Michigan State University baseball continued their dominant non-conference run this weekend, sweeping Harvard in a three-game series in Greenville, South Carolina.
Not only did the Spartans pick up three dominant wins, but they also secured each victory by run rule. With the sweep, MSU improved to 9-1 — their best start since 2016.
Game One: MSU 14 Harvard 1
After hitting just one home run all season entering Friday night, the Spartans exploded for six long balls in a 14-1 rout.
LHP Joseph Dzierva took the mound in Game 1 and delivered another masterful performance, tossing six innings of one-run ball. The Spartans' ace allowed just four hits and struck out ten for the third time this season. Through three starts, the junior boasts an astonishing 0.47 ERA.
"I thought Joseph threw well," head coach Jake Boss Jr. said. "I think a lot of times it's hard to go back out and throw when you've been sitting for so long, and we had a long first inning and another long fourth inning, but to Joseph's credit, he went back out and did what he did and did a great job tonight."
The Spartans wasted no time on Friday night, erupting for eight first-inning runs, including three home runs from Parker Picot, Caleb Berry, and JT Sokolove.
The Spartans were quiet until the fourth when they put together a six-run-inning to lead 14-1. Three 400-foot home runs highlighted the fourth with a two-run shot from OF Nick Williams, Parker Picot’s second home run of the night and a three-run home run from junior captain Jacob Anderson.
The score remained unchanged until the game ended via run rule, sealing MSU’s emphatic 14-1 victory.
Game Two: MSU 11 Harvard 1
MSU surrendered a run in the top of the first but never looked back, cruising to an 11-1 win.
Boss split the pitching on Saturday night between starter Nolan Higgins throwing 3 1/3 innings while Miami Ohio transfer Zach Maxey finished the game through 3 2/3 innings and picked up the win. Spartan pitchers allowed seven hits, walked four and struck out seven only allowing one earned run from a solo home run in the first.
The Spartan bats combined for seven hits, nine walks and seven strikeouts in the second game of the series. The scoring started in the third with three runs scored on zero hits. Instead, the runs came from three walks, a hit-by-pitch, a sacrifice bunt, and a sacrifice fly.
MSU took off in the fifth tallying five runs on three hits. With the bases loaded, Caleb Dresselhouse laced a single to right scoring two with his sixth hit of the season landing him with a .300 batting average. Two more RBI singles came in the fifth from Randy Seymour and Jacob Anderson to boost the Spartans to an 8-0 lead.
The rest of the scoring came from a Parker Picot sixth-inning bunt and a Nick Williams RBI single in the seventh.
"I'm proud of our guys, they stayed the course and I don't think anybody panicked," Boss said. "We had a pretty consistent approach that really paid off for us. I thought our guys did a nice job of just remaining patient and taking what we were given."
Game three: MSU 13 Harvard 3
MSU capped off the series in dominant fashion on Sunday afternoon, defeating Harvard 13-3. With the sweep, the Spartans now hold an 8-1 all-time record against the Crimson.
Freshman pitcher Aidan Donovan made his first collegiate start, tossing four shutout innings with three strikeouts while allowing just one hit. The Orchard Lake St. Mary’s product was a two-time first-team All-State selection in high school.
Tate Farquar, Tyler Horvath and Logan Pikur each tossed one inning on the mound until the game ended by run rule in the seventh.
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MSU’s offense profited from three four-run innings to lift them to the sweep. In the first, both senior captain Sam Busch and Caleb Berry hit their second home runs of the season, a three-run shot from Busch and a single home run from Berry.
MSU hit its eighth home run of the weekend when SS Randy Seymour blasted a 371-foot grand slam to left-center moving the score to 8-0. The scoring continued in the fourth with a fielding error and a couple of RBI singles.
Sunday’s match finished with a walk-off fielding error scoring Ryan McKay to win 13-3 by run rule.
"It was a good day today, and a great way to finish off the weekend," Boss said. "I'm proud of our guys again for taking advantage of the opportunities that we were given. We got off to a really good start in the first with the home runs, and I thought our guys were ready to play today.”
MSU continues its stay in Greenville with a single game against Western Carolina on Wednesday, March 5, before kicking off the First Pitch Invitational from March 7-9. The Spartans will face UAB and Winthrop in the weekend series.
MSU’s home opener is set for March 12 against Michigan in a non-conference showdown.
