Dominant pitching suffocated Albany while timely hitting broke through, snapping Michigan State's losing streak.
After five grueling losses spanning three different opponents, Michigan State is off the losing snide and back on the winning side of things.
This one was won on the mound.
Carter Monke got the start for Michigan State and earned his first win of the season (1-1), pitching five strong innings while allowing just one run on three hits. Monke looked dominant, finishing with four strikeouts and just one walk. Facing 20 batters, he was nearly untouchable outside of two doubles. Through five innings, with the game still tight at 2-1, the Spartans turned to Brady Chambers — a clear sign of the trust Jake Boss Jr. has in his reliever. Four innings later, the Spartans had secured the win. Chambers allowed just one hit and struck out four across 13 batters faced, earning his first save of the season.
As sharp as the pitching was — and truly has been throughout the season — it’s the hitters who have been garnering attention lately, and not in the way they’d like. Michigan State needed to find a way to get on base and scrap runs across.
For the first time in a while, they did exactly that.
The Spartans got a much-needed spark at the top of the order as Khamaree Thomas received his first opportunity in the leadoff spot — and he did not disappoint. Thomas finished 1-for-3 with a walk and scored two runs. Following him in the lineup was Michigan State’s hottest hitter to start the young season, Randy Seymour, who also scored twice while going 2-for-3 with a walk, double, triple, and an RBI.
Ryan McKay, who started the season on the chilly side after hitting over .300 last year, appears to be finding his groove once again. McKay finished 1-for-2 with two walks and an RBI. Adam Broski and Isaac Sturgess each drew bases-loaded walks of their own, picking up RBIs in the process.
Michigan State’s scoring came across two innings — the third and the seventh — but both frames had a similar theme: patience and clutch two-out hitting.
In the third inning, the Spartans suddenly had 20/20 vision. A couple of early outs made it look like a quick three-up, three-down frame. But Thomas kept the inning alive with a two-out walk. After showing flashes the day before against Illinois, Thomas brought that same energy to the box. Then he turned into a bolt of lightning, swiping second base to move into scoring position.
Seymour followed with a full-count walk of his own after battling through a tough at-bat. McKay then capitalized on Albany starter Christian Mello’s inability to find the strike zone, drawing another walk to load the bases. With two outs and the bases full, Broski stepped in and showed patience as well, drawing a walk to score Thomas and keep the line moving. Sturgess followed suit, working yet another walk — the fifth straight Spartan to reach via free pass — forcing Seymour across the plate and giving Michigan State a 2-0 lead.
Albany scratched one back, but the Spartans carried a narrow 2-1 lead into the seventh inning.
Once again, it was the Seymour-Thomas tandem that delivered.
With two outs — a recurring theme — Thomas stepped into the box looking calm as ever. To the naked eye he wore a Spartan uniform, but if you squinted, it almost looked like a superhero at the plate. Unfazed, Thomas shot a single down the third-base line to extend the inning.
That brought up Seymour.
Mr. Clutch himself laced a double down the left-field line, and the speedy Thomas raced all the way from first to home to give Michigan State a crucial 3-1 cushion. Not to be outdone, McKay followed with a single down the left-field line of his own, scoring Seymour from second and stretching the lead to 4-1 — which would stand as the final.
It wasn’t an offensive explosion. It wasn’t flashy. But it was exactly what Michigan State needed.
Strong starting pitching. Reliable relief. Patience at the plate. Timely two-out hits.
The Spartans are back in the win column with a much-needed 4-1 victory and will look to build on the momentum Sunday afternoon against James Madison at 2 p.m. EST.