Sunday, April 20
East Lansing, Mich.
1:02 PM
Michigan State University
23-15, 9-9
14
vs
4
Ohio State
9-27, 2-16
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4
5
6
7
R
H
E
Ohio State
0
0
3
1
0
0
0
4
6
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Michigan State
1
6
4
0
1
0
2
14
8
1
Photo by: MSU Baseball Social Squad
MSU Run-Rules OSU Sunday, 14-4, To Complete Series Sweep
4/20/2025 6:48:00 PM | Baseball
Spartans run win streak to six-straight with first B1G series sweep of season.
EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Michigan State baseball completed the Big Ten Conference weekend sweep over Ohio State with a 14-4, 7-inning, run-rule Victory for MSU Sunday at a sun-drenched Jeff Ishbia Field at McLane Stadium.
The Spartans beat the Buckeyes, 11-4, on Friday night and 10-9 in 11 innings on Saturday to win the series. Sunday's win completed MSU's first B1G series sweep of the season, and its second overall series sweep, joining a three-game sweep over Harvard on Feb. 28-March 2 in Greenville, S.C.
MSU's last B1G series sweep was vs. Northwestern on April 29-30, 2023.
"Sweeps are hard to come by, really on both ends of it, so for us to take care of business this weekend is huge," MSU head coach Jake Boss Jr. said. "I'm really proud of our guys, we take a lot of pride in playing at home, and I thought for the most part we played well for most of the weekend. It's good to get back to .500 in the conference, we'll take tomorrow off and get ready for Purdue Fort Wayne on Tuesday."
Sunday's victory runs Michigan State's win streak to six-straight, their longest since opening the season 6-0. MSU has now won back-to-back B1G series, after taking two of three against Northwestern last weekend, and its third series win of the season, with the road series win at Penn State, March 21-23.
MSU is now 6-2 at home so far during its season-long nine-game homestand at Jeff Ishbia Field at McLane Stadium, which wraps up on Tuesday, April 22 vs. Purdue Fort Wayne at 6:02 p.m.
With Sunday's sweep-converting win, MSU moves to 23-15 overall and an even 9-9 in B1G play.
Ohio State slides to 9-27 overall and 2-16 in conference competition, suffering its ninth conference loss in a row. The Buckeyes' two wins were over Oregon, who at the time was league co-leader and ranked No. 10 in the country Saturday's defeat leaves OSU still winless in road games at 0-15 overall and 0-12 in B1G away games.
Michigan State has won eight of the last 10 meetings with Ohio State, as part of 13 of the last 18 match-ups, including the last two series at home, as the Spartans also hosted the Buckeyes on Easter weekend in 2023, but the three games were played at Jackson Field, home of the Lansing Lugnuts, due to flooding around McLane Stadium and Old College Field.
The Spartans scored their 14 runs on only eight hits Sunday, as they took advantage of 14 walks yielded to them by the Buckeye pitchers, along with three hit by pitches.
Senior outfielders JT Sokolove and Nick Williams each knocked a double. Sokolove was the lone Spartan with multiple hits, leading off the game with a single before knocking a two-run double in the third, finishing 2-for-5 with a season- three RBI and adding two runs scored, along with one stolen base.
Graduate designated hitter Caleb Berry knocked in a season-high four RBI, going 1-for-4, with an RBI groundout in the first, a two-run single in the second and a sacrifice fly in the third.
"I mean honestly my performance isn't much to say about myself, the two guys in front of me and the guy behind me provided me with really good opportunities," Berry said. "I mean you have "Mini" (Ryan McKay) and Sok (JT Sokolove) in front of me and they get on base a lot. You've got Busch behind me and they're going to attack me at the plate so all I have to do is put together quality at-bats, that makes my job really easy in the three-hole. My coaches have put me in a really great spot to do what I do."
Sunday capped a solid weekend for Berry, hitting .500 for the weekend (8-for-16) with seven RBI, to help the Spartans to the series sweep.
"It was absolutely awesome to see it," Berry said about the sweep. "I mean, this is what we're capable of every single day, even when we had five errors on Saturday, we're able to pick each other up, the bats came through and it was just a good weekend. We're capable of that every single weekend and it's nice to see us finally putting it together and pulled through this week."
Sophomore infielder Ryan McKay was 1-for-4 with a ribbie and two runs scored, while senior infielder Sam Busch, junior infielder Randy Seymour, senior catcher Noah Bright and N.Williams were all 1-for-3. Seymour scored two runs, while Busch, Bright and N.Williams had a run scored apiece.
