Michigan State University Athletics
Sunday, April 12
1:02 PM
Michigan State University
12-21, 6-12
10
vs
5
(RV) Michigan
20-15, 7-8
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Runs R | Hits H | Errors E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michigan | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 10 | 1 |
| Michigan State | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 0 | X | 10 | 9 | 2 |
Photo by: Erin Grady/MSU Athletic Communications
Spartans Double Up Wolverines Sunday, 10-5, In Series Finale
4/12/2026 7:35:00 PM | Baseball
MSU belts three HR including Deckinga grand slam.
EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Behind three home runs, including a grand slam from CJ Deckinga, Michigan State baseball doubled up Michigan, 10-5, Sunday afternoon at a sunny, breezy Jeff Ishbia Field at McLane Stadium, in the series finale of the Big Ten Conference three-game weekend series.
Freshman infielder Deckinga belted his grand slam high into the trees beyond the wall in left center field in the sixth inning, part of MSU's five-run frame, stretching a tight, 3-2 lead into a comfortable 8-2 advantage.Â
It was Deckinga's second grand slam of the season out of only five homers.
"Oh, that felt really good," Deckinga said. "I was struggling early in the series and just got something I can handle there and just didn't miss it. It definitely felt really good for me to build my confidence back up and didn't miss it. Especially against them, it was a really great feeling."
Senior infielder Randy Seymour smacked his team-leading 12th HR of the season with a two-run shot in the seventh to stretch MSU's lead to 10-2. UM scored two in the eighth and one in the ninth to close to 10-5, but that would be the closest they'd get, as the pitching efforts of graduate starter JD Greeley, junior reliever Logan Pikur and senior reliever Nolan Higgins kept the Wolverines at bay, as the Spartans avoided the sweep and got their first win in a series finale this season.Â
"It was good to get this one. I guess there was a streak, but I wasn't aware of that until somebody said something Friday," MSU head coach Jake Boss Jr. said afterwards about the Spartans snapping an eight-game losing skid to the Wolverines. "I think our sport is just a little different that everyday there is something different, you've got new guys on the mound, lineups changed a lot. So, I think a streak or whatever in baseball, in my opinion, is a little bit overrated. But, we haven't won on a Sunday all year, and it was a good one to get on Sunday, and salvaged one game of the series, which is always important. Hopefully, it gives us a little bit of momentum into a busy week."
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With the Victory for MSU, the Spartans are now a palindromic 12-21 on the season, and 6-12 in B1G action, while the Wolverines, who were among others receiving votes in this week's National College Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Top 25 Poll, are now 20-15 overall and 7-8 in conference competition. Sunday's result was the largest scoring margin of the four regular-season meetings between MSU and UM, as the three previous had been decided by two runs, after Michigan's 4-2 and 6-4 wins on Friday night and Saturday afternoon, respectively.
The Spartans' 10 runs was their sixth game this season with 10 or more runs, while it was the Wolverines' fourth loss when allowing 10 runs and third in B1G play, joining UCLA and Nebraska.
Sophomore outfielder Khamaree Thomas hit a solo home run over the high wall in right field and into the Red Cedar River for his first career round-tripper for MSU's first run of the day, adding two more in the third to take a 3-2 lead and the Spartans never looked back.
Greeley held UM to one run on two hits and chalked up three strikeouts in opening the first 2.0 IP. Pikur came on in the third and went on to fire a career-high six strikeouts in 5.0 IP, scattering four hits and also holding the Wolverines to one run.Â
"Logan did a nice job," Boss said. "We kind of used JD (Greeley) as the opener, and we did that on Wednesday at Notre Dame, and I thought JD (Greeley) did a nice job as well. It gives Logan a little bit of a chance to kind of settle into things and get a feel for the game and a little bit of a rhythm. He was lights out today, just really good."
Higgins finished off the final 2.0 IP with four hits and three runs wont one walk and three Ks.
Deckinga finished the day 2-for-5 with five RBI and two runs scored, adding an RBI double in the third before his grand slam in the sixth to break the game open. It was his fifth home run of the season and second grand slam, as he had the home run cycle with his first four homers, and now has two grand slams, both coming at home after his first slam was on March 28 vs. Purdue.Â
"He's coming," Boss said about Deckinga. "His numbers are a little bit skewed because he really struggled early, as a lot of freshmen do. But he's a really, really athletic kid, very talented young man, and he's got a big future ahead of him. He's got all kinds of power. He plays good defense, and he's a guy that's going to have a lot of success in this game."
