Lansing - The Spartan offense was in full throttle Friday afternoon, but they didn't need much of it.
Behind a stellar pitching performance from junior right-hander Bryan Gale, the Spartans whipped the Wolverines 12-3 in front of 835 fans at Oldsmobile Park.
"It was a must win home game," said Gale, who improved to 5-4 on the year and 3-0 in his career against Michigan. "Our goal is to finish in the top six of the conference to make the Big Ten Tournament and this helps."
Gale was masterful for the entire game, except one pitch. The Decatur native pitched his fourth complete game of the season, scattering seven hits, striking out seven and walking only one.
The one bad pitch was a two run home run, launched over the fence and into the street by Wolverine cleanup hitter Jake Fox.
"I was feeling great through the first six innings," Gale said. "It was probably the best stuff I've had all year. I was getting the first pitch for strikes and when I get ahead of guys, I can throw my other pitches too. The quick lead really helped, too."
MSU (11-12 overall, 4-7 Big Ten) supported its side-arming slinger on the offensive end with not only the 12 runs, but 13 hits. With two runs in the second and three in the third, the Spartans gave Gale what he said was plenty of cushion.
The offensive explosion chased Wolverine starter Michael Penn (1-6) out of the game after 3 1/3 innings of work. In the short time on the mound, he surrendered nine hits and eight runs. Only five of which were earned, however, as the Wolverines (16-16, 4-7) committed three blunders in the field.
Junior first baseman Scott Koerber paced the MSU offense, going 3-for-4 with a pair of RBIs. Freshman shortstop Alan Cattrysse and sophomore right fielder Travis Gulick also recorded two hits apiece.
"Everyone had good at-bats today," senior catcher Brady Burrill said. "It was just one of those days when we were hitting real well, but they made mistakes, too. I mean, by the fourth inning, it was 8-0. We just got on that guy real fast."
But it was the defense that was more impressive.
Defensively, the Spartans were near flawless in the field. It wasn't until junior third baseman James Moreno lost a pop up in the fog and lights with two outs in the ninth inning that MSU recorded its first error.
The Spartans were gunning for their first errorless contest in 19 tries.
Gale also helped his own cause on the defensive end. A scorching shot was bound to find its way into center field, driving in a run, but Gale managed to snag the ball, get the out at first while the runner only advanced to third.
The next batter was retired by a diving catch in center field by senior Brett Wattles.
"The key is having everybody back," MSU manager Ted Mahan said. "I think we're 7-3 or 6-4 with everybody back, and that's pretty good in baseball."
The Spartans are now 9-4 in their last 13 games against U-M. The teams square off in a doubleheader starting at 1 p.m. tomorrow at Ray Fisher Stadium in Ann Arbor. The series finale will be at 1 p.m. Sunday at Kobs Field.
"Our goal is to just get one down there tomorrow before we come back to Kobs Sunday," Gale said. "But we'll take two."
