A pair of runs in the top of the 13th inning allowed the Michigan State baseball team to avoid an Easter weekend sweep by Michigan.

The Spartans’ Jimmy Pickens and John Martinez had RBIs in the top of the 13th and Tony Wieber completed his 3 1/3 of scoreless relief to earn the win.

Both teams used five pitchers during the game. Wieber was the only one to not allow a run.

The Spartans tied the game at 8-8 in the top of the ninth inning after loading the bases against Matt Ogden on a single, walk and hit-by-pitch. A second hit batter scored Justin Scanlon, who started the rally with a one-out single.

Both teams’ starting pitchers had short outings. Michigan’s Ben Ballantine left in the top of the second inning when the Spartans took a 3-0 lead on a Ryan Jones single. Michigan State’s Mike Theodore didn’t make it out of the second inning, either, removed one batter after Michigan’s Zach Zott tied the score with a three-run triple.

Coley Crank, who went 3-for-5 with four RBIs, had a three-run single in the bottom of sixth inning to give the Wolverines a 7-5 lead. Brett Winger was also 3-for-5 for Michigan (15-17, 2-4 Big Ten), which won the first two games of the series by 4-0 and 4-3 scores.

Jones went 4-for-5 with two RBIs for the Spartans (19-10, 3-3).

More baseball

Eastern Michigan 9, Western Michigan 5: The Eagles (13-18, 6-3) took over first place in the MAC West standings after sweeping WMU. Ben Magsig (4-for-6, 4 RBIs) and Daniel Russel (2-for-3, 2 runs) each hit home runs for EMU. Winning pitcher Ryan Lavoie allowed four runs on nine hits and struck out 11 Broncos through seven innings. (Details)

Softball

Western Michigan 2, Eastern Michigan 0: Western Michigan pitchers Becca Shemberger and Meredith Whitney limited the Eagles to three hits, although Shemberger did walk eight in six innings. The Broncos scored single runs in the first and sixth innings. (Details)

Men’s tennis

Michigan 5, Northwestern 2: No. 1 singles player Evan King beat Josh Graves to lead the Wolverines to their fourth straight win. King has won 11 straight and leads the team with a 16-2 dual record. (Details)

Women’s tennis

Northwestern 4, Michigan 3: The No. 14-ranked Wildcats ended No. 15 Michigan’s six-match win streak. The teams are now tied atop the Big Ten standings with 6-1 records. (Details)