Seymour also had success in the game with his 12th home run of the season to help MSU beat UM in his final regular-season match-up with the Wolverines.
"It was amazing. It's always special against those guys, too. I mean, it was rough with the boys Friday and Saturday, and we knew we were going to come back in on Sunday. It was huge," Seymour said.Â
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Junior outfielder Parker Picot was 2-for-2 with two runs scored and two walks. Thomas ended the day 1-for-2 with the home run, adding a walk. Seymour was one of four Spartans to end 1-for-4 with a run scored, joined by sophomore infielder Dayton Murphy, sophomore designated hitter Isaac Sturgess and senior outfielder Nick Williams with matching lines in the box score.
The visiting Wolverines opened the scoring with a run in their first at bat, with an RBI single in the top of the first, adding a run in the top of the third for an early 2-0 lead.
The home-standing Spartans quickly changed that in the bottom of the third, as Thomas led off the frame with his solo homer into the Red Cedar River. Picot followed with a double off the wall in right, nearly the same spot that Thomas' home run went over. Next, Deckinga doubled to off the wall in deep center field to trade places with Picot. Graduate catcher Noah Bright followed with a walk, Murphy reached on a fielder's choice that advanced Deckinga to third and Bright was safe at second on a UM error. Sturgess then hit into a double play, but it allowed Deckinga to score, pushing MSU ahead at 3-2. While he doesn't officially get credit as the game-winning RBI because of the RBI, it marked the seventh time this season that Sturgess was involved in what proved to be the run that gives the Spartans the lead they never relinquish out of their wins.
After the four runs scored in the third inning, the scoreboard stayed stuck at 3-2 until the bottom of the sixth, when Sturgess sparked the Spartan rally with a leadoff walk. Three batters later, Williams singled to right to push Sturgess to third. UM made a pitching change, and the left-handed hitting Thomas was pinch-hit for by right-handed hitting junior outfielder Trent Rice. A wild pitch while Rice was at bat scored Sturgess and moved Williams to second, and Rice went on to draw a walk. After another Wolverine pitching change, Picot also drew a walk to fill the bases full of Spartans.Â
Deckinga emptied them in a quick hurry with his grand slam high into the trees beyond the wall in left center, 414-feet away from home plate, to push MSU's lead to 8-2.
"Oh, that felt so special," Deckinga said about his feelings during the home run trot. "Just running around the bases, showing love to the bullpen, and just coming around, celebrating with the guys, it was an amazing feeling for sure."
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Before many of the fans had a chance to return to their seats from signing and stretching in the middle of the seventh, Murphy smacked a leadoff single to center. Two batters later, Seymour socked his home run to center field, sending the ball on a 421-foot adventure that was 105 mph off the bat and deep into the trees behind the center field wall and a 10-2 Spartan advantage.
The Wolverines closed the gap to 10-5 with two runs in the eighth and another in the ninth, before Higgins induced a chopper to Seymour at first for the final out and sparking the Victory for MSU celebrations.
Michigan State opens a busy five-game week in three different locations by hosting Oakland on Tuesday, April 14 at 6:02 p.m. at Jeff Ishbia Field at McLane Stadium. The next day, MSU is the host for a match-up with Western Michigan on Wednesday, April 15 at LMCU Ballpark in Comstock Park, Michigan, home of the West Michigan Whitecaps, the High-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers.
MSU then heads to the Pacific Northwest to play at Washington on Friday-Sunday, April 17-19, in the Spartans' first-ever trip to Seattle. MSU and UW have played four times before, but all on neutral fields, never before on campus. The Spartans and Huskies first met in 1992 in El Paso, Texas, then played in Surprise, Arizona in 2014 and in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 2018.
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The Spartans' schedule is subject to 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.
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The Michigan State baseball season ticket package, which includes 24 home games at Jeff Ishbia Field at McLane Stadium, and also single game 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, or fans can visit the MSU Ticket Office in person, located in 1855 Place.
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Freshman infielder Deckinga belted his grand slam high into the trees beyond the wall in left center field in the sixth inning, part of MSU's five-run frame, stretching a tight, 3-2 lead into a comfortable 8-2 advantage.Â
It was Deckinga's second grand slam of the season out of only five homers.
