The Michigan State Spartans played in a four-game series against the Fresno State Bulldogs to kick off the regular season. Needless to say, it really didn’t go as planned.

Michigan State was nothing short of competitive over the long weekend as they lost three of the four games by a single run.

Sadly this means the Spartans have started the new campaign 0-4. MSU will have a chance to redeem themselves when they play their next series against Pepperdine starting Friday, February 23rd, 5:00 p.m.

During the series finale on Sunday we saw the Spartans jump out and grab hold of a early 2-0 lead thanks to Marty Bechina’s first home run of the season. The lead would be short lived as the Bulldogs came roaring back in the very next inning. Mason Erla (the Spartans starter on the day) would give up three hits and three runs (in the first), giving Fresno State a 3-2 advantage.

Fast forward to the sixth inning and the Spartans have it all tied up at four runs a piece. McGuire’s two run homer to deep left field came at the exact right time for the green and white. However, Fresno State responded (as they seemed to do all weekend) and scored the game-winning run in the seventh inning.

The final score was 5-4 in favor of the Bulldogs.

Spartans Staying The Course

The Spartans had a disappointing start to the season but a bright spot (at times) was their offense. Sunday MSU fans saw Marty Bechina and Zach McGuire hit a couple out of the park (and who doesn’t love home runs?).

Ryan King, a freshman for Michigan State finished the series finale going 2-4 from the plate. While sophomore Bryce Kelley went 1-3 with a stolen base.

In terms of the entire weekend / series the most impressive and exciting hitter the Spartans had to offer was Justin Antoncic. He finished the series going 4-8 with two stolen bases and a RBI.

• Justin Antoncic (DH): .500 (4-8), 1 2B, 1 RBI, 2 Stolen Bases
• Ryan King (SS): .500 (4-8), 1 2B
• Zach McGuire (1B): .250 (3-12), 1 HR, 2 RBI
• Bryce Kelley (LF): .214 (3-14), 1 RBI, 3 Stolen Bases

Final Takeaways

• The Spartans will look to rebound starting this Friday as I’m sure they didn’t anticipate going 0-4 to start the year.
• MSU must find a way to start winning some of these close games. Last year they were 8-12 when losing by one or two runs. This year they are 0-3.
• Let’s try not to panic.

Next Series

Michigan State’s next series starts this coming Friday, February 23rd, at 5 p.m. They will be facing Pepperdine for three games in Malibu, California.