Freshman infielder Dayton Murphy drew three walks, including a walk-off walk with the bases loaded in the seventh to seal the run-rule Victory for MSU.
Sophomore outfielder Parker Picot drew a walk and HBP, scoring two runs.
"I think a little bit of both," Boss said about if the walks were a gift from the OSU pitching, or if good at bats from the Spartans. "I thought we battled through some at bats, drew some walks, and there were a few that were obviously balls that weren't close to the strike zone, but at the same time, I do think we had some very productive at bats, and yet, I think we struck out too many times today, and I think we struck out looking too many times, which is a problem. I think sometimes when it's sporadic in the strike zone, I think guys get a little bit too picky. I don't think we ever want to leave it in anybody's hands other than our own. So, that's something I think that we need to be better at moving forward though."
Pitching-wise, junior starter Nolan Higgins went 5.0 IP, scattering four hits and four runs, three earned, while walking four and ringing up two strikeouts, to earn the win, moving to 3-3 on the season. Sophomore Gannon Grundman pitched the final 2.0 IP, with just two hits of runless baseball, posting three punchouts. Grundman book-ended the sixth stanza with a pair of strikeouts looking, and adding another KL in the top of the seventh.
Just as they did in the previous two games of the series and fourth-straight game, the Spartans got on the board in their first at bat, now doing so for the sixth time in the last seven outings and in 18 games so far this season.
Leadoff hitter and Saturday's walk-off HR hero, Sokolove reached on an infield single. Two batters later, Sokolove stole second and later moved to third on a wild pitch. Berry then grounded out to shortstop, but was deep enough to drive Sokolove in to put MSU ahead, 1-0 early.
The Spartans broke the game open in the second, plating six runs on three hits and took advantage of an OSU error. Senior outfielder Nick Williams drew a leadoff walk, then junior infielder Randy Seymour and sophomore outfielder Parker Picot were both hit by pitches to fill the bases full of Spartans. N.Williams scored on a wild pitch before freshman infielder Dayton Murphy drew a walk to re-fill the bases. Sokolove reached on a fielder's choice to drive in Seymour. Sophomore infielder Ryan McKay singled to right center to plate Picot, preceding Berry roping a two-run single to drive in Picot and Sokolove.
After an OSU pitching change, Busch smacked a single down the right field line, and a Buckeye throwing error on the play allowed Berry to come around and score for the sixth run of the frame and a 7-0 lead.
Ohio State got on the board with three runs in the top of the third to close to 7-3, but Michigan State quickly countered with a four-run home half of the inning.
Seymour started the rally with a single through the left side, and Picot and Bright both walked to load the bases, before a wild pitch allowed Seymour to scamper home. Murphy drew another walk to re-load the bases again. That turned the line-up over and leadoff hitter Sokolove smacked a double to the right center gap to drive in Picot and Bright. Two batters later, Berry flew out to center, but was deep enough to plate Sokolove with the sac fly, and an 11-3 lead.
Ohio State scored a run in the top of the fourth to get within 11-4, but that would be the closest the Buckeyes would get.
McKay walked and stole second, then OSU intentionally walked Busch, to bring N.Williams to bat, and he knocked a double off the wall in left to drive in McKay and a 12-4 advantage.
The Spartans scored two runs without a hit in the seventh for the run-rule Victory for MSU. Berry drew the first walk, then Busch drew a free pass on base, and N.Williams followed suite to load the bases. Berry scored on a wild pitch, then Picot walked to reload the bases full of Spartans, and Murphy drew his walk-off walk for the run-rule run.
Michigan State's nine-game homestand at Jeff Ishbia Field at McLane Stadium wraps up on Tuesday, April 22 against Purdue Fort Wayne at 6:02 p.m.
MSU then plays at in-state rival Michigan, Friday-Sunday, March 25-27. Friday's series opener is at 6:02 p.m., followed by 2:02 p.m. on Saturday and the series finale on Sunday at 1:02 p.m.
The Spartans' schedule is subject to further change, fans can stay tuned to MSUSpartans.com and @MSUBaseball on Twitter for schedule updates, along with follow 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 beat the Buckeyes, 11-4, on Friday night and 10-9 in 11 innings on Saturday to win the series. Sunday's win completed MSU's first B1G series sweep of the season, and its second overall series sweep, joining a three-game sweep over Harvard on Feb. 28-March 2 in Greenville, S.C.
MSU's last B1G series sweep was vs. Northwestern on April 29-30, 2023.
"Sweeps are hard to come by, really on both ends of it, so for us to take care of business this weekend is huge," MSU head coach Jake Boss Jr. said. "I'm really proud of our guys, we take a lot of pride in playing at home, and I thought for the most part we played well for most of the weekend. It's good to get back to .500 in the conference, we'll take tomorrow off and get ready for Purdue Fort Wayne on Tuesday."
