Box Score EAST LANSING, Mich. – Down by four entering the bottom of the ninth, Michigan State baseball's rally came up just short, falling to Notre Dame, 4-3, Tuesday night at McLane Stadium at Kobs Field.
Senior outfielder
Greg Ziegler cracked a three-run home run to left center to pull the Spartans within a run, but the comeback came up short.
"We're disappointed tonight. We showed some character in the ninth and strung a couple hits together, Greg got his barrel to the ball," MSU head coach
Jake Boss Jr. said. "Offensively, we threatened a little in the second, but not again until the ninth. Defensively, we didn't take care of the ball. They scored three runs there in the seventh inning and only had a few hits. But when you walk 10 guys and hit three, and you make two errors, you're not very clean defensively, you lose, you lose to a good team. Credit Notre Dame, we hit a couple balls early and they made some nice defensive plays in the field early, and we did not do that tonight. Very disappointed, we've got to take care of the little things and we didn't do that tonight."
MSU is now 19-22 overall on the season, while Notre Dame moved to 23-20, as the Fighting Irish have won eight of their last 11.Â
Michigan State resumes Big Ten Conference action this weekend, hosting Michigan.
"We've got to get better," Boss said. "We'll practice tomorrow, and again on Thursday; maybe in our guys defense, we haven't really had a full practice in a couple of weeks with the way the schedule was with final exams last week, and travel, things of that nature. But it is no excuse, we have been working on this stuff since September, so that's why it's disappointing, we'll go over some things tomorrow and then again on Thursday, and be ready for the weekend."
Tuesday's result ended the Spartans' two-game win streak over the Irish, as Michigan State has still won three of the last five and 15 of the last 22 meetings with Notre Dame, and the Irish stretched their overall series lead to 90-83. Tuesday was the first meeting after the season between the Spartans and Irish as part of the original home-and-home, with the game scheduled for April 2 in South Bend being rained out.Â
Seven of the last 10 meetings and eight of the last 13 meetings have been one-run games.
Notre Dame took a 1-0 lead in the third inning and threatened to extend that lead in the top of the fifth, leaving the bases loaded. The Irish tacked on three runs in the seventh to open a 4-0 advantage, before the Spartan rally in the ninth, with a one-out single and walk before Ziegler's home run, but a flyout and groundout put a cap on the comeback and ended the game.
Ziegler ended 1-for-4 with the three RBI and one run scored. Junior outfielder
Nick Williams, freshman infielder
Ryan McKay and sophomore infielder
Randy Seymour had the Spartans' other three hits. N.Williams and sophomore pinch runner
Jake Dresselhouse scored the runs.
Sophomore
Tommy Szczepanski drew the first start of his Spartan career, going 2.2 IP with four Ks, one hit and one run. Freshman
Garrett Brewer (1.2 IP, 2 K, 0 H, 1 BB), freshman
Gavin Moczydlowsky (1.2 IP, 1 K, 0 H, 2 BB), freshman
Gannon Grundman (0.0 IP, 2 BB, 2 R), freshman
Logan Pikur (1.0 IP, 1 K, 1 H, 1 R, 1 BB) and sophomore
Nolan Higgins (2.0 IP, 4 K, 0 H, 0 R) closed it out.Â
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MSU had the game's first scoring threat in the second, loading the bases with two outs after McKay sparked the rally by singling through the right side. Junior catcher
Noah Bright walked and junior infielder
Sam Busch was hit by a pitch. However a groundout ended the inning without a run to keep the game scoreless.
Notre Dame got on the board with a solo home run by Joey Spence in the top of the third. The Irish threatened again in the fifth by loading the bases with two outs, but Moczydlowsky thwarted the threat with a strikeout to end the inning and the rally, leaving the bases full of Irish baserunners.
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Notre Dame scored three runs in the seventh, on just one bloop hit and took advantage of two MSU errors and three walks in the frame, extending its lead to 4-0.
N.Williams knocked a one-out single to center and junior designated hitter
Christian Williams followed with a walk, and Dresselhouse pinch-ran for him. Ziegler came to bat and bashed a three-run home run to left-center field to pull the Spartans within 4-3. The rally and the game came to a close after a flyout and groundout.Â
The Spartans continue their season-long five-game homestand at McLane Stadium at Kobs Field by hosting Michigan in a three-game B1G weekend series, Friday-Sunday, May 3-5. Friday's series opener is slated for 6:05 p.m., before game two of the series on Saturday at 3:35 p.m. The MSU-UM series wraps up on Sunday at 2:05 p.m.
Michigan State then hosts Bowling Green on Tuesday, May 7 at 6:05 p.m. in another non-conference match-up.
Fans can follow the action with "Tickets," "Watch Live," "Listen Live" and "Live Stats" links at MSUSpartans.com.
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Michigan State's schedule is subject to change, stay tuned to MSUSpartans.com and @MSUBaseball on Twitter for schedule updates.
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For the first time ever, Michigan State baseball fans have the ability to purchase season tickets.
Season tickets packages are on sale through the Spartan Ticket Office. The MSU baseball season ticket package, which includes 24 home games at McLane Stadium at Kobs Field, is available for $50.Â
All ticket levels for seniors, adults and children are the same price. Admission remains free for all Michigan State students by showing their MSU ID at the entry gate.
The 2024 Spartan baseball season includes Big Ten match-ups against Rutgers, Penn State and Nebraska, along with regional clashes with Central Michigan, Oakland and Notre Dame, in addition to giving fans admission to all three home games of baseball Rivalry Week against Michigan.
Individual game tickets are also on sale through the Spartan Ticket Office.
Fans can contact the Spartan Ticket Office at 517-355-1610 or by email at tickets@msu.edu for questions or more information. A direct link to purchase season tickets is here.
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