The Golden Grizzlies men’s baseball team couldn’t replicate their upset victory from last year over the Michigan State (MSU) Spartans. OU fell 8-5 last Wednesday night at McLane Baseball Stadium in East Lansing on a beautiful late March evening.
It was the final game in a grueling 22-game road stand that stretched from Feb. 14 to March 19. The loss dropped the Golden Grizzlies to a brutal 3-19 on the season, while the Spartans improved to 14-6.
A common theme early this year for Oakland has been letting up massive amounts of runs in the first inning. In their previous game against the Wright State Raiders, OU found themselves down 9-0 after the first frame. It was a similar story in this contest against Michigan State.
Senior Ethan Glassman let up two singles to the first two batters he faced. To his credit, he retired his next two batters: MSU’s Caleb Berry bunted to advance the runners but was out at first, followed by a fly out to right field by Sam Busch that scored the runner on third. With two outs, Glassman threw a wild pitch that got by OU catcher Ben Clark, bringing in another run. In the very next at-bat, Spartan Will Shannon cranked a home run, giving MSU a commanding 3-0 lead.
The Spartans didn’t take long to build on that lead, either. In the bottom of the third, Glassman again allowed his first two batters to reach on a single and a double. The double scored the runner from first, tacking another run onto the lead. Glassman would finish the inning with a groundout that scored the remaining runner after he stole third base. In just the game’s first three innings, OU faced a 5-0 deficit.
The Golden Grizzlies couldn’t get anything going in the first couple innings. They got two men on base in the top of the second before grounding into a double play to end the inning. The offense wouldn’t record a hit until the fourth inning when they got two men on with two singles. Taylor Tomlin drove home Carter Hain for the team’s first run, cutting the Spartan lead to 5-1.
Glassman’s day would come to an end in the fourth inning after allowing a leadoff home run to Spartan shortstop Randy Seymour. Glassman got one out in the frame before giving up a walk, and OU decided to pull him out for reliever Blake Sehlke. In 3.1 innings, Glassman allowed six hits and a walk for seven runs with only a single strikeout. Sehlke would allow another run on a single on the left side, but the run was credited to Glassman as it was his runner.
In the top of the sixth, Oakland’s bats finally started to wake up. Brandon Nigh and Hain hit back-to-back doubles, followed by Jack Lux and Tomlin with consecutive singles. OU scored two runs out of the hot streak, cutting into the Spartan lead and bringing the Golden Grizzlies closer down 7-3.
The offense got right back to it in the top of the eighth. Hain would reach base on a throwing error before Lux took first on a walk, giving Oakland a great chance to come back in the game. After Tomlin fouled out, Boston Halloran and Sam Griffith singled back-to-back for two more runs. With two men on and only one out, Trent Rice and John Lauinger were retired to end the inning. Down 7-5, OU had one more chance to tie the game or take the lead in the ninth.
Oakland would surrender another run in the bottom of the eighth due to a wild pitch, so the deficit grew to three with one last chance to make a run.
Unfortunately for the Golden Grizzlies, MSU’s Tyler Horvath took the mound to end the game and slammed the door on the comeback attempt. Horvath coaxed a pop-up and a foul-out before striking out Hain to end the contest. The Spartans prevailed 8-5 at the end of the night.
Hain led the way for the Golden Grizzlies with two hits in his five plate appearances, scoring three times and recording one RBI. Tomlin also had a productive day with two hits and a walk.