Sunday's victory runs Michigan State's win streak to six-straight, their longest since opening the season 6-0. MSU has now won back-to-back B1G series, after taking two of three against Northwestern last weekend, and its third series win of the season, with the road series win at Penn State, March 21-23.
VICTORY FOR MSU!!!!! High fives and handshakes all around!!!
— Michigan State Baseball (@MSUBaseball) April 20, 2025
Final Score:
Ohio State 4
Michigan State 14
The Spartans' 10-run lead closes the game due to the run-rule, with Sam Busch nonchalantly crossing home plate to secure the win for the Spartans!#VictoryforMSU pic.twitter.com/GKWD4AtG9D
MSU is now 6-2 at home so far during its season-long nine-game homestand at Jeff Ishbia Field at McLane Stadium, which wraps up on Tuesday, April 22 vs. Purdue Fort Wayne at 6:02 p.m.
With Sunday's sweep-converting win, MSU moves to 23-15 overall and an even 9-9 in B1G play.
Ohio State slides to 9-27 overall and 2-16 in conference competition, suffering its ninth conference loss in a row. The Buckeyes' two wins were over Oregon, who at the time was league co-leader and ranked No. 10 in the country Saturday's defeat leaves OSU still winless in road games at 0-15 overall and 0-12 in B1G away games.
Michigan State has won eight of the last 10 meetings with Ohio State, as part of 13 of the last 18 match-ups, including the last two series at home, as the Spartans also hosted the Buckeyes on Easter weekend in 2023, but the three games were played at Jackson Field, home of the Lansing Lugnuts, due to flooding around McLane Stadium and Old College Field.
The Spartans scored their 14 runs on only eight hits Sunday, as they took advantage of 14 walks yielded to them by the Buckeye pitchers, along with three hit by pitches.
Senior outfielders JT Sokolove and Nick Williams each knocked a double. Sokolove was the lone Spartan with multiple hits, leading off the game with a single before knocking a two-run double in the third, finishing 2-for-5 with a season- three RBI and adding two runs scored, along with one stolen base.
Graduate designated hitter Caleb Berry knocked in a season-high four RBI, going 1-for-4, with an RBI groundout in the first, a two-run single in the second and a sacrifice fly in the third.
"I mean honestly my performance isn't much to say about myself, the two guys in front of me and the guy behind me provided me with really good opportunities," Berry said. "I mean you have "Mini" (Ryan McKay) and Sok (JT Sokolove) in front of me and they get on base a lot. You've got Busch behind me and they're going to attack me at the plate so all I have to do is put together quality at-bats, that makes my job really easy in the three-hole. My coaches have put me in a really great spot to do what I do."
Sunday capped a solid weekend for Berry, hitting .500 for the weekend (8-for-16) with seven RBI, to help the Spartans to the series sweep.
"It was absolutely awesome to see it," Berry said about the sweep. "I mean, this is what we're capable of every single day, even when we had five errors on Saturday, we're able to pick each other up, the bats came through and it was just a good weekend. We're capable of that every single weekend and it's nice to see us finally putting it together and pulled through this week."
Sophomore infielder Ryan McKay was 1-for-4 with a ribbie and two runs scored, while senior infielder Sam Busch, junior infielder Randy Seymour, senior catcher Noah Bright and N.Williams were all 1-for-3. Seymour scored two runs, while Busch, Bright and N.Williams had a run scored apiece.
Freshman infielder Dayton Murphy drew three walks, including a walk-off walk with the bases loaded in the seventh to seal the run-rule Victory for MSU.
Sophomore outfielder Parker Picot drew a walk and HBP, scoring two runs.
"I think a little bit of both," Boss said about if the walks were a gift from the OSU pitching, or if good at bats from the Spartans. "I thought we battled through some at bats, drew some walks, and there were a few that were obviously balls that weren't close to the strike zone, but at the same time, I do think we had some very productive at bats, and yet, I think we struck out too many times today, and I think we struck out looking too many times, which is a problem. I think sometimes when it's sporadic in the strike zone, I think guys get a little bit too picky. I don't think we ever want to leave it in anybody's hands other than our own. So, that's something I think that we need to be better at moving forward though."
Pitching-wise, junior starter Nolan Higgins went 5.0 IP, scattering four hits and four runs, three earned, while walking four and ringing up two strikeouts, to earn the win, moving to 3-3 on the season. Sophomore Gannon Grundman pitched the final 2.0 IP, with just two hits of runless baseball, posting three punchouts. Grundman book-ended the sixth stanza with a pair of strikeouts looking, and adding another KL in the top of the seventh.
