EAST LANSING, Mich. – Michigan State starting pitcher Joseph Dzierwa hand-cuffed the University of Evansville offense on Friday, limiting the Purple Aces to just two runs on three hits while striking out eight men in 7.1 innings of work to help guide the host Spartans to an 11-3 victory over UE at McLane Stadium at Kobs Field in East Lansing, Michigan.
Dzierwa (2-1) set the tone in the first inning, retiring Evansville in order with a pair of strikeouts. He would get all of the offensive support he would need in the bottom of the first inning thanks to a three-run frame by the Michigan State offense, highlighted by back-to-back RBI doubles down the left-field line by second baseman Ryan McKay and third baseman Dillon Kark.
Dzierwa would retire the first seven Purple Aces he would face before UE freshman second baseman Brodie Peart would get to the left-hander for his first career home run – an opposite-field shot to right field – to cut Michigan State’s lead to 3-1. Dzierwa would bounce back though to retire eight of the next nine men he faced, and Michigan State would blow things open with five two-out runs in the fourth inning to push the lead to 8-1.
UE senior first baseman Kip Fougerousse would add a first-pitch home run in the top of the eighth inning to cut the MSU lead to 8-2. He would add an RBI double in the ninth inning after Michigan State scored three more two-out runs in the eighth inning. Fougerousse was the lone Purple Ace to post a multi-hit game, going 2-for-4 with a double, a home run and two RBI.
With the victory, Michigan State improves to 6-9 on the 2024 season. Evansville, meanwhile, falls to 8-9 overall. The series will continue on Saturday afternoon at 2:35 p.m. central time in a game that can be heard live in the Tri-State area on 107.1 FM-WJPS with the Voice of the Aces, Jevin Redman, providing the play-by-play coverage. Freshman left-hander Kenton Deverman (2-1, 5.24 ERA) is scheduled to get the Saturday start for UE.
