MSU baseball starts off conference play against Maryland
EAST LANSING, Mich. (WILX) - Michigan State baseball opens Big Ten Conference action by heading to College Park, Md., to meet Maryland on Friday-Sunday, March 22–24, at UMD’s Bob “Turtle” Smith Stadium. Friday’s B1G opener for both teams now gets going at 4 p.m., moving up due to weather in the College Park forecast, before Saturday’s game two at 2 p.m. The series wraps up with Sunday’s finale with a 1 p.m. first pitch.
B1G OPENERS BY THE NUMBERS
• Michigan State is 7-7 in B1G openers under head coach Jake Boss Jr., while winning eight of its 14 first B1G series but not having a B1G game in the 2020 season after it was shortened 15 games into the schedule due to COVID-19. One of those B1G opener victories and one of the winning series was over Maryland in 2021, as the B1G had a conference-only ledger due to the start of the season being delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic, with the Spartans and Terrapins squaring off at Fluor Field in Greenville, S.C., with MSU winning the opening game, 6-0, and sweeping the opening series, three games to none.
COACH VAN AMEYDE AWAY FROM TEAM
• Michigan State will be without veteran pitching coach Mark Van Ameyde (VAN-uh-mead) for an extended amount of time, as he will be away from the team after undergoing a successful kidney transplant on March 20.
HOME OPENER SUCCESS
• With last Friday’s 11-3 victory for MSU over Evansville in the home opener, the Spartans have now won 11 of their last 12 home openers, and the Green & White are 14-2 in their first game of the year played at McLane Stadium at Kobs Field under head coach Jake Boss Jr. The 2021 season’s home opening loss to Indiana snapped MSU’s eight-game home opener winning streak.
PUTTIN’ THE SWEET IN HOME SWEET HOME
• Michigan State is off to an early 3-1 lead at home after winning the home-opening series over Evansville last weekend and beating Purdue Fort Wayne on Tuesday. MSU went 17-4 at home last season, and the Spartans have now won 26 of their last 34 home games (26-8) dating back to the 2022 season.
HOME STATERS
• The Spartans have 22 players on their 2024 roster from the state of Michigan, while the Terrapins have 10 Maryland natives.
EARLY HOME OPENER
• Last Friday’s March 15 home opener date was tied for 2018 for the earliest home openers in program history. Evansville was only the third out-of-state opponent for the Spartans in their last 10 home openers, playing Niagara in 2018. Last Friday’s game-time temperature was 54 degrees, making it the warmest home opener in the last 10 years.
Last 10 Years Of Home-Openers
Year Date Result Game-Time Temp
2024 March 15* MSU 11, Evansville 3 54
2023 March 21 MSU 8, Western Michigan 3 50
2022 March 18 MSU 4, Houston Baptist 3 48
2021 March 26 (B1G-only ledger due to COVID) Indiana 8, MSU 2 49
2020: No home-opener due to COVID --
2019: March 20 (scheduled date but postponed) / March 27: MSU 3, Western Michigan 2
2018 March 15* MSU 10, Niagara 1 34
2017 March 21 MSU 11, Central Michigan 2 52
2016 March 23 MSU 4, Central Michigan 1 38
2015 March 24 MSU 8, Central Michigan 3 40
* = tied for earliest home-opening date in program history
ABOUT MARYLAND
• The Terrapins are among others receiving votes in the national rankings with a 16-5 record, having won three in a row as part of six of the last seven and 10 of the last 12. After winning last season’s regular-season B1G title and the B1G Tournament crown, Maryland has picked up right where it left off, entering conference play currently atop the league table.
• Last time out, UMD overtook James Madison 9-5, rallying from an early, 3-0 deficit in the second inning. The Terps only scored in two innings, plating two in the second and a five-spot in the eighth, boosted by a grand slam from freshman infielder Chris Hacopian.
• In their last series, the Terps ventured to the Pacific Northwest and returned with a series win over Portland, winning two of three over the Pilots. After UP won the opener 5-3, UMD rallied for a pair of one-run triumphs with a 9-8 win on Saturday and a 7-6 win on Sunday.
• UMD is hitting. 283 as a team with 156 runs (7.4 pg) on 201 hits (9.6 pg), with 22 HRs.
