Lansing — Some people have to wait years to get redemption for their mistakes.
Brandon Doherty only needed a few pitches.
Moments after making a throwing error in the ninth inning that brought the go-ahead run to the plate, Doherty made a lunging grab on a line drive to preserve the MSU baseball team's 6-5 win against Western Michigan on Tuesday at Oldsmobile Park.
"If that error cost us the game," a smiling Doherty said afterward, "I'm not going to be happy the rest of the night, that's for sure."
The Broncos (8-16), who entered their final at-bat down two, had a runner on second with two outs when Chris Lewis grounded weakly to Doherty, a junior shortstop.
"I kind of looked away right there because I thought it was an automatic," MSU head coach David Grewe said.
But Doherty's throw was wild, allowing the runner from second to score and Lewis, the tying run, to move into scoring position.
The next hitter roped one to Doherty's right, and for a moment, it appeared his error on the previous play would prove extremely costly. But without hesitation, he scurried over and snagged the ball with a full stretch.
"He picked himself up right there," Grewe said. "That's what it's about. You're not going to be perfect every time, but the key is to be able to make the next play."
The Spartans were far from perfect offensively for eight innings, but their six-run fourth inning proved to be just enough scoring.
Five of MSU's nine hits came during that rally, including a two-run single by senior designated hitter E.J. Daws.
"Our team is very capable of putting something together like that," Grewe said. "We've got some hitters that kind of feed off of each other, and it gets rocking and rolling."
The game was hardly a slugfest, but it still featured more runs than MSU and Purdue combined for in last weekend's weather-hampered three-game series.
"We've been hitting — it just seems like we're hitting right at guys," Doherty said.
"And when we are squaring balls up, we're just getting under them a little bit. Pitchers aren't beating us too much — we're beating ourselves a lot. We'll figure it out."
Junior center fielder Dennis Jones had three hits in four at-bats for MSU, and Daws finished 2-for-3.
Junior Tony Clausen threw an inning and a third of perfect relief to earn his first career win, and junior Mike Monterey got the last two outs of the game for his fifth save of the season.
MSU (14-10 overall, 5-2 Big Ten) has now won six of its last eight games heading into this weekend's home series against Penn State.
"We snuck away with a good victory," Grewe said.
"We're moving in the right direction."