"Oh, that felt really good," Deckinga said. "I was struggling early in the series and just got something I can handle there and just didn't miss it. It definitely felt really good for me to build my confidence back up and didn't miss it. Especially against them, it was a really great feeling."
Senior infielder Randy Seymour smacked his team-leading 12th HR of the season with a two-run shot in the seventh to stretch MSU's lead to 10-2. UM scored two in the eighth and one in the ninth to close to 10-5, but that would be the closest they'd get, as the pitching efforts of graduate starter JD Greeley, junior reliever Logan Pikur and senior reliever Nolan Higgins kept the Wolverines at bay, as the Spartans avoided the sweep and got their first win in a series finale this season.Â
"It was good to get this one. I guess there was a streak, but I wasn't aware of that until somebody said something Friday," MSU head coach Jake Boss Jr. said afterwards about the Spartans snapping an eight-game losing skid to the Wolverines. "I think our sport is just a little different that everyday there is something different, you've got new guys on the mound, lineups changed a lot. So, I think a streak or whatever in baseball, in my opinion, is a little bit overrated. But, we haven't won on a Sunday all year, and it was a good one to get on Sunday, and salvaged one game of the series, which is always important. Hopefully, it gives us a little bit of momentum into a busy week."
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With the Victory for MSU, the Spartans are now a palindromic 12-21 on the season, and 6-12 in B1G action, while the Wolverines, who were among others receiving votes in this week's National College Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Top 25 Poll, are now 20-15 overall and 7-8 in conference competition. Sunday's result was the largest scoring margin of the four regular-season meetings between MSU and UM, as the three previous had been decided by two runs, after Michigan's 4-2 and 6-4 wins on Friday night and Saturday afternoon, respectively.
The Spartans' 10 runs was their sixth game this season with 10 or more runs, while it was the Wolverines' fourth loss when allowing 10 runs and third in B1G play, joining UCLA and Nebraska.
Sophomore outfielder Khamaree Thomas hit a solo home run over the high wall in right field and into the Red Cedar River for his first career round-tripper for MSU's first run of the day, adding two more in the third to take a 3-2 lead and the Spartans never looked back.
Greeley held UM to one run on two hits and chalked up three strikeouts in opening the first 2.0 IP. Pikur came on in the third and went on to fire a career-high six strikeouts in 5.0 IP, scattering four hits and also holding the Wolverines to one run.Â
"Logan did a nice job," Boss said. "We kind of used JD (Greeley) as the opener, and we did that on Wednesday at Notre Dame, and I thought JD (Greeley) did a nice job as well. It gives Logan a little bit of a chance to kind of settle into things and get a feel for the game and a little bit of a rhythm. He was lights out today, just really good."
Higgins finished off the final 2.0 IP with four hits and three runs wont one walk and three Ks.
Deckinga finished the day 2-for-5 with five RBI and two runs scored, adding an RBI double in the third before his grand slam in the sixth to break the game open. It was his fifth home run of the season and second grand slam, as he had the home run cycle with his first four homers, and now has two grand slams, both coming at home after his first slam was on March 28 vs. Purdue.Â
"He's coming," Boss said about Deckinga. "His numbers are a little bit skewed because he really struggled early, as a lot of freshmen do. But he's a really, really athletic kid, very talented young man, and he's got a big future ahead of him. He's got all kinds of power. He plays good defense, and he's a guy that's going to have a lot of success in this game."
Seymour also had success in the game with his 12th home run of the season to help MSU beat UM in his final regular-season match-up with the Wolverines.
"It was amazing. It's always special against those guys, too. I mean, it was rough with the boys Friday and Saturday, and we knew we were going to come back in on Sunday. It was huge," Seymour said.Â
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Junior outfielder Parker Picot was 2-for-2 with two runs scored and two walks. Thomas ended the day 1-for-2 with the home run, adding a walk. Seymour was one of four Spartans to end 1-for-4 with a run scored, joined by sophomore infielder Dayton Murphy, sophomore designated hitter Isaac Sturgess and senior outfielder Nick Williams with matching lines in the box score.
The visiting Wolverines opened the scoring with a run in their first at bat, with an RBI single in the top of the first, adding a run in the top of the third for an early 2-0 lead.
