The Big Ten opening game was a disappointment forthe MSU baseball team, who fell 10-1 to Illinois on Friday.
On Saturday, the team showed their stuff by beating the Fighting Illini twice in a row with scores of 13-7 and 13-8.
Early in Saturday’s first game, it looked as if the Illini might take another win, but MSU eventually prevailed. They continued performing strongly by taking an early lead in the second game.
Freshman Bryan Gale pitched five strikouts in game two after relieving junior starter Nick Bates.
A fourth game against Illinois was scheduled yesterday, but was canceled due to snow and cold weather and will not be made up.
The Spartans will compete next at Eastern Michigan.
Softball
The Spartans continued competition in the Florida Atlantic Invitational on Saturday in Boca Raton, Fla.
MSU won Sunday’s first game against Jacksonville State and went on to compete against the University of Florida.
Starting pitcher freshman Jessica Beechhelped lead the team to victory by pitching her sixth full game of the season.
The invitational began on Friday for the Spartans with a loss to Florida Atlantic University.
Saturday’s games included losses to the Florida Gators and Jacksonville State, but were broken up by a win against Florida International University.
They played a sixth game yesterday against the Florida Gators.
Men’s Gymnastics
The MSU Men’s Gymnastics team finished fifth at the Big Ten Championship meet on Friday at Penn State.
Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State and Illinois made up the top five, while Iowa and Minnesota finished sixth and seventh.
Individual competitions were held Saturday at Penn State with impressive performances by several Spartans.
Sophomore Brad Golden took first on the floor, second on the vault, and sixth on the parallel bars.
Junior Jonathan Plante finished first on the pommel horse and senior Tom Housley finished sixth on the vault.
The team will face Ohio State next in an attempt to qualify for the NCAA Championships which will take place April 4 through April 7.
Women’s Gymnastics
The women’s gymnastics team placed sixth in the Big Ten Championships at U-M on Saturday. Their sixth-place finish put them above only Illinois.
Despite the team’s performance, sophomore Christy Linderscored at or above 9.725 in three events and senior Elisabeth Forshier placed seventh on the floor.
“We started off the event with a fall on the balance beam which shook the team to begin with,” head coach Kathie Klages said. “They did a good job, they kept on fighting to the end.”
Men’s Track
The Spartan men’s track and field team began their outdoor season at the Alabama Relays on Saturday.
Sophomore Andy Lixey led the team, placing third in the 800-meter finals. His time of 1.49.48 seconds put him at fourth place in MSU’s all-time top five outdoor performances.
Senior Jasmin Alverson finished ninth in the 110-meter hurdles and 25th in the 400-meter hurdles.
On the field, junior Jeff Kus placed tenth in the pole vault and 23rd in the long jump, while junior Ben Logan took seventh in the pole vault.
Spartan runners performed well in the steeplechase with freshmen Steve Padgett and Mike Thorson taking 11th and 13th place respectively.
The team continued competition at the Alabama Relays yesterday.
Women’s Track
The MSU women’s track team fared well in competitions Friday and Saturday at the Florida State relays.
On Friday, junior Nadia Ricketts took third in the triple jump, junior Katie Bonner finished sixth in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, followed by senior Shannon Houseman in ninth place.
Saturday’s competitions included a third place finish in the 1,600-meter sprint medley by the Spartans. Junior Swanne Gordon placed seventh in the 800-meter run and Bonner placed seventh in the 1,500-meter run.
The Spartans will compete at the Raleigh Relays in Raleigh, N.C. on March 30-31.
Men’s Tennis
The Spartan men’s tennis team couldn’t break its four-game losing streak with a 7-0 loss to Indiana State on Saturday.
Sophomore Jason Chen competed for the first time in a dual singles match, but didn’t manage a win.
The team will once again compete in the Big Ten when they face the University of Illinois on Sunday.
Women’s Tennis
The Women’s tennis team suffered a similar loss in Minneapolis.
It was defeated 7-0 by the University of Minnesota on Friday in Minneapolis. Things weren’t much better on Saturday - the team lost again to Wisconsin with a score of 6-1 in Madison.
The only highlight came when freshmen Lise Juliussen and Caroline Lay won No. 1 doubles against the Wisconsin Badgers on Sunday.
Their next match will pit them against Michigan at Ann Arbor.
Men’s Golf
At the end of the first day of the Dr. Pepper Intercollegiate meet, MSU men’s golf was tied for third. They trailed leader Purdue by seven shots.
Sophomore John Koskinen performed well, leading the team with 72 shots and placing third overall.
The meet continued yesterday in Pottsboro, Texas.
Men’s Swimming
Senior John Munley was to represent the Spartans in three events at the NCAA Championships, but failed to qualify for the 200 freestyle finals or the 500 free finals. He was scheduled to compete in the 1,560 free event on Saturday.
