Thursday, May 15
East Lansing, Mich.
6:02 PM
Michigan State University
27-24, 12-16
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Minnesota
23-27, 9-19
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Minnesota
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Michigan State
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Photo by: MSU Baseball Social Squad
Spartans Grounded By Gophers, 4-3, Thursday Night To Open Final Regular-Season Series
5/15/2025 10:57:00 PM | Baseball
MSU topped by Minnesota to spoil Dzierwa’s outing and first night of MSU’s Spartan Senior Celebration Weekend, presented by HAP.
EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Michigan State baseball got down early before scratching and clawing its way back, but the comeback fell short in a 4-3 loss to Minnesota Thursday night at a warm and humidity soaked Jeff Ishbia Field at McLane Stadium in the opening game of MSU's final regular-season Big Ten Conference series.
Thursday's loss also spoiled part of MSU's Spartan Senior Celebration Weekend, presented by Health Alliance Plan (HAP), as MSU honored some members of their 2025 Spartan Senior Class, in a pre-game ceremony.
The first group of Spartan seniors recognized including pitchers Tyler Horvath and George Viebrock III, along with infielder Will Shannon, in addition to student manager Jake Bernstein and social media manager Kaitlyn Heffelbower.
The Gophers scored three in the top of the first inning, before MSU got a run back in the home half of the first frame. Minnesota added a run in the second to take a 4-1 lead, preceding the Spartans scoring a run in the third and another in the fifth to close within, 4-3, but MSU was unable to score the tying run.
"I mean, it was a good ball game, just tough to lose it, for sure," MSU head coach Jake Boss Jr. said. "A series is three games long, so you can't win a series on Thursday, and you can't win it on Thursday. We have to come back tomorrow and just play hard. It's hard to sweep anybody, and that still stands after a tough loss. We have good kids, high character kids, and were going to get a great effort out of them tomorrow. We need to play well tomorrow, and I trust that we do that."
Michigan State is now 27-24 overall and 12-16 in B1G action. Minnesota is 23-27 overall and 9-19 in conference competition.
Spartan standout junior pitcher Joseph Dzierwa started on the mound for MSU Thursday night, after being named a semifinalist for the 2025 Dick Howser Trophy, presented by The Game Headwear, as announced Thursday afternoon by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA).
Dzierwa went just 5.0 IP, scattering five hits and four runs, while striking out four, in being dealt the loss, and is now 8-3 overall.
"When you look at the game, I think Joe (Joseph Dzierwa) made one bad pitch after the fourth hitter of the game, he settled into it and I though he grinded through some things and got outs when he didn't have his best stuff," Boss said. "The bullpen was really good tonight. We took advantage of a couple opportunities offensively, but sometimes I guess you have to give their guys credit, too. I mean, their guys came in and pounded the strike zone and threw a lot of breaking balls for strikes and got us to chase a little bit. They've got scholarship guys on their team, too, so you tip your hat a little bit to them. I don't think we played badly tonight; they did maybe a little bit more to win than we did."
With the four strikeouts, Dzierwa has 98 Ks on the season, moving up to No. 5 on MSU's single-season strikeouts list, passing Dakota Mekkes' 96 strikeouts in 2016. Dzierwa is now two Ks shy of becoming the fifth Spartan pitcher in program history to reach 100 Ks.
Thursday's loss came on the heels of two standout outings in shutting out a pair of Top 25 foes, with a complete-game shutout vs. No. 6 Oregon on May 2 and 7.0 IP of shutout baseball at No. 25 USC on May 9, earning back-to-back Big Ten Pitcher of the Week honors.
"I don't think he was as sharp as he normally is, he was so good two weeks ago, and he so good last week, it's tough to ask that of a kid," Boss said. "I would think it's comparable to ask a basketball player to go out and give you 40 points every night, it's probably not going to happen. So, probably not his best stuff tonight, but again, after the fourth hitter of the game, I think it was just one bad pitch, their guy ambushed the pitch and hit it out for a home run. I thought he made some pretty good pitches and got us through the fifth inning when we really needed him to do that. The guy is a competitor, and sometimes you just don't have your best stuff."
Senior reliever Dominic Pianto and graduate reliever Tyler Horvath kept Minnesota at bay for the last 4.0 innings, chalking up several inning-ending strikeouts.
"Yeah, those guys are really good and both of those guys fill up the strike zone," Boss said. "Dom (Dominic Pianto) spins that breaking ball in there for a strike, and that's tough for hitters to see out of the hand. Ty's (Tyler Horvath) got a little bit different of an arm angle, different delivery, which again, makes it difficult for hitters. I thought the velocity was pretty good tonight, too. So, yeah, both of those guys threw great tonight."