Just as they did in the previous two games of the series and fourth-straight game, the Spartans got on the board in their first at bat, now doing so for the sixth time in the last seven outings and in 18 games so far this season.
Leadoff hitter and Saturday's walk-off HR hero, Sokolove reached on an infield single. Two batters later, Sokolove stole second and later moved to third on a wild pitch. Berry then grounded out to shortstop, but was deep enough to drive Sokolove in to put MSU ahead, 1-0 early.
The Spartans broke the game open in the second, plating six runs on three hits and took advantage of an OSU error. Senior outfielder Nick Williams drew a leadoff walk, then junior infielder Randy Seymour and sophomore outfielder Parker Picot were both hit by pitches to fill the bases full of Spartans. N.Williams scored on a wild pitch before freshman infielder Dayton Murphy drew a walk to re-fill the bases. Sokolove reached on a fielder's choice to drive in Seymour. Sophomore infielder Ryan McKay singled to right center to plate Picot, preceding Berry roping a two-run single to drive in Picot and Sokolove.
After an OSU pitching change, Busch smacked a single down the right field line, and a Buckeye throwing error on the play allowed Berry to come around and score for the sixth run of the frame and a 7-0 lead.
Ohio State got on the board with three runs in the top of the third to close to 7-3, but Michigan State quickly countered with a four-run home half of the inning.
Seymour started the rally with a single through the left side, and Picot and Bright both walked to load the bases, before a wild pitch allowed Seymour to scamper home. Murphy drew another walk to re-load the bases again. That turned the line-up over and leadoff hitter Sokolove smacked a double to the right center gap to drive in Picot and Bright. Two batters later, Berry flew out to center, but was deep enough to plate Sokolove with the sac fly, and an 11-3 lead.
Ohio State scored a run in the top of the fourth to get within 11-4, but that would be the closest the Buckeyes would get.
McKay walked and stole second, then OSU intentionally walked Busch, to bring N.Williams to bat, and he knocked a double off the wall in left to drive in McKay and a 12-4 advantage.
The Spartans scored two runs without a hit in the seventh for the run-rule Victory for MSU. Berry drew the first walk, then Busch drew a free pass on base, and N.Williams followed suite to load the bases. Berry scored on a wild pitch, then Picot walked to reload the bases full of Spartans, and Murphy drew his walk-off walk for the run-rule run.
Michigan State's nine-game homestand at Jeff Ishbia Field at McLane Stadium wraps up on Tuesday, April 22 against Purdue Fort Wayne at 6:02 p.m.
MSU then plays at in-state rival Michigan, Friday-Sunday, March 25-27. Friday's series opener is at 6:02 p.m., followed by 2:02 p.m. on Saturday and the series finale on Sunday at 1:02 p.m.
The Spartans' schedule is subject to further change, fans can stay tuned to MSUSpartans.com and @MSUBaseball on Twitter for schedule updates, along with follow 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: Higgins, Nolan (3-3)
L: Michalak, Jake (1-4)
Batting:
2B: Lipsey, Trey 1
RBI: Graveline, Matthew 1 ; Carpenter, Will 1 ; Eckelman, Mason 1
SF: Carpenter, Will 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Lipsey, Trey 1 ; Pettorini, Tyler 1 ; Bussey, Reggie 2
HBP: Lipsey, Trey 1 ; Miller, Ryan 1
Batting:
2B: Sokolove, JT 1 ; Williams, Nick 1
RBI: Sokolove, JT 3 ; McKay, Ryan 1 ; Berry, Caleb 4 ; Williams, Nick 1 ; Murphy, Dayton 1
SF: Berry, Caleb 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Sokolove, JT 2 ; McKay, Ryan 2 ; Berry, Caleb 2 ; Busch, Sam 1 ; Williams, Nick 1 ; Seymour, Randy 2 ; Picot, Parker 2 ; Bright, Noah 1 ; Murphy, Dayton 1
SB: Sokolove, JT 1 ; McKay, Ryan 2
CS: Murphy, Dayton 1
HBP: Seymour, Randy 1 ; Picot, Parker 1 ; Murphy, Dayton 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
5
R
2
H
2
RBI
3
AB
4
R
2
H
1
RBI
1
AB
3
R
2
H
1
RBI
4
Players Mentioned
C
/ Baseball
C
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LHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ BaseballINF
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
INF
/ BaseballOF
/ Baseball
OF
/ BaseballPursuit to Greatness | Spartans All-Access
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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