Michigan State and Rutgers completed a three game series over the weekend in East Lansing, with the Spartans coming out on top with a series win, going 2-1 over the Scarlet Knights.
Coming into play, both the Spartans and Scarlet Knights have had recent success. MSU entered the weekend having defeated its in-state rival Michigan by a score of 16-6 in a non-conference matchup, and the Scarlet Knights handled fellow in-state opponent NJIT 8-3, both games on Tuesday for each respective team. Although both were coming off midweek victories, Rutgers has had the better overall season with a record of 18-7 heading into the weekend series against Michigan State. The Spartans on the other hand, came in with a 10-13 record.
In game one, the pitching on both sides shined as Rutgers starter Justin Sinibaldi delivered six innings while only giving up one earned run and striking out four Spartan batters. Joseph Dzierwa, MSU's ace, also performed well as he pitched six scoreless innings and scattering four hits in his outing.
The difference in game one were the bullpens. Michigan State’s bullpen surrendered four earned runs against Rutgers, while the Rutgers' bullpen went three innings of shutout baseball, propelling the Scarlet Knights to a 4-2 victory despite MSU taking an early 2-0 lead it held through the end of the seventh. Cameron Love drove in the game winning runs in the top of the ninth with a single up the middle.
In game two, Nick Powers took the mound for the Spartans, and he dazzled with seven impressive innings while only giving up two earned runs. Starting pitching would be the difference in game two as Christian Coppola struggled for the Scarlet Knights. Coppola gave up four runs and walked four batters in five innings of work.
Jack Frank, right fielder for the Spartans, had an outstanding day at the plate as he went 2-4 with a home run and four RBIs. MSU improved to 11-14 and Rutgers dropped to 19-8 with the Saturday victory while the Spartans evened the series heading into Sunday's finale for a chance to take an early series win in Big Ten action.
Game three was a classic rubber match in East Lansing with Nick Ferazzi taking the mound against Zack Konstantinovsky. Both young men threw the ball with a purpose in the rubber match, as Ferazzi went seven innings for the Spartans while giving up just two runs. Konstantinovsky threw six scoreless innings for the Scarlet Knights and also struck out four batters.
The later stages of game three were the complete opposite of game one as MSU's bullpen outshined the RU's bullpen in this one. Ryan McKay would walk the Scarlet Knights off in the ninth with an RBI single.
Michigan State recorded its first Big Ten series win of the season while Rutgers suffered its first series loss in league play on the year. MSU improved to 12-14 overall and 3-3 in conference play.
MSU will hit the road next with two weeknight games this week, first taking on Notre Dame in South Bend on Tuesday before facing off against the Lansing Lugnuts at Jackson Field in Lansing on Wednesday for the 2024 Crosstown Showdown.
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