The Gophers jolted out to a 3-0 lead in their first at bat, plating three runs on two hits and took advantage of two walks.
MSU scored in the first frame for the third time in the last four games, as sophomore in-fielder Ryan McKay led off with a double to the right center gap. Two batters later, senior infielder Sam Busch knocked a single up the middle to score McKay and pull the Green & White within 3-1.
Minnesota added a run in the top of the second stanza on a long solo home run to left to go up, 4-1.
MSU countered with a home run of its own in the third when McKay cracked a blast down the right field line and just inside the foul pole and into the Red Cedar River to get within 4-2.
The Spartans continued to scratch and claw their way back with a run in the home half of the fifth, as sophomore outfielder Parker Picot led off with a double down the right field line, up the hill and to the fence. Junior outfielder Jake Dresselhouse then laced a single to right center to plate Picot and pull MSU to 4-3 after five frames complete, but that would be the last scoring of the night, as MSU only had one hit the rest of the game with a single in the sixth.
McKay finished 2-for-4 with the home run and double, adding two runs scored and the ribbie on the homer. Picot, Dresselhouse, Busch and graduate designated hitter Caleb Berry all had a hit apiece, while Busch and Dresselhouse logging RBI.
The Spartans and Gophers series along with MSU Senior Weekend Celebrations, presented by HAP, continues on series Friday with another evening game with a 6:02 p.m. first pitch. Saturday's regular-season finale is a 1:02 p.m. start time. Members of the Spartans' Senior Class will be honored in pre-game ceremonies before each game, so fans are encouraged to arrive at least 30 minutes early to help celebrate the Spartan seniors.
Saturday is also "517 Day" at Jeff Ishbia Field at McLane Stadium.
All fans are encouraged to bring non-expired canned food items to support our canned food drive, benefiting the Southside Community Kitchen.
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.
Due to ongoing construction on the Harrison Road bridge over the Red Cedar River, fans are encouraged to plan ahead and allow extra time for parking this weekend!
For more details visit http://sprtns.co/4jfhR1K.
Thursday's loss also spoiled part of MSU's Spartan Senior Celebration Weekend, presented by Health Alliance Plan (HAP), as MSU honored some members of their 2025 Spartan Senior Class, in a pre-game ceremony.
The first group of Spartan seniors recognized including pitchers Tyler Horvath and George Viebrock III, along with infielder Will Shannon, in addition to student manager Jake Bernstein and social media manager Kaitlyn Heffelbower.
The Gophers scored three in the top of the first inning, before MSU got a run back in the home half of the first frame. Minnesota added a run in the second to take a 4-1 lead, preceding the Spartans scoring a run in the third and another in the fifth to close within, 4-3, but MSU was unable to score the tying run.
"I mean, it was a good ball game, just tough to lose it, for sure," MSU head coach Jake Boss Jr. said. "A series is three games long, so you can't win a series on Thursday, and you can't win it on Thursday. We have to come back tomorrow and just play hard. It's hard to sweep anybody, and that still stands after a tough loss. We have good kids, high character kids, and were going to get a great effort out of them tomorrow. We need to play well tomorrow, and I trust that we do that."
Michigan State is now 27-24 overall and 12-16 in B1G action. Minnesota is 23-27 overall and 9-19 in conference competition.
Spartan standout junior pitcher Joseph Dzierwa started on the mound for MSU Thursday night, after being named a semifinalist for the 2025 Dick Howser Trophy, presented by The Game Headwear, as announced Thursday afternoon by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA).
Dzierwa went just 5.0 IP, scattering five hits and four runs, while striking out four, in being dealt the loss, and is now 8-3 overall.
"When you look at the game, I think Joe (Joseph Dzierwa) made one bad pitch after the fourth hitter of the game, he settled into it and I though he grinded through some things and got outs when he didn't have his best stuff," Boss said. "The bullpen was really good tonight. We took advantage of a couple opportunities offensively, but sometimes I guess you have to give their guys credit, too. I mean, their guys came in and pounded the strike zone and threw a lot of breaking balls for strikes and got us to chase a little bit. They've got scholarship guys on their team, too, so you tip your hat a little bit to them. I don't think we played badly tonight; they did maybe a little bit more to win than we did."
With the four strikeouts, Dzierwa has 98 Ks on the season, moving up to No. 5 on MSU's single-season strikeouts list, passing Dakota Mekkes' 96 strikeouts in 2016. Dzierwa is now two Ks shy of becoming the fifth Spartan pitcher in program history to reach 100 Ks.
