Fielding struggles continued to plague MSU, as the Spartans committed four errors in Wednesday’s non-conference loss. Averaging more than 1.5 errors per game, MSU is now tied for the worst fielding percentage in the Big Ten at .957.

After the first inning, it looked like the Spartans would stay in control. Senior center fielder JT Sokolove led off with a walk, and sophomore second baseman Ryan McKay followed with a double to deep left center, scoring Sokolove from first. Following CMU throwing errors, graduate catcher Caleb Berry and redshirt senior first baseman Sam Bush helped load the bases. Two sacrifice flies and an RBI single gave MSU a 4-0 lead — but it would be the last time the Spartans recorded multiple hits in an inning.

After the loss, MSU baseball head coach Jake Boss Jr. huddled his team in the outfield long after the stands had cleared. Boss said the team has several issues to address.

"It's not that hard to figure out why we lost today. We drop a fly ball in right and we drop a fly ball in left It continues to happen over and over and over again," Boss said. "The hitting approach was okay at the beginning, and then we completely lost it, and that's how you lose games."

Freshman right-hander Aidan Donovan made his fifth midweek start of the season. Typically a reliever, Donovan entered the game with a 5.89 ERA in 18 1/3 innings, along with eight strikeouts and four walks.

In 2 2/3 innings Wednesday, Donovan wasn’t flashy but got outs — until things unraveled in the third.

On the first batter of the third, junior shortstop Randy Seymour made a wild throw on a routine grounder — his 14th error of the year. After recording 23 errors last season, Seymour is on pace to surpass that mark.

CMU’s Zach Knowlton followed with a single, and shortstop Cayden Smith launched a three-run homer into the Red Cedar River beyond right field. MSU failed to answer in the bottom of the third, and the Chippewas tied the game at 4-4 with a run in the fourth.

One bright spot came in the fourth, when sophomore right fielder Parker Picot drilled a two-out solo shot off the scoreboard — his fourth home run of the season — to put MSU back in front, 5-4. 

Leading by one in the fifth, MSU turned to redshirt senior right-hander Dominic Pianto — the third Spartan pitcher of the day. Pianto worked a clean fifth inning but was pulled after recording just one out in the sixth.

With one on in the sixth, CMU catcher Aydin Wright hit a fly ball to left that slipped through the glove of senior outfielder Nick Williams. The error allowed the runner from first to score — one of five unearned runs MSU allowed.

MSU used six pitchers, allowing just one earned run on 10 hits and a walk, while striking out seven.

The Chippewas took the lead for good in the seventh on an RBI single from Brady Krzciok that split left center.

Boss made several lineup changes for the midweek matchup. Freshman Dayton Murphy earned his third straight start at third base in place of redshirt junior Jacob Anderson. Murphy is batting .150 with a .520 OPS in 20 at-bats, while Anderson has also struggled at the plate, hitting .176 with a .554 OPS.

"Dayton played well last weekend when he had an opportunity, and I thought he deserved a chance," Boss said. "I thought he played well again tonight. He doesn't have a whole lot to show for it offensively, as far as the numbers are concerned. But I think that'll come, and the more he plays, the better he's going to get."

Both Spartan catchers were in the lineup, with Berry serving as designated hitter and senior Noah Bright starting behind the plate. Boss said lineup changes will continue as the team searches for consistency.

"Obviously, I need to make some other decisions and put some different guys into position to be successful," Boss said. "The guys that are doing that right now are not having a whole lot of success."

MSU will return to conference play this weekend, hosting Northwestern in a three-game home series beginning Friday at 5:30 p.m. Sophomore left-hander Joseph Dzierwa is expected to start the opener. Despite dropping his last two starts, Dzierwa leads the Big Ten with a 1.89 ERA.

Friday’s game will feature both Student Section Night and First Responders Weekend. The game will be streamed on Big Ten Plus.