“We’re hurting right now and I think the players are hurting,” MSU head coach David Grewe said. “Some of these guys have their baseball careers at an end and that’s a hard feeling.”

The Spartans (24-28 overall, 12-17 Big Ten) were led on the day by freshman Jonathan Roof and sophomore Kyle Day who both had two hits.

The first game of the doubleheader came down to the wire, as Indiana was able hold onto a lead in the seventh inning, defeating MSU 7-6.

Indiana jumped out to an early 3-0 lead before freshman Brandon Eckerle and senior Steve Gerstenberger hit RBI singles in the second inning to bring the Spartans within a run.

The Hoosiers (27-28, 14-17) added to their lead in the fifth and sixth inning were and were up 7-3 heading into the seventh inning, making the game appear to be out of reach for MSU.

But the Spartans weren’t about to throw in the towel.

Junior slugger Kyle Day hit a three-run home run in the seventh inning to bring the Spartans within one run.

With only one out, junior Eric Roof walked and was replaced by senior pinch runner Dennis Jones. The situation looked promising for the Spartans when Jones advanced to scoring position after stealing second base.

Eckerle stepped to the plate with a chance to tie the game with a base hit and bring the Spartans back to life.

These plans were spoiled when Indiana centerfielder Andrew Means got a quick jump on a fly ball hit to shallow center by Eckerle. When it appeared the ball was going to drop into the gap, Jones left second, rounded third and began his approach to home plate.

Means was able to catch the ball at full speed and continued the short distance to second base, completing the double play on Jones by himself.

This ended the Spartans rally and the game.

“We were one hit away and I thought we were going to come back and win it but we came up short,” Day said. “We didn’t get the victory and I’m disappointed.”

The Hoosiers carried their momentum into the nightcap, scoring six runs in the first inning and holding onto their lead throughout the game, winning 7-3.

MSU freshman pitcher AJ Achter (1-3) was chased in the first inning after allowing six runs and was credited with the loss.

In his relief came junior Mark Sorensen, who completed the game and was able to shutout the Hoosiers for five innings before allowing one run in the seventh.

“I just wanted to go out there and give our team a chance after that first inning,” Sorensen said. “I tried to throw some zeros up on the board and hopefully our hitters could get some runs up there.”

Jonathan Roof was credited with two RBIs when he came up with a clutch hit in the second inning with the bases loaded, bringing the score to 6-3.

The Hoosiers proved to be too much as Ryan MacFarlane pitched the last four innings and didn’t give the Spartans a chance to mount a rally.

Saturday is senior day as the Spartans finish their season against Indiana at Kobs Field.

“We will try to honor our seniors tomorrow and enjoy senior day and go from there,” Grewe said