Greenville, S.C. – Trailing by a run entering the final frame, senior Kitt Capell laced a one-out double to left center field to put the game-tying run at second base. Two batters later, junior Justice Bigbie lifted a single into center field sending Capell around third and towards home, but he was cut down at the plate as Michigan State held on for the 4-3 victory over Western Carolina at the First Pitch Invitational at Fluor Field.
 
WCU (6-4) was limited to five hits including two doubles as a team scattered between five different players. Seth Graves doubled as a part of a 1-for-3 outing, adding a walk to reach twice and drove home a team-best two. Capell, who entered in the seventh inning as a pinch hitter, was 1-for-2 with his ninth-inning double, with Bigbie also reaching twice with a single and a walk. Daniel Walsh drew a pair of free passes, scoring one of the Catamount runs.
 
Junior transfer Angel Torres lifted an eighth-inning sacrifice fly to left field to collect WCU's third RBI.
 
Chase Walter (0-2) suffered the loss after allowing four runs – three earned – on five hits over 5.2 innings in the starting role. The right-hander struck out six while issuing five walks. Freshman Nick Hyde recorded a strikeout for his one-third of an inning of action, getting WCU out of the bottom of the sixth inning. Sophomore Davis Tyndall tossed the final two frames, countering two walks with a pair of strikeouts in one-hit, scoreless relief.
 
The designated home team as the tournament host, Michigan State (7-3) jumped in front in the bottom of the first inning, capitalizing on three hits and the first of two Catamount errors to lead, 2-0, after one. The lead was short-lived, though, as WCU countered in the top of the second as Walsh and Will Prater both walked and executed a double-steal. Graves then belted a one-out, two-run double to right center to knot the game at two through two.
 
The Spartans used walks to put the go-ahead and eventual game-winning runs aboard in the fourth and sixth innings, respectively. A wild pitch allowed the fourth-inning run to score with a single to center in the sixth pushing Michigan State ahead, 4-2.
 
In the eighth, Luke Robinson reached on a one-out HBP before matriculating to third on a pair of arrant pitches. Following a walk to Walsh that put runners at the corners, Bryson Parks – pinch running for Robinson – was able to tag and score on the Torres pinch hit sacrifice fly. It was as close as the Catamounts would get, though, with the game-tying run thrown out at home in the top of the ninth to end the game.
 
Michigan State's Jarret Olson (1-1) picked up the victory, limiting WCU to two runs on three hits over 6.2 innings of work with six strikeouts and six of the nine walks issued by Spartans pitching. Spartan first-baseman Peter Ahn collected the only multi-hit game, finishing 2-for-4 to account for a third of MSU's six hits.
 
The two teams combined to leave 15 runners on base – eight by the Catamounts and seven for Michigan State.
 
Western Carolina concludes play at the 2020 First Pitch Invitational on Sunday morning with a 10:00 am first pitch against Big XII foe, Kansas (5-5). Fans can follow the game with a live audio online broadcast provided by the Jayhawk Sports Network.