MSU baseball pulls off second Big Ten tourney upset in 4-3 win over Iowa
The 12-seeded Spartans advance to the Big Ten tournament quarterfinals where they will face No. 4 seed USC on Friday, May 22
The Michigan State baseball team completed its second upset in as many days at the Big Ten tournament in Omaha, Neb. , defeating No. 8 seed Iowa 4-3 to advance to the quarterfinals on May 22 The Spartans (24-31), who entered as the No.
12 and final seed, previously knocked off No. 5 seed Purdue, 8-4, in the first game of the tournament on May 19. MSU trailed 3-2 in the seventh inning before tying the game, then loaded the bases in the ninth.
That's when junior second baseman Ryan McKay hit an infield single deep in the hole at shortstop that plated the eventual winning run. Senior Nolan Higgins came in for the save opportunity, striking out the final two Hawkeye batters to secure MSU's ivictory. Senior Carter Monke started for the Spartans and pitched 5 2/3 innings, striking out four while allowing three runs.
Junior left-hander Gannon Grundman pitched 2 1/3 shutout innings in relief before giving way to Higgins. MSU will face No. 4 seed Southern California on May 22 at 10 a.