• Junior infielder Jacob Orr leads the Terps with a.379 average, adding 12 RBI.
• Hacopian is second on the team, hitting.349 with a team-leading 21 RBI and six HRs.
• The Terps’ pitching staff has a 4.25 ERA with 146 strikeouts (7.0 pg), while limiting the opposition to a.231 average.
• Redshirt senior right-hander Logan Berrier and graduate righty Kenny Lippman lead UMD with 21 Ks apiece, while junior right-hander Ryan Van Buren is close behind with 20 Ks.
• Berrier leads the staff with a 1.56 ERA and a 3-0 record in seven appearances, all in relief.
• Four different Terps pitchers have two saves each, while two others have one save apiece.
• UMD head coach Matt Swope is in his first season as head coach of the Terps and as a head coach with a 16-5 record. Swope has been with Maryland baseball since 2013 as Director of Operations until, then assistant coach from 2017–22, then associate head coach from 2022–23, before being named head coach in June.
COMMON OPPONENTS
• Michigan State and Maryland have one common opponent at VCU, as the Terps played at VCU on Feb. 28, falling 15-7 in Richmond. The Spartans played the Rams in Greenville, S.C., on March 10 as part of the MSU-hosted First Pitch Invitational.
THE HOUSE THAT SCHAGER BUILT
Maryland’s slugging percentage record holder and No. 2 career home run record holder is Paul Schager (pronounced “Shagger”), who is currently the Michigan State Athletics Senior Advisor/Strategic Projects. Schager was a three-year letterwinner at Maryland from 1984–87, earning his bachelor’s degree in marketing in 1987.
• Schager belted 43 home runs in his UMD career, which was the Terrapins’ career mark until 2023 when Matt Shaw passed him, but Schager still has the No. 2 spot. Schager also still holds Maryland’s career slugging percentage record of.713. Additionally, he has four other marks in the career records, ranking fifth in extra-base hits (81), tied for fifth in triples (seven), fifth in batting average (.361), and ninth in total bases (346).
• Schager also has two spots on the single-season home runs list, ranking tied for eighth with 18 in 1986 and tied for 19th with 14 in 1985, along with two spots on the single-season slugging percentage list, with the No. 2 mark at.852 in 1986 and the No. 3 spot with.840 in 1985.
SWINGIN’ SPARTANS
• Michigan State enters the week ranked seventh in the B1G and 79th in the NCAA in batting average, hitting.296, marking the first weekend this season that the Spartans’ average has dipped below.300 since Feb. 28.
RACKING UP THE STRIKEOUTS
• MSU’s pitching staff has been racking up the strikeouts to the tune of 9.9 Ks/nine innings, ranking third in the conference and 55th in the country.
• Individually, sophomore southpaw starter Joseph Dzierwa is second in the B1G and 25th in the NCAA in strikeouts with 39. Dzierwa is also fourth in the league and 55th in the nation in Ks/nine innings at 12.39.
RANDY SEY-MORE HOME RUNS
• MSU sophomore infielder Randy Seymour belted the first two home runs of his career, and both came not only at Fluor Field in Greenville, S.C., but they both were against Western Michigan. He hit his first career home run in MSU’s 13-3, 8-inning run-rule walloping of WMU on March 2, smacking it over the Green Monster in left field. Seymour then smacked a 375-foot blast to left center in the 5-3 victory for MSU over WMU on March 8.
• Seymour smacked his third homer of the season for his first homer at McLane Stadium at Kobs Field, knocking a three-run opposite-field round-tripper over the wall in right field and into the Red Cedar River on March 15 in the loss to Evansville.
RED CEDAR RIVER BUSCH BLAST
• Junior infielder Sam Busch blasted his team-leading fourth home run for his first homer at home and belted it over the wall in right field and into the Red Cedar River.
DOUBLE-DIGIT RUNS SPARK SUCCESS
• With MSU’s 10 runs in the season opener, the Spartans improved to 33-0 in the last four seasons and had won 35 in a row when scoring 10+ runs before that streak was snapped in the 20-10 loss to Marshall on Feb. 23. Michigan State is now 5-1 in 2024 when plating 10 or more runs, after going 14-0 in 2023, 9-0 in 2022, 7-0 in 2021, 2-0 in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, and 1-0 in 2019. MSU was 3-1 in 2018, with the previous loss coming in a 12-10 loss to Niagara on March 18, 2018, then starting the 35-game streak by winning two other times and posting 10 or more runs.
