Friday, March 29, 2024

Garner salvages weekend with complete game shutout for Spartans

April 29, 2012
Sophomore pitcher David Garner throws a pitch down the middle as Tuesday afternoon at McLane Stadium. The Spartans capped a 13-3 victory over Bowling Green. Aaron Snyder/The State News.
Sophomore pitcher David Garner throws a pitch down the middle as Tuesday afternoon at McLane Stadium. The Spartans capped a 13-3 victory over Bowling Green. Aaron Snyder/The State News. —
Photo by Aaron Snyder | and Aaron Snyder The State News

David Garner would not let the MSU baseball team go down without a fight.

After dropping the first two of the weekend series to No. 13 Purdue, the sophomore pitcher from Niles, Mich. rose to the occasion by striking out seven in a complete game shutout on Sunday to give the Spartans a 5-0 victory against the Boilermakers.

“That was David’s best career outing so far,” said MSU head coach Jake Boss Jr. in a statement to the athletics department. “He was very impressive against one of the nation’s top offenses in their ballpark. He threw strikes all day and got ahead in the count, which was the key. David was very business-like in his approach before the game and came through with a big performance when we really needed it.”

With the win, Garner’s picked up the first complete game of his collegiate career and became the first pitcher to shut out the Boilermakers this season — a team who entered the series with the third highest batting average in the nation. The win also salvages the weekend for the Spartans (27-15, 8-7 Big Ten) in the Big Ten standings after falling in the two previous games, including a 4-3 loss in 14 innings on Saturday.

The Spartans now have won three games this season against ranked opponents, including victories against then-No. 11 St. John’s to open the season and then-No. 25 Baylor on March 7.

The Spartans return to action next weekend, as they open up a three-game series on the road against Illinois starting at 7:05 on Friday in Champaign, Ill.

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