ANN ARBOR, Mich. — With 70 degrees and sunny weather at Ray Fisher Stadium, it was a beautiful day for baseball as the Spartans took the field against Michigan for the second consecutive day.
After blowing yesterday’s 7-0 lead to Michigan in the bottom of the ninth on a home run from Michigan DH Jimmy Obertop, MSU baseball came back to Ann Arbor ready to take on the Wolverines.
And they were, winning 3-0 in a shutout, their first of Michigan since 2002. It was the first time MSU has beaten U of M since 2017.
"We're really proud of our guys, they showed a lot of character after a tough loss yesterday," Head Coach Jake Boss Jr. said in post-game interviews.
At the top of the third, MSU’s Trent Farquhar was walked by Michigan pitcher Blake Beers. From there, Bryce Kelley walked and eventually moved to second as Farquhar advanced to third on a wild pitch.
With another Michigan error, Farquhar made his way home with Kelley coming in next as Zach Iverson grounded out to first.
MSU then stayed up by two off an inning with no hits.
With Michigan’s Beers on the mound for a little over five innings, they switched Beers out for right-handed pitcher Joe Pace after 5.2 IP and a 4.5 ERA.
Pace started strong out the gate with his first out on MSU’s Brock Vradenburg.
With 7.0 innings pitched, Michigan State switched out left-handed pitcher Nick Powers with a 2.76 ERA for sophomore right-handed pitcher Wyatt Rush.
Following, in the top of the eighth, the Wolverines made another pitching change, switching out Pace for Willie Weiss. With his first pitch, MSU’s Vradenburg grounded out to second up the middle.
The Wolverines’ pitching change was not enough as the Spartans cheered out of the dugout as senior Bailey Peterson swung one over the left wall, the first of the night.
"I mean he had a pretty good weekend, although the numbers might not show it," Boss Jr. said in post-game interviews. "But he hit a lot of balls hard. It really feels like he's getting closer, and he got the barrel out on a ball, it was a big run for us."
With one out on Michigan in the bottom of the ninth, MSU switched out Rush for third baseman Iverson.
The Spartans walked away with a win as the Wolverines were not able to bring it back in the bottom of the ninth, their first win over the Wolverines since 2017.
The Spartans will next host the Hoosiers March 26-28 as they return to McLane Stadium for their first home series of the season.
Support student media! Please consider donating to The State News and help fund the future of journalism.
