The Spartans and Cardinals were back at it for Game 2, less than 24 hours after Michigan State edged out a 4-3 thriller on Friday night - a game that saw Randy Seymour deliver three RBIs, including the go-ahead shot in the eighth. But if Friday was a nail-biter, Saturday was anything but.
This time, the Spartans didn’t wait around for late-inning drama. They brought the bats early, and they brought them often.
From the jump, Michigan State looked locked in. Nick Williams led off with a sharp single, and just like that, the tone was set.
The Spartans had struggled to square up the ball early on opening day, but you wouldn’t have known it from the way they came out swinging in Game 2. Williams advanced on a wild pitch, then moved to third on a Ryan McKay double.
Seymour grounded out to short, but it did the job - Williams scored, McKay moved up, and Parker Picot followed with a sac fly to bring him home. A clean, efficient two-run inning to get things rolling.
Of course, Louisville didn’t climb into the top 10 by backing down after an early punch. The Cardinals responded quickly, loading the bases after a strikeout and getting a two-run bloop single from Ben Slanker - Friday’s standout - to even things at 2-2.
Michigan State starter Carter Monke had to navigate some turbulence to get out of the first. Two Louisville hitters got ahold of pitches that had the crowd rising, but both deep flies died at the warning track - the kind of balls that might leave the yard in June but get swallowed up by the cold February air. Monke escaped, and the game stayed tied.
In the second, the Spartans kept applying pressure. Adam Broski, who’s been red-hot to start the season, doubled down the left field line and advanced to third on a deep fly. But Louisville managed to strand him there, keeping the score locked.
Monke found himself in another jam in the third - runners on first and second, two outs - but he buckled down and got a clutch strikeout of Jimmy Nugent to end the threat. That would be the last time the game felt remotely close.
Because in the fourth, the Spartans broke it wide open.
With two outs and the bases empty, Broski kept the inning alive with a single - he's seeing everything right now. Then came Isaac Sturgess, who battled with two strikes before golfing a double to the pull side, scoring Jason Oliver.
Broski tried to score from first but was thrown out at the plate. Still, Michigan State had retaken the lead, 3-2.
That was just the beginning.
Williams and McKay worked back-to-back walks to load the bases, and Seymour came through again with a clutch RBI single to make it 4-2. Then Parker Picot stepped up and blew the game wide open.
Grand. Slam.
Picot crushed a no-doubter, clearing the bases and sending a jolt through the dugout. Nine Spartans came to the plate in the inning.
Six crossed it. Just like that, it was 8-2, and the Cardinals were reeling.
Louisville managed to scratch one across in the fifth, trimming the lead to 8-3, but any momentum they hoped to build was quickly erased. In the sixth, Michigan State loaded the bases again, and Picot came up with another big swing - this time, a three-run homer.
Grand slam earlier. Three-run shot now.
That’s seven RBIs in one afternoon for Picot. Talk about a statement.
Louisville added a solo shot from Slanker in the seventh, but Seymour answered with a homer of his own in the eighth - his second of the season - to cap off the offensive explosion.
Friday was a tightly contested battle between two quality teams. Saturday?
That was Michigan State announcing itself. The Spartans didn’t just beat the No.
8 Cardinals - they took control early and never let go. A complete, confident performance that showed just how dangerous this lineup can be when it’s firing on all cylinders.