The 17th annual Crosstown Showdown between the Lansing Lugnuts and Michigan State baseball teams took place on a chilly Tuesday evening, with the Spartans in the midst of its best start to a season since 2016 and the Lugnuts gearing up for the start of its 2025 campaign on April 4.
The Lugnuts won the past 11 meetings between the two, but MSU got on the board in the first inning with an RBI single from redshirt senior infielder and captain Sam Busch.
The lone run for MSU would prove to be enough as the Spartans ended its lengthy Crosstown Showdown losing streak with a 1-0 win.
“We only played seven innings, so I wasn’t sure if that one run was going to hold up, and every run is important,” Busch said. “It’s fun to play here every year and I’ve been coming to the Crosstown Showdown since I was a little kid. Playing for Michigan State is a dream come true, and I never take it for granted.”
MSU had requested to not use its pitchers or catchers ahead of the game, with a matchup against Bowling Green scheduled for Wednesday before a road series at Indiana over the weekend. Although its game with the Falcons has been cancelled due to inclement weather, the Lugnuts agreed, pitching and catching for both sides in the seven-inning game.
“It’s not necessarily about winning or losing tonight for us, it’s about the experience of it,” MSU coach Jake Boss said. “We used all of their pitchers, which was a little bit different, but at the same time, when the game ended, we were up 1-0, but again, tonight was more about the experience of playing against the pro guys and hopefully a glimpse of things to come for our guys.”
Busch was the only Spartan to register a hit against the Lugnuts, while he drove in Lugnuts catcher Cole Conn in the first inning.
MSU is 16-8 to start its 2025 season, just getting into Big Ten play while off to the program's best start since 2016 where it began 19-5. MSU had cracked the top 25 poll for the first time since 2016 earlier this season and remain in the "receiving votes" category for the fifth week in a row.
Busch leads the Spartans this season with eight home runs and 32 RBIs and is one of five MSU players batting over .300, led by Ryan McKay with a .364 batting average.
The Lugnuts open the season this coming weekend against Fort Wayne before having its home opener next Tuesday against the Great Lakes Loons.
Contact Nathaniel Bott at nbott@lsj.com and follow him on X @Nathaniel_Bott
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Spartans end Crosstown Showdown drought with 1-0 win over Lugnuts