• MSUstarted the season with 10 runs in the season opener, then added 10 runs in the loss to Marshall on Feb. 23, before bouncing back with a three-game win streak when plating 10 or more runs,started the season with 10 runs in the season opener, then added 10 runs in the loss to Marshall on Feb. 23, before bouncing back with a three-game win streak when plating 10 or more runs,started the season with 10 runs in the season opener, then added 10 runs in the loss to Marshall on Feb. 23, before bouncing back with a three-game win streak when plating 10 or more runs, started the season with 10 runs in the season opener, then added 10 runs in the loss to Marshall on Feb. 23, before bouncing back with a three-game win streak when plating 10 or more runs, starting with double-digit runs in back-to-back games with 19 runs in 7-innings at Georgia on Feb. 28 and 13 runs in 8-innings two days later vs. Western Michigan on March 2 at Greenville. The Green & White then scored 11 runs in the home and series opener vs. Evansville on March 15, and added 11 runs in the 11-1 8-inning run-rule victory for MSU over Purdue Fort Wayne on March 19 in the first home midweek game of the season.
DOUBLE THE BIG TEN WEEKLY HONORS
• Michigan State baseball player Nick Williams was named the Big Ten Co-Player of the Week, while Ryan McKay was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week, as announced on March 4 by the conference office.
• Williams and McKay both collect the first B1G accolades of their MSU careers. It also marks the first time that two Spartans earned B1G weekly awards in the same week since last season’s first week of the awards, when Brock Vradenburg collected Player of the Week honors and Dominic Pianto was the Co-Pitcher of the Week on Feb. 21, 2023, after the opening weekend of the season. Overall, it is the eighth time in program history that two or more Spartans earned conference weekly accolades in the same week.
B1G Co-Player of the Week Nick Williams • #10 • JR • OF
Racine, Wisc./Union Grove HS/Wabash Valley CC
• Posted a.556 average, hitting 10-for-18, averaging over two hits per game, with multiple hits in three of the four outings, posting games of two hits, four hits, one hit, and three hits.
• Logged a.579 on-base percentage and an.833 slugging percentage.
• Went 2-for-5 with three RBI and two runs scored at Georgia, helping the Spartans to a 19-6 7-inning run-rule victory for MSU, as the Spartans posted their first win over an SEC team since 2016 and dealt Georgia its first loss of the season.
• Went 4-for-4 with three RBI and two runs scored, with a double and adding a walk in MSU’s 13-3, 8-inning run-rule win over Western Michigan... Was 1-for-4 with a double vs. Florida State.
• Wrapped up the week going 3-for-5 with two RBI and a run scored on a 79-foot blast with a 100-mph exit velocity home run over the Green Monster at Fluor Field, which is the high A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox and has the same dimensions as Fenway Park.
B1G Freshman of the Week Ryan McKay • #1 • FR • INF
Clarkston, Mich. / Orchard Lake St. Mary’s HS
• Hit.588 (8-for-15) with a.733 slugging percentage and a.588 on-base percentage in four games, averaging two hits per game, with multi-hit outings in three of the four games, for the first three multiple-hit games of Spartan’s career.
• Started the week off by going a career-high 3-for-4 with a triple, adding an RBI, and scoring a career-high three runs in MSU’s 19-6 7-inning run-rule rout at Georgia, leading the Spartans to their first win over an SEC team since 2016 and dealing Georgia its first loss of the season. The three runs scored were the first career runs scored in an MSU uniform.
• After Georgia took a 2-0 lead after the first frame, he sparked the Spartan rally in the second to get the offense going with a leadoff triple and later scored MSU’s first run of the night, knocking not just the first three-bagger of his Spartan career but the first triple of the season for MSU.
• Came up again later in the second as MSU batted around, drawing a bases-loaded walk for an RBI. Added singles in the fifth and seventh innings.
