EAST LANSING, Mich.- The Western Michigan baseball team dropped an 11-3 decision at Big Ten opponent Michigan State Wednesday. The Broncos trailed 6-3 after five innings and Michigan State went on to score five runs in the bottom of the eighth. MSU had 17 hits in the game while WMU totaled seven.
Junior shortstop
Andrew Sohn and sophomore second baseman
Kurt Hoekstra each went 2-for-4 at the plate for the Broncos. Sohn, sophomore designated hitter
Brett Sunde (1-for-3) and freshman third baseman
Grant Miller (1-for-2) each had an RBI. Senior outfielder
Vinnie Booker was hit by a pitch for the 33rd time in his career, setting a new program record.
Michigan State jumped out to a 5-0 lead with two runs in the second and three more in the third. WMU got on the board in the top of the fourth when Sunde singled to lead off the inning and scored on a two-out single by Miller. The Spartans countered with a run in the bottom of the fourth.
Western Michigan cut the deficit to 6-3 with two runs in the fifth. Booker was hit by a pitch, followed by a single to the pitcher by Hoekstra and an RBI single to right by Sohn. Sunde plated Hoekstra with a sacrifice fly.
Michigan State produced five hits in the eighth, including a pair of doubles, and scored all five of its runs with two outs. Junior shortstop Ryan Richardson had a two-run single in the inning and led the Michigan State offense for the day, going 4-for-5 with three RBIs.
Five different pitchers saw the mound for Western Michigan. Sophomore left-handed starter
Derek Schneider (1-3) was saddled with the loss, lasting 2.1 innings and allowing five runs and six hits.
Sophomore left-handed reliever Anthony Misiewicz (2-3) entered the game in the fifth to pick up the win for Michigan State, holding WMU scoreless over an inning and two-thirds.
WMU's overall record dropped to 13-15 on the year, while Michigan State improved to 18-12.
The Broncos head to New York this weekend for a three-game Mid-American Conference series against Buffalo. The games will be played in Rochester, N.Y., at Monroe Community College's Tribune Field due to poor field conditions at UB's Amherst Audubon Field. First pitches are set for 4 p.m. Friday and 1 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday.
