An eight-run cushion evaporated in minutes as a reliable bullpen imploded against undefeated UCLA, wasting Parker Picot’s multi-homer performance and a dominant start from Carter Monke.
The Spartans have battled all series long but have fallen short in each of the first two games. Heading into game three, there was a clear sense of urgency. Michigan State had come painfully close in both contests and knew they had a real chance to pull off what would be the biggest upset in Spartan baseball history against the undefeated UCLA Bruins.
Yet, despite building an eight-run lead through six innings, the Spartans’ pitching—so reliable early in the series—came up flat late and surrendered that advantage.
Michigan State sent Carter Monke to the bump, and he continued his recent stretch of strong performances. Monke went six innings, allowing just five hits and two runs. He walked two and struck out three, keeping UCLA largely in check.
However, the Spartans’ pitching issues didn’t come from the starter. As solid as Monke was, it wasn’t enough to secure the win. The bullpen entered and simply buckled under the pressure.
So, let’s walk through how this one unraveled.
After UCLA’s Mulivai Levu opened the scoring with a home run in the first inning, Michigan State responded immediately. Khamaree Thomas doubled home Nick Williams to get things started. Shortly after, Parker Picot went yard, driving in Thomas and himself to give MSU a quick 3–1 lead.
The Spartans weren’t done. In the third inning, Nick Williams scored for the second time after Thomas singled him home, extending the lead to 4–2.
In the fourth, Isaiah Dommey, making a rare start, singled with two outs and then stole second. Williams followed with another single to bring him in. A few batters later, Noah Bright singled to score Williams—his third run of the game—and the Spartans took a 6–2 lead after four innings.
Michigan State kept the pressure on, adding two runs in both the fifth and sixth innings.
In the fifth, Picot launched his second home run of the game, continuing his huge day at the plate. Later in the inning, Nick Williams drew a bases-loaded walk to bring in Ryan McKay.
In the sixth, Picot doubled and later scored on an error. Not long after, Randy Seymour tripled home McKay, pushing the Spartans’ lead to 10–2 after six innings.
At that point, everything looked under control.
Then the bullpen entered—and everything changed.
Tommy Szczepanski came on and immediately hit the first batter, then walked the next three, forcing in a run. Levu followed with a fielder’s choice that plated another. Suddenly, UCLA had life.
Head coach Jake Boss then turned to his most trusted reliever, Nolan Higgins. Unfortunately, the struggles that have surfaced in key moments continued. Higgins allowed two doubles and a single, bringing three more runs across. Just like that, the Spartans’ eight-run lead was cut to 10–8.
In the eighth, Michigan State briefly regained momentum. Nick Williams hit a home run—his fourth run scored of the game—to extend the lead to 11–8.
But the Bruins answered again.
A costly error from shortstop Dayton Murphy allowed a runner who had tripled to score. Then came a walk, a double, and a sacrifice that resulted in three total runs for UCLA in the inning. In a matter of moments, the Spartans’ lead was gone, and the game was tied 11–11 heading into the bottom of the eighth.
MSU went down in order, sending the game to the ninth.
Despite the earlier collapse, Higgins was sent back out for another inning. He recorded two outs after facing three batters, but with a runner on first and two outs, UCLA’s leadoff hitter Dean West drew a walk to extend the inning. Moments later, Roch Cholowsky delivered a single to score the go-ahead run.
Gannon Grundman came in hoping to limit the damage, but Levu struck again with a single that brought in another run. UCLA took a 13–11 lead into the final frame.
The Spartans couldn’t respond. They went down in order in the ninth, sealing the loss as UCLA completed the road-series sweep and remained undefeated.
Michigan State now falls to 10–17 in conference play, and their chances of cracking the top 12 for a Big Ten Tournament bid are quickly slipping away.
The Spartans will look to regroup with midweek matchups against Bowling Green and Western Michigan before closing out the regular season with a final Big Ten series against Ohio State in Columbus this weekend.