Spartans beat Central Florida, one win away from record for best start
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas - The Michigan State Spartans jumped out to an early lead and never relented in a 6-2 victory against the Central Florida Knights, lifting the team to its first 6-0 start in 52 years.
“This group over the last four, five, six years, these guys have set a lot of records,” Michigan State coach Jake Boss said. “They’ve put the program in a position to do some pretty special things so I think this is just one more you add to the list.”
The eight and nine-hole hitters picked up base hits in both the third and fourth inning, allowing the players at the top of the order to come to the plate with runners in scoring position.
The game’s biggest hit came from three-hole hitter Brandon Hughes, who stepped in with the bases juiced with one out in the third inning. He sent a fastball low and away deep to left-center, bringing home two runs in a momentum-boosting single.
“He’s our three-hole guy, that’s why he hits in the middle of the order for us,” Boss said. “He’s an outstanding player, very athletic, and a really good hitter. We need the middle of the order guys to drive those runs in.”
Hughes, a center fielder from Stevenson High School in Sterling Heights, MI, was the most consistent hitter in the lineup, finishing 2-4 with two RBIs and a run scored.
After the big inning, Michigan State was held largely in check by Central Florida relievers, tallying just two hits in the final five innings, both bunt singles.
“Credit their guys because they really kept us off balance,” Boss said. “We didn’t really get many good swings in there either. Sometimes less is more on the mound and their guys came in and maybe took a little bit off but were able to throw breaking balls and changeups any time in the count for a strike. It really kept us off balance.”
On the mound, Walter Borkovich delivered a solid outing. Through five innings, the 6’5 right-hander from Traverse City West surrendered just one earned run before getting pulled with a 6-1 lead heading into the sixth.
“Defensively, we were really good,” Boss said. “I thought we pitched really well and we were pretty efficient. We took advantage of opportunities.”
With the win, the Spartans travel back to East Lansing as the lone undefeated team in the Big Ten Conference and well on their way to the best start in program history. That honor belongs to the 1964 Spartans, who began the year with seven consecutive wins.
Michigan State will continue its tour of coastal states when it travels to Florida next week to play in the Pensacola Cox Diamond Invitational. Southern Mississippi, Auburn and Troy are the featured matchups in what will be an exciting tournament as the Spartans look to make history.
“We’re not thinking about that (the record), we’re thinking about going to Pensacola next week and playing good baseball against three really good opponents,” Boss said. “We got our work cut out for us. We’ll get back home and practice Tuesday and Wednesday and Thursday and get ready to go again.”