MSU looked to rebound against Indiana for game two of a three game weekend matchup against the Hoosiers. The Spartans dropped a close 3-2 game on Friday but slammed the door on the Hoosiers in game two, defeating Indiana in blowout fashion by a final score of 9-0.
The Spartans reached the scoreboard first in the bottom half of the second inning. Junior DH Taylor Grace led the inning off with a walk and made it to third on a hit from senior right fielder Kris Simonton. Two batters later, an RBI groundout from senior third baseman Justin Hovis made it a 1-0 ball game.
MSU tacked on another in the bottom of the third, sophomore center fielder Brandon Hughes got things started with a leadoff walk. After stealing second and making it to third on a hit from junior second baseman Dan Durkin, Hughes would score on a sacrifice bunt from freshman left fielder Marty Bechina, making it a 2-0 game.
In the bottom half of the sixth, the Spartans opened the floodgates on the Hoosiers. MSU ripped eight hits in the inning, resulting in a seven run inning for the Spartans. MSU sent 12 batters to the plate and the Hoosiers went through three different pitchers to get through the inning. Junior second baseman Dan Durkin led the inning off with a home run and then seven of the next nine Spartans would go on to reach base.
Spartan right-hander Ethan Landon picked up his fifth win of the season — the sophomore went a career-high 7.2 innings of shutout baseball. Landon allowed five hits while walking three and striking out six on 119 pitches. Freshman reliever Riley McCauley came into the game to replace Landon. McCauley finished the game with 1.1 innings of perfect baseball to seal the deal for the Spartans
The Spartans and Hoosiers will finish out the weekend set on Sunday. Junior Joe Mockbee (0-0, 3.00 ERA) will get his first start of the season for MSU, while Indiana will have righty Evan Bell (0-3, 3.86 ERA) take the mound. First pitch for the series finale is set for 3:05 p.m.
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