The home-standing Spartans quickly changed that in the bottom of the third, as Thomas led off the frame with his solo homer into the Red Cedar River. Picot followed with a double off the wall in right, nearly the same spot that Thomas' home run went over. Next, Deckinga doubled to off the wall in deep center field to trade places with Picot. Graduate catcher Noah Bright followed with a walk, Murphy reached on a fielder's choice that advanced Deckinga to third and Bright was safe at second on a UM error. Sturgess then hit into a double play, but it allowed Deckinga to score, pushing MSU ahead at 3-2. While he doesn't officially get credit as the game-winning RBI because of the RBI, it marked the seventh time this season that Sturgess was involved in what proved to be the run that gives the Spartans the lead they never relinquish out of their wins.
After the four runs scored in the third inning, the scoreboard stayed stuck at 3-2 until the bottom of the sixth, when Sturgess sparked the Spartan rally with a leadoff walk. Three batters later, Williams singled to right to push Sturgess to third. UM made a pitching change, and the left-handed hitting Thomas was pinch-hit for by right-handed hitting junior outfielder Trent Rice. A wild pitch while Rice was at bat scored Sturgess and moved Williams to second, and Rice went on to draw a walk. After another Wolverine pitching change, Picot also drew a walk to fill the bases full of Spartans.Â
Deckinga emptied them in a quick hurry with his grand slam high into the trees beyond the wall in left center, 414-feet away from home plate, to push MSU's lead to 8-2.
"Oh, that felt so special," Deckinga said about his feelings during the home run trot. "Just running around the bases, showing love to the bullpen, and just coming around, celebrating with the guys, it was an amazing feeling for sure."
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Before many of the fans had a chance to return to their seats from signing and stretching in the middle of the seventh, Murphy smacked a leadoff single to center. Two batters later, Seymour socked his home run to center field, sending the ball on a 421-foot adventure that was 105 mph off the bat and deep into the trees behind the center field wall and a 10-2 Spartan advantage.
The Wolverines closed the gap to 10-5 with two runs in the eighth and another in the ninth, before Higgins induced a chopper to Seymour at first for the final out and sparking the Victory for MSU celebrations.
Michigan State opens a busy five-game week in three different locations by hosting Oakland on Tuesday, April 14 at 6:02 p.m. at Jeff Ishbia Field at McLane Stadium. The next day, MSU is the host for a match-up with Western Michigan on Wednesday, April 15 at LMCU Ballpark in Comstock Park, Michigan, home of the West Michigan Whitecaps, the High-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers.
MSU then heads to the Pacific Northwest to play at Washington on Friday-Sunday, April 17-19, in the Spartans' first-ever trip to Seattle. MSU and UW have played four times before, but all on neutral fields, never before on campus. The Spartans and Huskies first met in 1992 in El Paso, Texas, then played in Surprise, Arizona in 2014 and in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 2018.
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The Spartans' schedule is subject to 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.
Â
The Michigan State baseball season ticket package, which includes 24 home games at Jeff Ishbia Field at McLane Stadium, and also single game 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, or fans can visit the MSU Ticket Office in person, located in 1855 Place.
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Pikur, Logan (1-3)
L: David Lally Jr. (1-2)
Batting:
2B: Brayden Jefferis 1 ; Matthew Ossenfort 2
RBI: Cooper Mullens 1 ; Noah Miller 1 ; Brayden Jefferis 2 ; Dane Morrow 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Cooper Mullens 2 ; Colby Turner 1 ; Brayden Jefferis 1 ; Matthew Ossenfort 1
SB: Cooper Mullens 1 ; Noah Miller 1
CS: Colby Turner 1
HBP: Noah Miller 2
Batting:
2B: Picot, Parker 1 ; Deckinga, CJ 1
HR: Seymour, Randy 1 ; Thomas, Khamaree 1 ; Deckinga, CJ 1
RBI: Seymour, Randy 2 ; Thomas, Khamaree 1 ; Deckinga, CJ 5
Base Running:
RUNS: Murphy, Dayton 1 ; Sturgess, Isaac 1 ; Seymour, Randy 1 ; Williams, Nick 1 ; Thomas, Khamaree 1 ; Rice, Trent 1 ; Picot, Parker 2 ; Deckinga, CJ 2
Game Leaders
AB
2
R
2
H
2
RBI
0
AB
4
R
2
H
2
RBI
5
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
C
/ BaseballINF/OF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ BaseballINF
/ BaseballOF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
INF
/ BaseballOF/LHP
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
OF
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