Freshman pitcher Andrew Webb pitches to Toledo outfielder Josh Wierzba during the fourth inning Wednesday afternoon at Kobs Field. In four innings, Webb allowed one unearned run on three hits against the Rockets.
The first three innings of the MSU baseball team’s game against Toledo on Wednesday at Kobs Field looked like the makings of an offensive slugfest.
But instead, a variety of MSU arms stepped up to shut down the opposing bats as the Spartans (14-21) defeated the Toledo Rockets (12-24) 10-6 to end a five-game losing streak.
Despite the fireworks that would come later, it looked to be a quick first inning for the Spartans and junior starting pitcher A.J. Dunn. After Dunn got the first two Toledo batters to pop out, Aaron Dudley singled to start a two-out Toledo rally. Dunn walked the next two batters and the mistakes came back to haunt him as Jared Hoying lifted a fly ball over the right field fence for a grand slam to give the Rockets a 4-0 lead.
“That happens and you just can’t let that happen,” MSU head coach David Grewe said of the walks.
“Two walks come back and they get a long fly ball 301 feet down the right field line and you have a grand slam and you’re down by four — you can’t do that against good teams.”
The Spartans began to chip away, getting one back in their half of the inning as sophomore left fielder Chris Roberts drove in senior third baseman Steve Gerstenberger, who led off with a walk.
After the Rockets extended their lead to 5-1 in the top of the second, freshman designated hitter Seth Williams hit a home run to right field to cut MSU’s deficit to three.
It was MSU’s turn for a big inning in the bottom of third, as the Spartans put up six runs with the top of the order due up. After Gerstenberger led off with a single, freshman shortstop Jonathan Roof was hit by a pitch to put two runners on. Roberts, who entered the game as the team’s hottest batter, drove in Gerstenberger with an RBI double.
Junior catcher Kyle Day followed with a two-run double and junior first baseman Eric Roof had an RBI single of his own as the Spartans went up 8-5.
“We all know that we’re a very good hitting team and we have a lot of capability of putting runs on the board,” said Roberts, who led the Spartans with three hits and two RBIs. “It gives us a boost of confidence heading into this weekend putting 14 hits up there.”
The Spartans put up two more insurance runs in the next inning with another RBI single by Eric Roof and a run by Day, who picked up an extra base on the hit.
After the fourth inning, the game quickly turned from an offensive clinic into a pitching duel, as both pitching staffs quieted the opposition’s bats the rest of the way. Freshman Andrew Webb came in to relieve Dunn and allowed one run on three hits through four innings.
“It just felt good to come in and throw strikes,” said Webb, who picked up his first collegiate win. Day, Williams and Eric Roof all had two hits and two RBIs for the Spartans, while freshman center fielder Brandon Eckerle also had two hits.
“We came back and battled through a rough first inning on our half and kind of battled back and swung the bats pretty good,” Grewe said.
“We put together back-to-back hits and that third inning helped us shape the game and I was excited about that.”
The Spartans play at 6:05 p.m. today in the Crosstown Showdown against the Lansing Lugnuts at Oldsmobile Park in Lansing.
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