• Started the weekend off going 2-for-4 with three runs scored, tying a career-high for a second straight game, and an RBI, adding a stolen base and a walk in the 13-3, 8-inning run-rule victory for MSU over Western Michigan in Greenville.
• Went 2-for-3 with a double, a run, and an RBI vs. Florida State, then wrapped up the week going 1-for-4 vs. Illinois.
BACK-TO-BACK DOUBLE-DIGIT RUNS
• Michigan State hung 19 runs on the scoreboard at Georgia in a 19-6, 7-inning run-rule victory for MSU on Feb. 28, then turned around and plated 13 runs in a 13-3, 8-inning run-rule walloping of Western Michigan on March 2, for MSU’s first back-to-back games with 10+ runs of the season. It was the first time the Spartans had consecutive games with double-digit runs since April 23 and 25, 2023, when MSU won at Michigan, 14-2, on April 23, then beat Notre Dame, 12-5, on April 25.
WILL-IAMS POWER
• Junior designated hitter/catcher Christian Williams went 4-for-4 on one double and three singles, with three RBI and one run scored in the 6-2 victory for MSU over Marshall on Feb. 24.
• C. Williams becomes the first Spartan to go 4-for-4 since Justin Antoncic knocked four hits in four at bats on April 7, 2019 vs. Indiana State.
• C. Williams sparked MSU’s rally in the second inning with a leadoff double, then added an RBI single in the third that gave MSU a 3-2 advantage, a lead they didn’t relinquish.
• He then added RBI singles in the fifth and seventh stanzas for the Spartans’ insurance runs.
• Junior outfielder Nick Williams added a 4-for-4 outing vs. Western Michigan on March 2, with three RBI and two runs scored, with a double and adding a walk in MSU’s 13-3 8-inning run-rule win.
• N. Williams was 1-for-4 with a double vs. Florida State in Saturday’s second game.
• N. Williams wrapped up the week going 3-for-5 with two RBI and a run scored on a 79-foot blast with a 100-mph exit velocity home run over the Green Monster at Fluor Field, which is the high A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox and has the same dimensions as Fenway Park.
FIVE-FOR-FIVE FRANK
• Senior outfielder Jack Frank was 5-for-5 in the 13-3, 8-inning run-rule win over Western Michigan on March 2, becoming the first Spartan to have five hits in five at bats since Bailey Peterson on Feb. 21, 2020, going 5-for-5 vs. Merrimack.
SIX RIBBIE FRANK
• Senior outfielder Jack Frank also knocked out six RBI in the 19-6 7-inning run-rule victory for MSU at Georgia on Feb. 28.
• Frank finished 3-for-4 with six RBI, becoming the first Spartan with six RBI since Bryan Broecker had half-a-dozen ribbies on April 1, 2023, at Rutgers.
• Frank had two doubles and a single, with all three hits driving in two runs at a time.
FIVE KARK SPECIAL
• Senior infielder Dillon Kark finished 4-for-4 with five RBI in the 13-3, 8-inning run-rule win over Western Michigan on March 2, becoming the first Michigan State player with five RBI since Brock Vradenburg knocked five ribbies on April 23, 2023, at Michigan.
• Kark had an RBI single in the first, then added a sac fly in the sixth before a 3-run “walk-off” home run in the eighth to hit the run-rul victory for MSU.
FRANK-ING THE BASES UP
• Senior outfielder Jack Frank made the basepaths sound like a remake of Ben Stein in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off: “Frank... Frank... Frank... Frank,” as the Spartan speedster reached base in eight consecutive at bats, reaching base in his final three at bats in the Georgia game on Feb. 28, then went 5-for-5 in the Western Michigan game on March 2.
• The eight-straight at-bats reaching base streak is MSU’s longest since Brock Vradenburg did so on March 10–11, 2023.
GEORGIA HIT AND HIGH SCORE PARTY
• Some news and notes from Michigan State’s 19-6 win at Georgia on Feb. 28:
It was the Spartans’ first win over an SEC team since beating Auburn 3-0 on March 5, 2016.
-- The win was also MSU’s first victory over an SEC team on their home field since March 9, 2013, winning at Kentucky.
MSU knocked out a season-high 21 hits in the seven-inning run-rule game, with six total extra-base hits on two home runs, two triples, and two doubles.
