Michigan State Baseball started the weekend strong, which was a huge surprise as they went on to win the series opener, 6-3, and continued to fight hard all weekend long, but to no avail as Nebraska won Saturday and Sunday’s contests. The games were highly competitive but in the end Michigan State wasn’t able to win the series.

Sunday’s 8-7 loss puts MSU back at 27-21 (9-12 B1G) and conference leader Nebraska at 32-17-1 (14-6-1 B1G).

The Spartans needed all three of these games to be wins in order for them to have any hope of finishing where they were once projected too. Playing out the rest of the season is a formality at this point, as MSU has sealed their fate as a bottom conference squad in 2017.

Spartans Staying The Course

During Sunday’s loss, the Michigan State offense was very productive, finishing the game with 15 hits. Senior Matt Byars led the Spartan attack going 3-for-5 with one RBI and two runs scored. Second baseman Dan Durkin, another Spartan senior, ended his day going 2-for-4 with a solo shot, while Brandon Hughes and Bryce Kelley both went 2-for-5.

• Bryce Kelley (LF): .350 (48-137), 6 2B, 3 3B, 19 RBI
• Chad Roskelly (DH): .337 (31-92), 6 2B, 3 HR, 22 RBI
• Brandon Hughes (CF): .335 (62-185), 11 2B, 1 3B, 5 HR, 33 RBI
• Alex Troop (P/1B): .321 (26-81), 6 2B, 1 3B, 3 HR, 12 RBI

Quick Takeaways

• Michigan State showed toughness, resilience, and the will to win this weekend. Unfortunately, Nebraska just ended up being the better team and sometimes talent wins out.
• The Spartans slid to ninth in the B1G following the series loss to the Cornhuskers, meaning they might not even make it into the conference tournament.
• Michigan State is now the fifth worst team in the Big Ten. It’s been a rough 2017.

Next Series

The Spartans are wrapping up their mid week games against Central Michigan, another in-state foe. Michigan State will travel to Mount Pleasant for the single game series that is set for 4:05 p.m.