The MSU baseball team secured their place in the Big Ten Tournament in a regular season-concluding sweep over Penn State last weekend.
The Spartans (29-24 overall, 11-13 Big Ten) defeated Penn State 7-6 Saturday afternoon to complete the three-game sweep over the Nittany Lions.
Sophomore left-hander Anthony Misiewicz earned the win for the Spartans, pitching two innings and allowing one hit.
Penn State (18-32, 5-18) led 4-1 going into the top of the fourth, but the Spartans used four runs in the inning to take a 5-4 lead. A throwing error by Penn State shortstop Jim Haley enabled redshirt junior infielder Ryan Richardson to score junior first baseman Ryan Krill and senior infielder Joel Fisher from second and third.
RBI singles by sophomore outfielder Cam Gibson and junior outfielder Anthony Cheky later in the inning gave the Spartans the lead.
Each team traded blows in the fifth and sixth innings, tying the game at 5-5 and 6-6. But MSU prevailed in the eighth inning.
Richardson set up the winning play with a double to left field. After stealing third, Richardson reached home following another throwing error.
MSU will be the sixth seed in the Big Ten tournament, set to begin on Wednesday in Omaha, Nebraska. The Spartans will open the tournament at 10 a.m., playing third-seeded Illinois at TD Ameritrade Park.
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