MSU Baseball Uses Monster Start to Upset Purdue in BTT Opener

Michigan State baseball quickly built a big lead and never let it go.

The 12th-seeded Spartans had just barely earned the last spot in this year's Big Ten Tournament on tiebreakers. Despite barely making it into the conference's postseason, MSU crushed 5-seed Purdue (a team on the NCAA Tournament bubble) in the early innings, 8-4, on Tuesday morning.

Game Recap

Michigan State's head coach Jake Boss Jr. looks on from the dugout in the first inning on Tuesday, April 1, 2025, during the Crosstown Showdown against the Lugnuts at Jackson Field in Lansing. | Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

It was an early start time in Omaha, with the first pitch being delivered not long after 9 a.m. CT. MSU's bats were already awake, though, as the Spartans plated four in the first and three in the second to quickly jump out to a 7-0 lead.

A couple of Purdue miscues helped let that big first inning be. The Boilermakers flubbed a relatively routine double-play ball that was probably the difference between first and third with nobody out, and then nobody on and two outs. There was a close play at first base the next batter that went Michigan State's way --- replay showed it to be an out, but Purdue didn't challenge.

Michigan State's Ryan McKay celebrates on second base after a double against Ohio State during the fifth inning on Friday, April 18, 2025, at McLane Stadium in East Lansing. | Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Randy Seymour also delivered three RBIs during those first two innings. He picked up two on one single in the first, and then another with a double in the second. Khamaree Thomas also had multiple early RBIs with that previously mentioned bunt single in the first, and then a sacrifice fly in the second.

After not scoring in the third, slugger Parker Picot made it 8-0 with a solo home run to left field. That was the 14th home run of his junior season, which has included an OPS north of 1.000.

Michigan State's Noah Bright celebrates after scoring against Ohio State during the eighth inning on Friday, April 18, 2025, at McLane Stadium in East Lansing. | Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Sophomore starting pitcher Aidan Donovan was also stellar. He didn't allow his first hit of the ball game until there was one out in the sixth and had faced the minimum up to that point. Donovan kept eating inning after inning. He finally relented a bit in the eighth and allowed two Purdue runs across and was taken out after 7.2 innings pitched and 104 pitches.

Purdue scored another two runs in the ninth and got the tying run on deck, but the huge lead the Spartans had built up early in the game never led to any real worry seeping through.

Next Steps

This victory over the Boilermakers puts MSU one victory away from reaching the conference quarterfinals. The first phase of this year's Big Ten Tournament is a double-elimination format, which means the Spartans will have two chances to move on.

Michigan State will get the winner of 8-seed Iowa and 9-seed Illinois on Wednesday at 6 p.m. ET (5 p.m. local). A victory there would push MSU to the quarterfinals for a game against 4-seed USC. If the Spartans lose on Wednesday and then win an elimination game on Thursday, they would advance to face 1-seed UCLA.

Michigan State's head coach Jake Boss Jr. heads to the dugout during the seventh inning in the game against Ohio State on Friday, April 18, 2025, at McLane Stadium in East Lansing. | Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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