WVU Baseball Loses to Michigan State 9-3, Goes 1-2 in Cambria Classic

It was another rough day at the plate for the West Virginia Mountaineers (7-3). In Day 3 of the Cambria College Classic, WVU met the Michigan State Spartans (4-5). Both teams were coming off losses, but it was Michigan State that would end up snapping its streak with a 9-3 victory in Minnesota.

Today’s WVU lineup varied slightly, with freshmen Alex Khan at second base and Evan Smith at left field. Fellow freshman right-handed pitcher Chris Sleeper got the start for the Mountaineers and had three lights-out innings, only dealing 25 pitches and eliciting a trio of Ks.

It was the fourth inning that began the pressure for both he and Spartan freshman right-handed pitcher Ryan Szczepaniak. When WVU’s Grant Hussey stepped into the box, a quick single sent him onto the base path. Szczepaniak hit redshirt junior catcher Dayne Leonard next, advancing Hussey to second. Khan’s single down the right field line sacrificed himself to end the inning, but not before Hussey crossed home to take the Mountaineer lead 1-0. In four innings, West Virginia registered as many hits (3) today as in all of Saturday’s loss to Illinois.

The lead wasn’t meant to last.

Michigan State’s lead-off man and stolen base leader, sophomore Mitch Jebb, got the ball rolling for the Spartans in the bottom of the fourth with a simple single turned double. His fifth stolen base of the season put him in prime position to advance when fellow sophomore Trent Farquhar singled and sent runners to the corners. Up next: junior Casey Mayes. He knocked Jebb in with a single to center field to tie the score with no outs and two runners in scoring position. The next two plays would end disastrously for the Mountaineers, as the Spartans cleared the bases in back-to-back hits: sophomore Brock Vradenburg sac fly to score Farquhar and a double from junior Zaid Walker to score Mayes and bump the lead to 3-1 MSU.

To add insult to injury, Szczepaniak retired the Mountaineer side in quick work, squashing hope of a comeback. Sleeper came out after four innings pitched, four hits, three runs, 3Ks, and 16 batters faced, and Zach Bravo took the mound. Jebb once again became an issue; Pilat doubled to center and was promptly brought home by the shortstop in a well-hit triple, the first of the game, that made the score 4-1 Spartans. Mazey called the bullpen to exchange Bravo for fifth year righty Chase Smith, who stopped the bleeding and forced a quick sixth inning as well.

The seventh inning renewed the scoring, as the bottom of the Mountaineer lineup came in clutch. Nathan Blasick, pinch hitting for Tevin Tucker, smacked a single to right field that moved a full base path around and scored Leonard to close the deficit to 4-2. A double play ended the inning shortly thereafter, stranding two runners.

Kluska joined the infield after Take Me Out to the Ballgame played, and Braithwaite took the mound in place of Smith. The Spartans capitalized on two doubles from Ahn and Jebb to score a fifth run; Farquhar came up next to produce a single, enough to score Jebb from second and ratchet the score to 6-2 in favor of the Spartans.

Even with a home run from WVU’s resident homer hitter, sophomore McGwire Holbrook, in the eighth, the Spartans had already amassed too large a lead. They were about to make it even worse when WVU took the field. WVU’s senior lefty Beau Lowery came in to close, but was quickly combatted with a Spartan offense not ready to stop the heads-up base running.

Michigan State put players on first and second before coordinating a double steal that advanced one to second and the other, sophomore Jack Frank, home for the Spartans’ seventh run. A double sent runners scattering into scoring position once again, and Jebb came up to knock two of his teammates, sophomore Parker Pilat and Ahn, home. A 9-3 score was unsurmountable for the Mountaineer offense, and WVU earned its fourth loss with the 9-3 final.

Michigan State closed the game with nine runs on 15 hits, whereas West Virginia used seven hits, including Holbrook’s home run, to score a trio. Szczepaniak’s five innings and four strikeouts were enough for the win; Sleeper’s four innings and three strikeouts earned the loss.

The Mountaineers will return home on Mar. 9 for a midweek game against Rider at 3 p.m. Of note, West Virginia is on a 20-game midweek home game win streak.