All nine Spartans in the line-up had at least one hit.
MSU’s 21 hits were its first over 20 hits since rapping out 22 hits on Feb. 14, 2020, vs. Morehead State (15-3).
14 of the 19 runs came with two outs, as MSU hit.650 (13-for-20) with two outs.
The Spartans’ 7-run fifth inning was their most in an inning since scoring seven in a 15-8 victory for MSU vs. Michigan in Phoenix in the 2023 season opener on Feb. 17, 2023.
Michigan State had three innings of four or more runs, the first time with three big-inning frames in the same game since March 2, 2014, when the Spartans had four, four, and seven-run rallies in an 18-13 win over Eastern Illinois.
MSU’s last run-rule win was April 15, 2023, vs. Western Illinois-G2 (W, 11-1).
The 19 runs were the most scored by the Spartans since a 19-10 win at Charleston Southern on March 4, 2023.
Michigan State improved to 3-5 on the young season, while the Spartans dealt the Bulldogs their first loss of the year, now 8-1.
MSU has now won the last two meetings at Georgia, as the Spartans won the last meeting back in 1958. They have now won six of the last seven overall meetings and have an 11-7 all-time series lead, including 11-5 in Athens.
BOSS IN SWEET 16th SEASON WITH SPARTANS
• Head coach Jake Boss Jr. is in his 16th year at Michigan State and 17th overall as a collegiate head coach. Boss entered the 2024 season at No. 3 on MSU’s longest coaching list behind John H. Kobs (1935–63), the namesake for Kobs Field, the location of McLane Stadium, with 39 seasons, and legendary head coach Denny Litwhiler (1964–82) with 19 seasons. Boss is also No. 3 on the Spartan head coach list for wins and games coached, also behind Kobs with 576 wins in 969 games and Litwhiler with 489 wins in 859 games.
SEASON-OPENING SUCCESS
• Between last season’s 15-8 Victory for MSU over Michigan in the season-opener and the 2024 season-opening 10-3 win over Merrimack on Feb. 16, the Spartans have been victorious in their season-opener in five of the last six seasons ... overall, MSU is now 13-3 in the 16 season-openers under Coach Boss, only losing in 2013 vs. Furman, 2018 at Fresno State and 2022 at UNLV.
LIGHTIN’ UP THE SCOREBOARD ON OPENING DAY
• The Spartans’ 10 runs on Opening Day on Feb. 16 in the 10-3 Victory for MSU was Michigan State’s second-straight season-opener scoring 10+ runs after hanging 15 runs in 2023 opener ... MSU has now plated double-figure runs in its season-opener five times in the 16 seasons under Coach Boss, joining 2012 (W, 11-4 vs. St. Johns), 2016 (W, 11-5 vs. Presbyterian), 2020 (W, 15-3 vs. Morehead State), 2023 (W, 15-8 vs. Michigan) and now 2024 (W, 10-3 vs. Merrimack).
BIG INNING IN OPENER
• In the 10-3 win over Merrimack, MSU had a six-run ninth inning to break the game open, sending nine batters to the plate, scoring six runs on five hits, and taking advantage of two Merrimack errors.
• The big inning against Merrimack marked the second-straight opener that MSU plated four or more in the game, as the Spartans had two big innings in the 2023 opener, with a five-run sixth stanza and a 7-run eighth inning in the 15-8 Victory for MSU over Michigan in Phoenix, Ariz.
PROFESSIONAL STADIUM EXPERIENCE
• The previous two weekends in Greenville, S.C., the Spartans played six of their eight total official games and one exhibition contest in two different professional stadiums.
The Spartans will also play the first three of seven games this weekend at their home-away-from-home, Fluor Field, in Greenville, S.C., home of the Greenville Drive. MSU hosts the First Pitch Invitational I this weekend, taking on Western Michigan on Friday, March 1, Florida State on Saturday, March 2 and Illinois on Sunday, March 3.
Next weekend, MSU hosts the First Pitch Invitational II, squaring off with VCU on Friday, March 8, Western Carolina in a twinbill on Saturday, March 9, before facing Western Michigan again on Sunday, March 10 to wrap up its Fluor Field stretch.
