Jake Boss and Michigan State baseball weren’t expected to win even a single game in the Big Ten Tournament, but the Spartans pulled off a couple of upsets on their way to the quarterfinals.
That improbable run came to an abrupt end in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals, however, as the No. 4 USC Trojans beat the 12th-seeded Spartans 7-0 to advance to the semifinals. The Trojans are now set to play the top-seeded UCLA Bruins in a rivalry clash that should be one of the most intriguing games of the entire tournament.
UCLA just rallied to beat Purdue who the Spartans took down in the first round. The Boilermakers were able to make it out of the double-elimination rounds and they had UCLA on the ropes but the Bruins rallied down 3-1 late to win in the ninth, 4-3.
Michigan State may have had some success against UCLA despite being swept by the No. 1 Bruins during the regular season. The Spartans lost each game by three runs or less, dropping the first 4-1, then 4-3, and then 13-11. They fought hard in each one and nearly pulled off a couple of upsets. Unfortunately, the 13-11 loss was one of the most embarrassing of the season considering the Spartans were up 10-2 in the seventh inning before UCLA stormed back to win a thriller.
That three-game series was just three weeks ago.
The disappointing season comes to an end after an improbable Big Ten Tournament run.
Michigan State baseball wasn’t even supposed to be here
Michigan State was a mediocre 11-19 in the Big Ten this season and they were sitting one spot out of the Big Ten Tournament until the final week of the regular season.
The Spartans needed some other teams to lose in order to sneak into the tournament field and they got lucky. Everything fell into place for Michigan State and the Spartans earned that 12-seed and a date with a Purdue team that they went 1-2 against during the regular season. They shocked the Boilermakers (payback for the 2021 football loss obviously) 8-4 in the first round and then came back to beat No. 8 Iowa in the second round.
USC wasn’t expecting to see Michigan State but the Trojans promptly took care of business in a snoozer, sending the Spartans home for good.
Boss will have to find a way to turn the program around because he signed an extension before the season so clearly J Batt believes in him still.
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