Louisville's explosive offense silenced Michigan State's sweep hopes, routing the Spartans 9-1 in a decisive series finale.
The Spartans entered the matchup with intentions of shocking the world and sweeping the eighth-ranked Louisville Cardinals during opening weekend, but the Cardinals weren’t leaving town empty-handed. Louisville routed Michigan State 9-1 to salvage the finale.
A cold, gray mist welcomed both teams onto the field for Game Three, as if the city of Louisville itself had been dumped on this Valentine’s Day weekend.
Whether you were hungover on cosmos, still aching from chocolate overload and rom-com marathons, or simply soaking in the first hints of baseball season shaking us from winter hibernation, many were tuned in to see if the Spartans could open the season with a sweep.
After trading first runs in the opening two games of the series, it was Louisville that struck first in the finale — and it started fast.
Alex Alecia led off with a bunt single. The Spartans attempted to throw him out but misfired, allowing him to swipe second and advance to third on the error. After a Lucas Moore walk and stolen base, Ben Slanker — who has been a thorn in Michigan State’s side all weekend — reached on the Spartans’ second error of the inning, this one by pitcher Logan Pikur. Alecia scored to open the floodgates.
Kade Elam singled in Moore, and Teague Davis drove in Slanker on a fielder’s choice. Just like that, Louisville led 3-0 after one.
The Cardinals continued the pressure in the second inning. Bayram Hot and George Baker both singled, and a wild pitch allowed Hot to score from third. Moore added another RBI single to plate Baker, stretching the lead to 5-0 after two innings.
From there, things quieted briefly before Louisville broke it open again. Elam scored in the sixth to make it 6-0. Moore later singled home Alecia to push it to 7-0. In the seventh, Alecia added another RBI single as the Cardinals extended the lead to 9-0.
Louisville threatened to enforce the 10-run mercy rule after loading the bases with two outs in the seventh, but Michigan State escaped the inning without surrendering the final blow.
The Spartans, limited to just two hits through seven innings, managed to avoid the shutout. With the bases loaded and one out, they pushed across a run to cut the deficit to 9-1. However, that was all the offense they could muster. Michigan State finished with three hits and one run.
Despite the lopsided finale, the weekend as a whole should not leave the Spartans discouraged. Taking two of three from the No. 8-ranked Cardinals is a strong opening statement.
Michigan State now heads further south for another major test — a three-game series against the No. 3-ranked Texas Longhorns next weekend. If the Spartans carry the same fight they showed in the first two games of this series, they’ll give themselves another opportunity to shock the college baseball world.