Thursday's loss came on the heels of two standout outings in shutting out a pair of Top 25 foes, with a complete-game shutout vs. No. 6 Oregon on May 2 and 7.0 IP of shutout baseball at No. 25 USC on May 9, earning back-to-back Big Ten Pitcher of the Week honors.
"I don't think he was as sharp as he normally is, he was so good two weeks ago, and he so good last week, it's tough to ask that of a kid," Boss said. "I would think it's comparable to ask a basketball player to go out and give you 40 points every night, it's probably not going to happen. So, probably not his best stuff tonight, but again, after the fourth hitter of the game, I think it was just one bad pitch, their guy ambushed the pitch and hit it out for a home run. I thought he made some pretty good pitches and got us through the fifth inning when we really needed him to do that. The guy is a competitor, and sometimes you just don't have your best stuff."
Senior reliever Dominic Pianto and graduate reliever Tyler Horvath kept Minnesota at bay for the last 4.0 innings, chalking up several inning-ending strikeouts.
"Yeah, those guys are really good and both of those guys fill up the strike zone," Boss said. "Dom (Dominic Pianto) spins that breaking ball in there for a strike, and that's tough for hitters to see out of the hand. Ty's (Tyler Horvath) got a little bit different of an arm angle, different delivery, which again, makes it difficult for hitters. I thought the velocity was pretty good tonight, too. So, yeah, both of those guys threw great tonight."
The Gophers jolted out to a 3-0 lead in their first at bat, plating three runs on two hits and took advantage of two walks.
MSU scored in the first frame for the third time in the last four games, as sophomore in-fielder Ryan McKay led off with a double to the right center gap. Two batters later, senior infielder Sam Busch knocked a single up the middle to score McKay and pull the Green & White within 3-1.
Minnesota added a run in the top of the second stanza on a long solo home run to left to go up, 4-1.
MSU countered with a home run of its own in the third when McKay cracked a blast down the right field line and just inside the foul pole and into the Red Cedar River to get within 4-2.
The Spartans continued to scratch and claw their way back with a run in the home half of the fifth, as sophomore outfielder Parker Picot led off with a double down the right field line, up the hill and to the fence. Junior outfielder Jake Dresselhouse then laced a single to right center to plate Picot and pull MSU to 4-3 after five frames complete, but that would be the last scoring of the night, as MSU only had one hit the rest of the game with a single in the sixth.
McKay finished 2-for-4 with the home run and double, adding two runs scored and the ribbie on the homer. Picot, Dresselhouse, Busch and graduate designated hitter Caleb Berry all had a hit apiece, while Busch and Dresselhouse logging RBI.
The Spartans and Gophers series along with MSU Senior Weekend Celebrations, presented by HAP, continues on series Friday with another evening game with a 6:02 p.m. first pitch. Saturday's regular-season finale is a 1:02 p.m. start time. Members of the Spartans' Senior Class will be honored in pre-game ceremonies before each game, so fans are encouraged to arrive at least 30 minutes early to help celebrate the Spartan seniors.
Saturday is also "517 Day" at Jeff Ishbia Field at McLane Stadium.
All fans are encouraged to bring non-expired canned food items to support our canned food drive, benefiting the Southside Community Kitchen.
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.
Due to ongoing construction on the Harrison Road bridge over the Red Cedar River, fans are encouraged to plan ahead and allow extra time for parking this weekend!
For more details visit http://sprtns.co/4jfhR1K.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Eli Sundquist (3-1)
L: Dzierwa, Joseph (8-3)
S: Seth Clausen (3)
Batting:
2B: Charlie Sutherland 1 ; Weber Neels 1
HR: Jameson Martin 1
RBI: Charlie Sutherland 1 ; Weber Neels 2 ; Jameson Martin 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Josh Fitzgerald 1 ; Drew Berkland 1 ; Charlie Sutherland 1 ; Jameson Martin 1
HBP: Jake Larson 1
Batting:
2B: McKay, Ryan 1 ; Picot, Parker 1
HR: McKay, Ryan 1
RBI: McKay, Ryan 1 ; Busch, Sam 1 ; Dresselhouse, Jake 1
SH: Murphy, Dayton 1
Base Running:
RUNS: McKay, Ryan 2 ; Picot, Parker 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
4
R
2
H
2
RBI
1
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
C
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
LHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ BaseballINF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ BaseballOF
/ Baseball
OF/INF
/ Baseball
LHP
/ 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
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Jake Boss | Baseball Press Conference | Mar. 11 2025
Tuesday, March 11