The Spartans started their first tournament of the season against Merrimack, where they ultimately picked up a 10-3 win. A late six-run ninth inning helped surge the Spartans to their win. Four different Spartans – Sam Busch, Jacob Anderson, Noah Bright and Jake Dresselhouse – each had at least one hit.

However, this was Michigan State’s only win of the tournament; the next three games in the tournament – and five games overall in the road trip – were losses. 

Michigan State lost to Seton Hall 10-4, Lehigh 2-0 and Ball State 4-1 all in the Swig and Swine College Classic. A lack of offensive power in those games was the main fault in Michigan State’s play, an issue the team has faced in the past. 

2024 Snowbird College Classic

In its game against Indiana State, Michigan State took the Sycamores into extra innings as the two teams were tied 6-6 after nine innings of play. However, Indiana State was able to hit a walk-off and take home the win, causing Michigan State to drop its fourth game in a row.

The sorrows continued for the Spartans after their 20-10 loss against Marshall later that day. Though both teams succeeded offensively, including seven straight runs for Michigan State in the last two innings and eight hits total in the game, the Spartans couldn’t contain Marshall’s powerhouse of a sixth inning: the team tallied up nine runs to propel their lead to unbeatable. 

Finally, in a second game against Marshall, Michigan State was able to win 6-2 and take home its first win in five games. The Spartans tallied up 12 hits and scored six straight runs to finally pick up a win.

A few days later, Michigan State picked up another win – this time against Georgia – and mercy-ruled them in seven innings to win 19-6. MSU finished the game with two home runs and 21 hits, outnumbering Georgia’s hits to just eight. 

2024 First Pitch Invitational I

The Spartans played three games in their second trip to Georgia, where they won one – 13-3 against Western Michigan – but lost two. Michigan State lost 11-2 against Florida State and 12-6 against Illinois. 

2024 First Pitch Invitational II

After five days of rest, the Spartans were back on the field: it was time to take home a win and regain some confidence. In the game against Western Michigan, the Spartans were able to come away with a nail-biting 5-3 win with the help of an offensively strong first inning.

However, Michigan State’s luck vanished as it lost its next two games, one to Western Carolina and one to VCU. 

The loss to VCU marked the end of a long trip for the slugging Spartans, head coach Jake Boss Jr. spoke about the loss after the game.

“We’re disappointed in the way the game went today,” Boss Jr. said. “I thought we did some good things offensively. Dillon Kark had a good day, and Landen Lozier did a really nice job in his first start, so I’m really happy for him. Once again, we had a lot of traffic on the base paths, but couldn’t seem to push runs across.”

The lack of scoring runs on offense wasn’t the only concern Boss Jr. had for the team, however, during the road trip.

“Defensively, (and) on the mound, we just had a hard time keeping the ball in the park,” Boss Jr. said. “We really thought we had a chance to go 3-0 or at least 2-1, so we’ll get back to work this week and get ready for the home opener on Friday.”

Despite coming home under .500, the Spartans had some bright spots during the trip. Freshman infielder Ryan McKay won a Big Ten Freshman of the Week award, while junior outfielder Nick Williams took home a Big Ten Co-Player of the Week Award.

McKay is currently hitting .353 with four RBI and holds a .425 on-base percentage in 10 games so far this season. Williams is hitting .339 with one home run and 11 RBI in 14 games this season as well.

Pitching otherwise has been a concern for the Spartans as the team has a 5.88 earned runs average, or ERA, and opponents are averaging a team batting of .279.

Boss Jr. and his Spartans will be looking to ride the ship in their home opener and series against Evansville starting on Friday, March 15. The game begins at 3:35 p.m., as does Saturday’s game, while Sunday’s game will begin at 1:05 p.m.