Oakland earns twinbill split with Michigan State
LANSING, Mich. – Junior Tim Ryan had six hits and helped Oakland University (7-16) earn a 9-7 win over Michigan State (21-8) in the second game of a doubleheader at Cooley Law School Field on Tuesday. The Golden Grizzlies pick up their third win in school history against the Spartans and split the two games after falling 7-1 in the opener.
“This was a special win for our program,” said Oakland head coach John Musachio. “I am proud of the way that our players continued to attack and we saw how big that was since it paid off with two key insurance runs in the ninth inning.
Game 1
The Golden Grizzlies started the game with back-to-back singles from Ryan and senior D.J. Jarrad. Junior Aaron Cieslak hit a sacrifice fly to score Ryan and give Oakland a 1-0 lead. The Golden Grizzlies threatened to add to the lead in the second inning with two runners on and one out, but failed to capitalize. Ryan finished 3-for-4 in game one and scored OU’s only run.
Michigan State responded with a run in the second inning and took the lead in the third inning on a sacrifice fly with the bases loaded. The Spartans were unable to add to their lead as OU junior Jeff Gorecki (0-1) managed to pitch his way out of trouble by getting a pair of outs to strand two more runners.
The score remained 2-1 through the seventh inning, thanks in part to a great throw Cieslak to cut down Jordan Keur at home when he tried to score from second on a single in the fourth inning. The Spartans outhit Oakland 12-6 in game one.
The Spartans broke the game open with four runs in the top of seventh. The biggest hit was a two-RBI single by Torsten Boss, who finished the game 2-for-4 with four RBIs. In the eighth Boss doubled to drive in a run and make it 7-1. Brandon Eckerle was 3-for-4 for MSU and scored twice.
OU put a runner in scoring position in the third, fourth and fifth inning, but had their best change to cut into the lead in the seventh inning. Ryan led off the seventh with a single and after a walk and double-steal OU had runners on second and third with just one out. However, a strikeout followed by a ground out ended the inning with no runs.
Gorecki struck out three batters in six innings of work and was the hard-luck loser for OU, suffering his first loss of the season. Michigan State starter Andrew Waszak (2-2) threw six innings to earn the win; while Tim Simpson (1) threw the final three innings to pick up his first save of the season.
Game 2
After falling behind 3-1, the Golden Grizzlies responded with a four-run second inning to take a 5-3 lead. The inning started with two walks and a bunt single to load the bases with no outs. Jarrad tied the game with a two-RBI double that landed just inside the right field line. Ryan then scored on a groundout by senior Tommy Jablonski and Cieslak followed with an RBI single up the middle.
The Golden Grizzlies added two key insurance runs in the top of the ninth inning. Jablonski led off the inning with a double and later came in to score on a single by Wick. Sophomore Kyle Bobolts then extended his 11-game hit streak with a single that moved Wick to third. Wick and Bobolts executed a double-steal to give the Golden Grizzlies a 9-6 lead heading into the final inning.
After MSU scored twice in the sixth inning to make it a 7-6 game, senior Jake Arendsen (1) came on in relief of junior starter Brady Adamek (2-2). Arendsen got a pair of key outs, including a ground out with the bases loaded to end the inning as OU escaped further damage and maintained the one-run lead. Michigan State got a runner to third base in the seventh inning, but Arendsen fanned Justin Scanlon for the final out of the inning.
The Spartans brought the tying run to the plate in the bottom of the ninth with one out. After a run scored to make it 9-7 and with two runners on and a full count, Arendsen caught Jeff Holm attempting an early start to steal third for a 1-5-4 caught stealing. Arendsen then got a pop fly to end the game and collect his first save of the season.
Senior Ryan Waldhart doubled in the third inning and came in to score on a ground out by Ryan to put OU ahead 6-3. Oakland scored again in the sixth inning when Ryan led off with a bunt single and came in to score on a sacrifice fly by Jablonski for a key insurance run as OU led 7-4. Ryan was 3-for-5 in the second game, scoring two runs and driving in another.
Oakland took a 1-0 lead in the first inning. Jarrad singled and stole two bases before coming in to score following three consecutive walks. Bobolts picked up the RBI after earning a walk. Jarrad finished the game 2-for-4 at the plate with two RBIs and two runs scored.
Seven different Oakland players had a hit, with Waldhardt adding a 2-for-4 effort and a pair of runs scored as the Golden Grizzlies outhit the Spartans 11-9 in the game. Six different players had an RBI for OU.
Adamek picked up the win throwing 5.1 innings and getting four strikeouts. Arendsen threw the remainder and also fanned four Spartan batters. Trevor Cousineau (0-1) took the loss in his first start for MSU this season.
Oakland returns to Summit League action on Friday at 2 p.m. with the first game of a four-game series against North Dakota State.
Category: Colleges / Other, Oakland University
