BEAUMONT, Texas (3-1-2008) ? Trailing 5-3 heading into the eighth inning, the Michigan State Spartans (3-3) rallied in the final two frames to defeat the Arkansas State Indians 6-5 on day three of the Lamar Cardinal Classic Saturday at Vincent-Beck Stadium.
Michigan State tied the game with a pair of runs in the bottom of the eighth, then came up with three consecutive singles in the ninth, with junior catcher Kyle Day driving in the winning run. Michigan State got the ninth started when second baseman Brandon Doherty put a one-out bloop single into right field off of Indian closer Nick Lambert with two strikes on a checked swing. Doherty moved to second on a single by right fielder Chris Roberts and came home on Day's RBI single.
“All losses are tough, and with a two-run lead in the eighth inning, we felt very good about our bullpen,” said ASU Head Coach Keith Kessinger. “But like I told the guys in the outfield after the game, we play a 56-game season and these things happen. Offensively tonight, we were much better than we have been, but we had a couple of errors that hurt us in the infield. The first three runs they got were unearned, and that made it tough because Jacob Maggard did a great job on the mound.”
Maggard started the game for ASU, working 5.2 innings without giving up an earned run. The Indian junior gave up three unearned runs on four hits, with three strikeouts and a walk.
“As good as we feel about our pitching staff and our defense, when we take a two-run lead in the eighth we are going to win most of those games,” added Kessinger. “Tonight just didn't happen to be one.”
The Tribe (4-3) got on the board in its first at-bat when third baseman Guy Brown walked, advanced on a groundout from shortstop Ryan Hudgins and scored from second on a two-out single to left field from freshman first baseman Drew Benes.
Michigan State answered in the second, scoring a pair of unearned runs to go up 2-1. Left fielder Eli Boike reached on an ASU error, then scored on a triple to deep left field by third baseman A.J. Shindler to tie the score at 1-1. The Spartans took the 2-1 lead when Shindler scored on a groundout by first baseman Evan Friedland.
Indian junior Brandon Eller erased the Spartan lead in the top of the third with a two-run home run, then stretched the ASU lead to 5-2 in the fifth with a two-run, two-out single. Eller's home run, his first of the season and fifth of his career, cleared the left field wall and plated Benes, who got aboard when hit by a pitch. His two-run single in the fifth, which chased Michigan State starter Chris Cullen from the mound, was set up when Brown singled and moved to second on a Benes walk. Both runners advanced on a passed ball before scoring on Eller's hit.
Michigan State added another unearned run in the sixth to cut the Indian lead to 5-3, then scored two runs in the eighth to knot the score at 5-5. Boike delivered an RBI single to right field to score the Spartans' first run of the eight, and with runners at first and third, Michigan State tied the score on a wild pitch from Lambert.
Lambert (0-1) took the loss on the mound for Arkansas State, giving up one run on three hits with a walk and no strikeouts. Nolan Moody (1-0) earned the win for Michigan State, working one inning without allowing a run on one hit, with no walks and no strikeouts.
Eller went 3-for-4 to lead the Indians at the plate, adding four RBI on the night. Brown and freshman Murray Watts added two hits each. Boike led MSU with three hits and two RBI.
The Tribe will wrap up play in the Cardinal Classic Sunday, facing host Lamar at 3:00 p.m.
