Facing elimination, the MSU baseball team scored in each of the first six innings Thursday, including a seven-run third to extend its season.
In a slugfest, the Spartans (37-18) defeated Iowa 13-9 in day two of the Big Ten Tournament at Siebert Field in Minneapolis.
MSU manager Ted Mahan said weather, more than bad pitching, contributed to the high scoring affair.
“The weather was conducive today,” he said. “It was warm and the wind was blowing out.”
With the aid of a fierce wind blowing to left center field, the two teams combined for nine home runs - four by MSU.
Now the Spartans must shift their focus to winning two games on Friday. Mahan said his team has played doubleheaders before, so MSU won’t be facing a new challenge.
“We’ve had to win two games before,” Mahan said. “We just have to try to win the first one to get to the second.”
The Spartans have to await the outcome of two games before they know their first opponent Friday. MSU will play the lowest-seeded loser of those two games. That leaves second-seeded Ohio State, fourth-seeded Indiana and sixth-seeded Northwestern as possible opponents.
Northwestern would set up a rematch of Wednesday’s first-round loss.
The Spartans scored a run in the first and second inning to take an early 2-0 lead, then exploded in the third to take a 9-0 lead.
Junior right fielder Bob Malek led off the inning with a solo home run, his second of the game.
Four hits later, the Spartans had scored another run and the bases were loaded for freshman left fielder Travis Gulick.
“He threw a couple fastballs,” Gulick said. “I sat on his fastball and he threw it right down the middle, and I got a good piece of it.”
It was Gulick’s third grand slam in a week.
After the Hawkeyes (26-29-1) scored three runs in the bottom of the third, the Spartans added a run in the fourth and fifth innings to make the score 11-3. That would be all the Spartans needed.
Malek and senior center fielder Chris McCuiston each connected for a tournament record five hits.
Malek, the Tri-Big Ten Player of the Year, bounced back from a 0-for-4 performance Wednesday, going 5-for-6 with two home runs and two doubles.
Regardless of who the Spartans play, the first pitch will be at 1 p.m.
