Michigan State baseball played the Minnesota Golden Gophers in its final game of the 2025 season at McLane Stadium. Trailing by one in the bottom of the ninth, the Spartans rallied to beat the Gophers, 11-10, courtesy of junior infielder Randy Seymour’s walk-off single.
“Proud of our guys that could’ve gone sideways a couple of different times, it kind of did there for a minute," said MSU head coach Jake Boss."We had some good at-bats in the ninth, proud of our guys for hanging in there."
After eight innings of momentum-changing plays, the Gophers and Spartans were knotted at nine entering the ninth inning.
Having already homered in the third inning, junior catcher Weber Neels recorded his second home run of the game to give the Gophers a 10-9 lead, putting the Spartans' season on the line heading into the bottom of the ninth.
The Spartans responded to the crucial moment as they had bases loaded with no outs after a series of hits and walks. Redshirt infielder Jacob Anderson’s RBI single tied the game at 10 and set up Seymour’s game-winning walk-off. Seymour finished the game with three RBIs.
“Knowing what’s at stake there, potentially the season," said Seymour. "We’ve all been in a lot of spots like that, they don’t always turn out that way, all glory to God at the end of the day."
In the win, the Spartans were led by senior catcher Noah Bright and senior outfielders Nick Williams, with both recording two RBIs in their final home game as Spartans. Redshirt senior Sam Busch also recorded an RBI in the win.
Seymour embraced the commitment that the seniors put into the MSU baseball program.
“The leadership and the locker room, just being with those guys every day, we have a lot of comedians on the team, a lot of them our seniors, it’s sad to see them go,” said Seymour.
MSU sophomore left-handed pitcher Garrett Brewer earned his second win of the season, collecting seven strikeouts in four innings pitched.
The Gophers were led by Neels, who had, in addition to his two home runs, recorded two RBIs. Junior infielder Easton Richter and junior outfielder Drew Berkland also recorded home runs in the loss.
“They swung it well this weekend. Minnesota’s traditionally always good at the end of the year,” said Boss.
With the win and Northwestern’s 11-1 loss to No. 14 UCLA, the Spartans have clinched a spot in the Big Ten Tournament in Omaha next week after missing the tournament in 2024.
MSU will be in Pool A with the No. 1-seeded Oregon Ducks and the No. 8-seeded Nebraska Cornhuskers. The Spartans will begin play in the tournament on Tuesday against Nebraska with the first pitch set for 6 p.m.
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