Michigan State falls to Maryland in a 3-2 thriller at Big Ten baseball tournament
Michigan State did everything it needed to put itself in a position to upset Big Ten champion Maryland in the opening game of the Big Ten baseball tournament – except score runs.
Michigan State left 10 runners on base, as No. 1 seed Maryland tied a Big Ten Tournament record by turning five double plays in a 3-2 victory over the No. 8 seed Spartans in Omaha at Charles Schwab Stadium.
Maryland took a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the eighth inning on a double by Luke Shliger with one out. The Spartans had the top of their order up to bat in the ninth inning but went down in order, as Jack Frank and Trent Farquhar struck out before All-Big Ten first baseman Brock Vradenburg recorded the final out on short pop-up.
Michigan State outplayed Maryland in this game, but failed to take advantage of numerous scoring opportunities, going 2-for-13 with runners in scoring position.
With the loss, The Spartans moves to the elimination bracket of the double-elimination tournament. The Spartans will face the loser of Wednesday’s game between No. 5 seed Rutgers and No. 4 seed Nebraska.
That game will be televised on BTN at 11:00 on Thursday morning.
Michigan State did not play Nebraska during the Big Ten regular season. The Spartans took two games in their three-game series with the Scarlet Knights.
Spartan pitching was impactful through seven innings against Maryland, as left-handed junior Nick Powers held the most potent lineup in the Big Ten in check. Powers, who gave up a pair of earned runs in the first inning, was dominant thereafter, allowing just one hit and striking out six over the next six innings.
Powers, who fell to 5-3 on the season with the loss, gave up just five hits and no homeruns to the best hitting team in the Big Ten.
Jacob Orr, who scored the game-winning run for Maryland, led off the eighth inning with a single. He advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt, and third on a wild pitch, before Shliger plated him with a double.
Maryland closer David Falco earned the win, coming on midway through the sixth inning. Falco, who led the Big Ten in saves this season, was one of five pitchers used by Maryland, which lacks depth on its pitching staff.
Michigan State, which took an early 1-0 lead in the first inning on a Mitch Jebb single, trailed 2-1 until Vradenburg plated the No. 9 hitter Greg Zeigler, who led off the inning with a triple.
Vradenburg and Zeigler accounted for four of the Spartans’ seven hits in the game.
