The Oakland University baseball team defeated the Michigan State University (MSU) Spartans on the road with a final score of 11-7 on Wednesday, March 27.
This marks the third-ever win against the Spartans in program history and the first win the Golden Grizzlies have had in East Lansing since 2016. Additionally, the win is the most significant margin of victory OU has had when facing off against MSU.
Trent Rice and Lucas Day led all batters in hits, each with three. Brandon Nigh, Rice and Day also batted in the most runs for the Golden Grizzlies, with all three players tying for a game-high two apiece.
On the mound, Gage Smith started the day off for the Grizzlies and allowed only a single hit in the two innings he pitched in, earning his second win of the season.
The Golden Grizzlies got on the scoreboard first in the top of the second inning, cycling through the entire batting rotation in the process. By the end of OU’s turn to bat in the second, the Golden Grizzlies led the Spartans 5-0.
However, MSU responded in the bottom of the second, earning two runs off the bat of Noah Bright, who sent two runners home from a double to right field. Unfortunately for the Spartans, Bright and Landen Lozeir, who walked following Bright’s double, were left stranded, and MSU ended the inning trailing OU 5-2.
The Golden Grizzlies returned to business at the top of the fourth inning. After the Spartans walked Nigh and Day, John Lauinger drove Nigh home with a single to center field, expanding OU’s lead to 6-2.
At the bottom of the fourth, the Spartans once again had an answer for the Golden Grizzlies.
Following a homerun from Bright, MSU brought itself back into the game with a pair of singles, a stolen base and a sacrifice fly, ending the inning tied 6-6 with OU.
Through the next two innings, the Golden Grizzlies and the Spartans held each other scoreless. However, OU got busy in the game’s final three innings.
To start the seventh inning, Reggie Bussey stole second base after Sam Griffith was walked and eventually thrown out at second base. Following that, Nigh was walked, opening things up for Day to send Bussey and Nigh home with a double to center field.
At the top of the eighth inning, OU batted in two more runs off the bats of Bussey and Rice, further expanding their score to 10-6.
In the final inning for the Golden Grizzlies, Brandon Heidal put the cherry on top for what was an explosive batting day for OU. With Gavin Arseneau on second, Heidal singled to right field, which brought Arseneau home, giving the Golden Grizzlies an 11-6 lead.
With MSU down five runs in the bottom of the ninth, the team was able to rally a single run on the board off a single to right field from Christian Williams. Despite this, OU wrapped things up, sweeping up three outs on the following three at-bats, coming away victorious.
On deck, the Golden Grizzlies will face off against the Milwaukee Panthers in a three-game series on the road at Franklin Field in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, starting on Friday, April 5, and ending on Sunday, April 7.
Following a stint in Milwaukee, OU will travel to Ypsilanti, Michigan, on Tuesday, April 9, to battle the Eastern Michigan Eagles for a single game before returning home for a three-game clash with the Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons starting on Friday, April 12, and ending on Sunday, April 14.