“Started a bit tough with the first few guys getting on, but after that I really feel like I locked in and all the guys behind me were great,” said Donovan. “The way we preach and the way our coach preaches is every team’s the same, try to do the same every time, it was just big for us making pitches of different counts and obviously Nolan Higgins did a great job to finish.”

Senior pitcher Nolen Higgins took over for Donovan at the start of the 8th inning and kept the high-quality pitching going to finish out the last two innings and maintain the shutout win for MSU. Higgins prevented any hits and secured two strikeouts coming in and giving the Spartans the juice they needed to close the game.

“I thought we played really well today, obviously an outstanding pitching performance out of Aidan Donovan and Nolan Higgins. We defended really well today, probably as good as we have all year long,” said head coach Jake Boss Jr. 

Sophomore outfielder Khamaree Thomas scored the game’s opening run in the first inning, advancing from second on an RBI double by sophomore center fielder Isaac Sturgess, who drove a ball deep to center field that hit the back wall. Thomas moved to second on a wild pitch just before Sturgess brought him home, though it ultimately made no difference, as the extra-base hit would have scored him regardless.

The Spartans stayed hot hitting early in the game. In the bottom of the third, they added a second run as junior right fielder Trent Rice advanced home from second off a line drive hit to left field by sophomore shortstop Dayton Murphy, who picked up RBI number 6 on the season.

MSU put on an incredible defensive performance beyond just pitching, as infielders made quick action plays to get runners out and outfielders took care of fly balls throughout the day. One of the highlights of the game came at the top of the 6th inning, where redshirt senior left fielder Nick Williams made an acrobatic diving catch to not only get the out but prevent what would’ve likely resulted in scoring for the Hawkeyes.

“That’s what we’re capable of, I think we’ve been talking about that, we played really good defense,” said Boss. “The first couple of weeks then had a stretch of maybe the last two weeks where we’ve kicked it around a little bit, so it’s good to get back to what I feel we’re capable of, and I think hopefully this gives our guys some confidence moving forward.”

The Spartans take game one of the series and will look to secure the series victory in game two tomorrow, March 21.