Spartans Secure Series Victory with Another Offensive Explosion Over Washington

(© Jeff Faughender/Courier Journal / USA)

You had to stay up late into the early morning hours of Sunday to catch the finale of game two between the Michigan State Spartans and Washington Huskies if you wanted to see the resolution.

On a brisk Saturday night—probably not the same Saturday night Elton John once sang about, as that one was likely much warmer than what Mother Nature gave us this weekend—a cold spell pushed through North America. However, a heat wave funneled through the Spartans’ dugout.

The Spartans secured their 14th victory of the season and their second straight on this West Coast trip with a monstrous 13-8 road win.

Michigan State improves to 14-22 on the season and 8-12 in the Big Ten, sitting at 12th in the conference standings. That positioning keeps them in the Big Ten Tournament—for now. The loss drops Washington back to 11th in the standings, sitting at 7-10 in conference play.

Striking first is nothing new for the Spartans, as they’ve kicked off scoring in 17 of the last 27 games. However, maintaining that lead has been a different story at times. But for the second straight game, MSU struck first, did everything needed to play from ahead with aggressiveness, and came away victorious.

The MVP of the game—and arguably the season for MSU hitters—has been none other than Randy Seymour. Entering the game with 12 home runs, already more than doubling the number two hitter for MSU, CJ Deckinga (5), Seymour decided a dozen wasn’t enough. Apparently, he had a few extra helpings of Wheaties Saturday morning, as he launched two more out of the yard, leaving with 14 on the season and now nearly tripling Deckinga.

In the first inning, with one out and one on after an Isaac Sturgess single, Seymour crushed a ball that was outside, forcing him to reach for it. Yet he still made it look effortless—like swatting a fly out of the air—turning it into a towering home run to put MSU on the board first, 2-0.

Then in the second inning, Seymour stepped up again with a 3-0 lead and two men on base. He crushed his second home run of the day—his second in as many innings—sending a towering moonshot over the left-center field wall. A no-doubter from the second you heard the bat crack. By the time your ears processed the sound, the ball was already flying through the air like a podracer heading for the finish line.

Seymour leads MSU in nearly every hitting category imaginable: runs (26), home runs (14), RBIs (41), total bases (93), and slugging percentage (.628). He’s tied for the most hits with Isaac Sturgess (45), sits third in batting average behind Sturgess and Khamaree Thomas, and—interestingly—also leads in strikeouts (40).