MSU baseball dominates Illinois in final series game, 14-4

EAST LANSING, MI.— After losing two games in a doubleheader against the Illinois Fighting Illini on Friday, March 28 the Michigan State baseball team looked to get back into the win column in the last game of the three-game series during a Saturday matinee matchup at McLane Stadium. 

Starting on the mound for Michigan State was sophomore Gannon Grundman, who played for just over three innings, throwing three strikeouts, four hits and allowing four runs.

“Today was a bounce back for us,” Head Coach Jake Boss Jr. said. “Proud of our guys for their approach all day long. We had some good at-bats early and carried that approach all game long.” 

Just like in game one of the series, the Spartans took an early lead in the first inning scoring three runs off of four hits. 

Senior outfielder JT Sokolove started the inning off with a hustle infield hit to beat out the throw by the shortstop. Following him, sophomore second baseman Ryan McKay hit a ball sharply to left field. Two batters later, the senior first baseman Sam Busch hit an RBI double that scored Sokolove. 

McKay later scored on a wild catch. Sophomore right fielder Parker Picot hit an RBI double that went just over the head of the right fielder and scored Busch.

Illinois did not stay silent for long in the third inning.The Fighting Illini got on the board with three hits and scored two runs. 

The third inning started off with senior Coltin Quagliano hitting a ball that carried to right field that went off the wall and would end up being safe at second base with a double. 

Four batters later, junior Grant Ross hit a single to the middle, scoring Quagliano. The next batter, junior Jack Zebig, hit a single that ultimately scored junior Nick Groves. That RBI would continue Zebig’s hot start to the season with 32 RBIs. The Fighting Illini scored both of their runs with two outs. 

In the fourth inning, Grundman would leave the game after loading the bases with one out. The new pitcher was sophomore Tate Farquhar. The first batter Farquhar faced was sophomore Cameron Chee-Aloy, and he singled, scoring two runs and Illinois claimed the lead, 4-3. 

In the fifth inning, Illinois sophomore starting pitcher Regan Hall was replaced after leaving the bases loaded with one out. The new pitcher was freshman Luke Weber. The first batter he faced was Busch, who hit a single and would score Sokolove, tying the game at 4 a piece. The next batter, junior shortstop Randy Seymour, hit a sac fly, scoring McKay. 

“When they took the lead, we kept our composure and just kept grinding at bats. It turned out to be a good day,” Boss Jr. said. 

The scoring continued as Picot hit a two-run RBI single, scoring Busch and senior designated hitter Will Shannon. MSU was able to take the lead back, 7-4. 

The sixth inning was no different for the Spartans as Sokolovehit an RBI single, scoring senior outfielder Nick Williams, extending their lead to 8-4.

The star of the game for the Spartans was Busch. In the seventh inning he hit a two-run homerun over the right field wall,ending the day batting 4-5 with 5 RBIs. 

“I’m seeing the ball really well right now. When guys get on ahead of me, I am just trying to be aggressive early in the count,” Busch said. 

The game would end earlier as Michigan State would tally four more runs in the eighth inning, making the score 14-4.

After the 14-4 victory for Michigan State, it improved to a 17-10 record and 4-5 in Big Ten play. The team will head to Jackson Field to go up against the Lansing Lugnuts in the annual Crosstown Showdown on Tuesday, April 1, at 6:05 p.m..