An explosive offensive start imploded as Michigan State surrendered a massive lead, watching Purdue storm back in a wild 16-13 slugfest.
After a pitcher’s duel like no other on Friday, Saturday brought a completely different kind of game. Hits exploded onto the scene like zits on a pre-teen’s face.
Michigan State looked like it was on its way to another big Big Ten win after hanging eight runs in the second inning and scoring 13 total on the day. But after building what felt like a comfortable cushion, the Spartans completely unraveled over the next six innings. They made one final push late, but it wasn’t enough, as MSU fell to Purdue 16-13 in a game that featured 29 total runs and more momentum swings than anyone in East Lansing wanted to see.
With the loss, the Spartans drop to 4-7 in conference play, while Purdue improves to 6-6.
And somehow, despite how it ended, this game started exactly the way Michigan State could have dreamed.
After allowing a solo home run in the top of the first inning, the Spartans responded in emphatic fashion in the bottom of the second. The offense didn’t just wake up — it detonated.
One of Friday’s heroes, CJ Deckinga, launched a mammoth grand slam to put Michigan State ahead 4-1 before Purdue could even record an out. It was Deckinga’s second home run of the season, and it was an absolute moonshot.
The Spartans kept pouring it on from there. RBI singles from Isaac Sturgess, Randy Seymour, and Ryan McKay — with McKay reaching on a pitcher’s error that still allowed a run to score — helped MSU tack on four more runs before the inning came to a close. Just like that, the Spartans led 8-1, and life looked pretty swell.
But what followed felt like the sports version of a horror movie.
It was like the victim had escaped the haunted house, burst through the front door, and made it all the way to safety — only to get dragged right back in at the very last second.
That’s what Saturday became for Michigan State.
The Spartans slowly gave away every bit of momentum they had built, and Purdue kept crawling back until it fully took control.
The Boilermakers chipped away first. They scored two runs in the third inning, then added another in the fourth to cut Michigan State’s lead in half, 8-4. In the fifth, Purdue added one more to make it 8-5 and put real pressure on the Spartans.
Then came the knockout punch.
Purdue blasted a grand slam in the fifth inning to take a 9-8 lead, and just like that, Michigan State’s explosive eight-run second inning had completely vanished.
The damage didn’t stop there.
With Purdue leading 10-8 in the eighth inning, the Spartans gave up their second grand slam of the afternoon. That swing blew the game open and pushed Purdue’s lead to 16-8. After such a dominant start offensively, Michigan State’s pitching staff completely lost its grip on the game.
It was a rough day across the board on the mound.
Carter Monke got the start and allowed seven runs, five of them earned, across four innings of work. Gannon Grundman came on in relief and gave up three earned runs in 1.1 innings. Logan Pikur followed and allowed four runs, three earned, in 1.2 innings. Ben Kochany then surrendered two runs, one earned, while recording just one out. Andrew Siler was the lone bright spot out of the bullpen, closing the game with 1.2 scoreless innings.
Altogether, four of Michigan State’s five pitchers allowed runs in what became a day to forget for the Spartan staff.
To their credit, the Spartans didn’t completely fold.
Down 16-8 entering the bottom of the ninth, Michigan State made things interesting one last time. The Spartans plated five runs in the inning, highlighted by Deckinga’s second home run of the game. The late rally brought MSU within three and pushed its run total to 13, but the comeback effort ultimately came up short.
As painful as the collapse was, there were still some major offensive performances worth highlighting.
Deckinga was the star of the day, finishing 3-for-4 with two home runs, two runs scored, and seven RBIs in a monster performance. Dayton Murphy also had a huge day at the plate, going 4-for-6 with a run scored. Ryan McKay finished 2-for-4 with a run, while Nick Williams went 2-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI.
There were plenty of quality at-bats throughout the lineup, and ordinarily, scoring 13 runs should be enough to win a baseball game. On Saturday, it wasn’t even close to being enough.
No matter how well the bats performed, Michigan State simply couldn’t survive the turbulence its pitching staff went through.
Now, the series is even at one game apiece.
The rubber match is set for Sunday afternoon in East Lansing at Jeff Ishbia Field at McLane Stadium, with both teams looking to claim the weekend series.
And for Michigan State, the stakes are meaningful.
The Spartans currently sit 13th in the Big Ten at 4-7, but a win on Sunday could move them as high as ninth in the conference standings.
After Saturday’s collapse, they’ll need a response.