Lansing - With a 6-4 loss to Ohio State on Saturday, the MSU baseball team was mathematically eliminated from the regular-season Big Ten title.

The Buckeyes (30-16 overall, 16-9 Big Ten) evened the four-game series at one apiece after a three-hour rain delay at Oldsmobile Park. The Spartans (31-16, 12-12) won 12-5 on Friday.

The schedule called for a doubleheader Saturday, but the rain limited the teams to just one game. The missed game will be made up with a doubleheader today, starting at 1 p.m.

Senior right-hander Nick Bates (9-3) took the loss, keeping him just one win away from becoming the fourth Spartan to record 10 wins in a single season.

Bates gave up two runs in the top of the first, then settled into a groove. Through the first five innings he struck out eight Buckeyes while allowing just the two early runs.

He struck out four straight, and retired 13 straight before walking Buckeye second baseman Christian Snavely to start the sixth inning. Bates picked up his ninth and final strikeout for the inning’s first out, then Ohio State scored four runs to break the game open.

The Spartans had tied the game at two with one in the fourth and one in the fifth, but the four-run sixth inning cost MSU the win. Bates allowed six runs - only three earned - in 5.2 innings of work. Senior right-hander Jon Huizinga pitched the final 1.1 innings for MSU.

Unlike the Buckeyes, who scored six runs on six hits, the Spartans failed to capitalize with runners in scoring position. MSU finished with just four runs on 10 hits, while stranding eight base runners.

Jose Newman (8-4) picked up the win for Ohio State. Newman struck out eight, seven in the first three innings, en route to a complete game.