Knowing that a defeat would put them in a dangerous must-win situation, the Michigan State Spartans still couldn't find a way to get runners across the plate in a 6-2 loss to Pepperdine in Friday's Regional opener.
The Spartans mustered 10 hits as a team, but could not put together a big inning against Pepperdine starter Jon Moscot. Moscot, who was the unquestioned star of the contest, went all nine innings with four strikeouts to pick up the win. The 6-foot-4 junior was especially sharp when it counted, and gave up only two extra-base hits, a pair of doubles, to Michigan State hitters. Impact freshmen Ryan Krill and Jimmy Pickens each led the way for the Spartans with a pair of 2-for-4 performances from the dish, even though both players were unable to score a run.
With little time left to pick up the pieces after this loss, the Spartans will now play in Saturday's 4:00 pm EST elimination game against the loser of No. 1 Stanford vs. No. 4 Fresno State.
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