Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
Michigan State
Spartans Win Series Opener 11-6
5/11/2007 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 11, 2007
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State jumped out to a 5-1 lead only to see Northwestern storm back to take a 6-5 lead in the fifth inning. But the Spartans answered with six runs in the bottom half of the inning to win the series opener 11-6 Friday afternoon at Kobs Field in East Lansing, Mich. Senior Caleb Fields and freshman Jake Goebbert each tallied two RBI in the loss. The two teams play a doubleheader tomorrow at 3 p.m. (ET) at Oldsmobile Park in Lansing, Mich.
Second baseman Caleb Fields (Oak Park, Ill./Fenwick) singled through the left side of the infield to give Northwestern a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning. Third baseman Jake Owens (Stevens Point, Wis./Pacelli) reached on an error and went to second on a walk to Antonio Mule (Lodi, N.J./Lodi). Owens scored from second on Fields' hit.
The first four Spartans hitters reached base off Wildcat starter Dan Schwartz (New York, N.Y./Northern Valley Regional), plating three first-inning runs. Four hits and two walks prompted head coach Paul Stevens to make an early pitching change, bringing in sophomore Matt Havey (Wilmette, Ill./Loyola) with the bases loaded and two outs. Havey quickly ended the Spartan threat with a groundball out to shortstop.
Michigan State went back to work in the bottom of the second inning, scoring two runs on two hits. MSU took advantage of a Wildcat error and a base-on-balls to plate the runs. Freshman Matt Diedrich (Hawthorn Woods, Ill./Carmel) relieved Havey on the mound with two outs and a runner on first. A fly out ended the inning.
Junior outfielder Max Mann (Los Angeles, Calif./Brentwood) robbed a home run from Spartan first baseman Evan Friedland for the first out in the bottom of the third inning. MSU's Kobs field has a berm in right field, similar to centerfield in the Houston Astros Minute Maid Park. Mann climbed this berm, reached above the fence and brought back what would have been Michigan State's sixth run of the game.
Northwestern managed just three hits and one unearned run in the first four innings, but exploded for five runs on five hits in the top of the fifth inning to take a 6-5 lead.
After a bloop single by catcher Geoff Dietz (Lake Zurich, Ill./Lake Zurich) and an infield bunt single by Owens, back-to-back triples by first baseman Jake Goebbert (Hampshire, Ill./Hampshire) and Mule scored the Wildcats' first three runs of the inning. Fields then singled home Mule to tie the game 5-5. Two runs scored on Goebbert's first collegiate triple.
Still in the top of the fifth, Fields moved to third on a groundout and scored on a passed ball to give NU a 6-5 lead.
The lead was short-lived.
After a fielding error and a single in the bottom of the fifth inning, Stevens called on senior Ryan Myers (Lake Villa, Ill./Carmel) out of the bullpen. The first hitter he faced lined an RBI double to the right field wall, leaving runners on second and third with no outs. After a walk loaded the bases, MSU catcher Sean Walker hit a grand slam home run to give the Spartans a 10-6 lead. Two more hits and one more run gave the Spartans an 11-6 lead before Stevens went back to the bullpen.
Freshman Jonathan Purcell (Oceanside, Calif./Vista) came into the game with one out and runners on first and third. Dietz threw out his second runner of the game trying to steal second and a strikeout ended the Spartan threat.
Purcell finished the game, throwing three and two-third innings of no-run baseball. He gave up three hits and struck out one in a career-high innings pitched.
