Spartans' bats went cold under the lights, managing only one run against the dominant No. 3 Texas Longhorns.
Under the lights in the first night game of the year for MSU. A perfect 65-degree night welcomed the home team No. 3 ranked Texas Longhorns and our beloved Michigan State Spartans, who traveled 1,350-plus miles to kick off a three-game series against the second-ranked team to start the season.
The Spartans were outmatched against the No. 3 Texas Longhorns, striking out 14 times and plating just one run. The bats were ice cold despite the warmer nighttime temperature, and Aidan Donovan did his best to stifle the Longhorn bats but ultimately allowed more than one run—which was enough for Texas.
Richard Seymour earned the Spartans' first hit of the game, staying hot on the season by knocking a ball in the gap between a diving third baseman and shortstop. But he was stranded at first after a Parker Picot strikeout to end the top half of the first inning. In the bottom of the first, Aidan Donovan got the first out himself with a ball lined up the middle. Then a high sky ball was lost by the Spartan defense in the lights—the troubles of your first night game of the year—allowing Texas a base runner. A balk moved the runner to second, but a strikeout and fly out stranded him to keep the game tied 0-0.
The second inning is when things got spicy for the Spartans. Aidan Donovan had to deal with two-way star Jonah Williams, who at only 18 years old looked all too much like a man ready to play with the bigs. He fouled one off, and the speed of the swing was so fast to see. Ultimately, Donovan walked him. Then a Williams leadoff walk led to the first runner of the inning; next thing you know, there were two men on. An errant pitch from Donovan pushed those runners to scoring position. A single from Ashton Larson made the Longhorns strike first and take a 1-0 lead with men on the corners and still no outs. Donovan was able to field the next ball and got the lead runner out, but not before the hitter advanced to second and the runner on first went to third. Donovan was on the verge of tilting as he hit Pack Jr., loading the bases with one out. Still, the game felt fresh as it remained 1-0, but it became an extremely stressful batter just four outs into the game. Donovan was able to get a sacrifice fly out to center field, scoring Larson and leading to a 2-0 lead for Texas—which ultimately felt like the best-case circumstance for where they were just five minutes before.
In the top of the third, the Spartans answered back though. Ryan McKay, with two outs and a Van Ameyde on second base after being hit by a pitch in the hand. McKay—who had struggled through the Louisville series—sent a grounder up the middle, scoring Van Ameyde.
The teams locked in from then on. At one point in the bottom of the fourth, the Spartans made a huge catch at the wall that looked like a blast and probably would be in a few more months. But on a cool Texas night, the ball stayed in the park, and left fielder Nick Williams made a fantastic catch at the wall. But with two outs, Ethan Mendoza—who says to drink energy drinks in the shower before games—used that pent-up energy and hit a hard opposite-field shot, 102 mph off the bat, that carried over Parker Picot, who could only stop and stare as the ball flew over the fence for a two-run shot to give the Longhorns a 4-1 lead.
The Longhorns added another two-run long shot and continued to pitch extremely well as Texas’ pitcher Ruger Riojas finished with a career-high ten strikeouts.
Anthony Pack Jr. added on to the onslaught of Texas runs with a solo shot home run to make it 7-1 in the bottom of the sixth inning. The Longhorns added two more baserunners after, and after a grounder to shortstop, Mendoza scored another run for Texas as the Spartans trailed 8-1.
The game finished with a Spartans loss by seven. Back at it Saturday at 3 p.m.