 1-for-3 with the double, MSU's only extra-base hit of the game, and scored two runs.
Sokolove, McKay, Berry and junior outfielder Jake Dresselhouse were all 1-for-4, with Sokolove and McKary scoring a run apiece. Berry and N.Williams each added an RBI.
On the mound, Higgins went 4.2 IP, yielding five runs, with only two earned, on four hits, and two walks. Sophomore Garrett Brewer went 1.0 IP with two hits, four runs, two walks and two strikeouts. Graduate reliever Zach Maxey went 1.2 IP with two hits, two runs and one K, and redshirt-junior reliever Ryan Szczepaniak went the final 0.2 IP.
MSU and PSU wrap up the weekend at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park on Sunday at 1 p.m.
Michigan State then plays at Notre Dame on Wednesday, March 26, in a first pitch now at 6 p.m.
The Spartans return home to host Illinois in their B1G home opening weekend series at Jeff Ishbia Field at McLane Stadium, Friday-Sunday, March 28-30 at Jeff Ishbia Field at McLane Stadium. First pitch in the series opener is slated for 3:32 p.m. on Friday, March 28, followed by game two's start time of 3:32 p.m. on Saturday, March 29. The series finale on Sunday, March 30 has a 1:02 p.m. first pitch.
MSU's schedule is subject to change, fans can stay tuned to MSUSpartans.com and @MSUBaseball on Twitter for schedule updates, along with follow this weekend's action with "Watch Live," "Listen Live" and "Live Stats" links where available.
Michigan State baseball tickets are available online at msuspartans.evenue.net, by contacting the Spartan Ticket Office at 517-355-1610 or by email at tickets@msu.edu for questions or more information.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Horwat, Mason (4-1)
L: Brewer, Garrett (0-1)
S: Steele, Anthony (1)
Batting:
2B: Busch, Sam 1
RBI: Berry, Caleb 1 ; Shannon, Will 1 ; Williams, Nick 1
SH: Seymour, Randy 1
SF: Williams, Nick 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Sokolove, JT 1 ; McKay, Ryan 1 ; Busch, Sam 2 ; Shannon, Will 1
Batting:
3B: Mercado, Cohl 1 ; Voss, Nate 1
HR: Jaconski, Jesse 2
RBI: Weingartner, Ryan 1 ; Jaconski, Joe 1 ; Maloney, Matt 1 ; Jaconski, Jesse 6
SF: Jaconski, Joe 1 ; Jaconski, Jesse 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Mercado, Cohl 1 ; Kling, Paxton 1 ; Jaconski, Joe 2 ; Porter, Jack 2 ; Maloney, Matt 1 ; Voss, Nate 1 ; Joey DeMucci 1 ; Jaconski, Jesse 2
SB: Kling, Paxton 1
HBP: Porter, Jack 1
Game Leaders
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
C
/ Baseball
LHP
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ BaseballINF
/ Baseball
INF
/ BaseballOF/INF
/ BaseballOF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
OF
/ BaseballPursuit to Greatness | Spartans All-Access
Monday, May 19
Jake Boss | Baseball Press Conference | April 17, 2025
Thursday, April 17
Jake Boss | Baseball Press Conference | Mar. 25 2025
Tuesday, March 25
Jake Boss | Baseball Press Conference | Mar. 11 2025
Tuesday, March 11