Michigan State will take on the Lansing Lugnuts, the High-A affiliate of the Oakland A’s, in the 2024 Crosstown Showdown on Wednesday, April 3 at Jackson Field in an exhibition game.
The Spartans will also play Western Michigan at Jackson Field on Wednesday, April 17.
POWER OUTAGE
• Senior pitcher Nick Powers fired a complete game in the 6-2 Victory for MSU over Marshall in Port Charlotte, Fla. on Feb. 24.
• Powers rang up nine strikeouts and scattered six hits, but didn’t allow a Marshall base runner to safely reach second after the first inning, while getting help from his defense that turned a season-high three double plays.
• After allowing two runs on two hits in the opening frame, Powers settled in and had three-up, three-down innings for the next seven stanzas, facing four batters in the ninth, but ringing up his ninth and final strikeout for the last out to secure the Victory for MSU.
• A day after Marshall knocked out 18 hits and 20 runs vs. MSU on Friday evening, Powers stymied the same Marshall lineup to just six hits and two runs, with only four hits and no runs after the first inning.
• It was his first career complete game and also was the first complete game in the Big Ten this season and the first CG in the B1G since May 27, 2022 when Indiana’s Bradley Brehmer when 9.0 vs. Illinois.
• Powers is the first Spartan pitcher to throw a complete-game since 2019 when Mike Mokma went the distance vs. Ohio State on March 9, 2019 in Greenville, S.C.
WHERE THERE’S A WILL-IAMS THERE’S A WAY
• Michigan State has two Williams on its roster, but they are not related ... junior designated hitter/catcher Christian Williams is in third season with the Spartans and is from Carmel, Indiana ... junior outfielder Nick Williams is in his first season with the Green & White and is from Racine, Wisconsin.
WILL-IAMS POWER
• Powers rang up nine strikeouts and scattered six hits but didn’t allow a Marshall base runner to safely reach second after the first inning, while getting help from his defense that turned a season-hiFla.,victory3,10,8, and2, victory Michigan), .in the opener, victoryState,Overallseasons.victorygh three double plays. on Saturday.
• C. Williams becomes the first Spartan to go 4-for-4 since Justin Antoncic knocked four hits in four at bats on April 7, 2019 vs. Indiana State.
• C. Williams sparked MSU’s rally in the second inning with a leadoff double, then added an RBI single in the third that gave MSU a 3-2 advantage, a lead they didn’t relinquish.
• He then added RBI singles in the fifth and seventh stanzas for the Spartans’ insurance runs.
FRANK FLYING ON BASEPATHS AND IN RECORD BOOK
• Senior outfielder Jack Frank entered the 2024 season with 33 stolen bases, starting the season ranked No. 12 on MSU’s career stolen bases list.
• Frank swiped four bases in the opening weekend to vault up to tie for No. 10 on the list, tying Danny Gleaves (2017-20), leaving him just one swipe from former teammate Mitch Jebb (2021-23) at No. 9 with 38 swipes. Frank passed Jebb with two stolen bases at Georgia on Feb. 28 and added two more stolen bases the next game vs. Western Michigan on Feb. 2.
• Frank now has nine stolen bases this season for 42 career stolen bases, holding the No. 9 spot on MSU’s stolen bases list, just three from tying Cam Gibson (2013-15) with 45 swipes.
• Of Frank’s four stolen bases in the opening weekend, three came in the Opening Day win over Merrimack.
• Frank became the first Spartan with three stolen bases in one game since Danny Gleaves swiped a trio of bases on May 5, 2018 at Penn State.
16 FOR 16, NOW 31
• Sophomore pitcher Joseph Dzierwa matched his jersey number of 16 with 16 strikeouts in 10.0 IP in his first two starts of the season, adding nine more Ks in his third outing, before posting six Ks in outing number four and eight in his fifth and most recent outing on March 15.
• Dzierwa now has a team-best 39 strikeouts through five outings.
• The 39 strikeouts rank Dzierwa second in the B1G and tied for 25th in the NCAA.
• Dzierwa is also fourth in the conference and 55th in the country in strikeouts/9 innings (12.39).
CHALKIN’ UP CAREER-HIGH STRIKEOUTS
• Two Spartan pitchers registered career highs in the opening weekend:
Sophomore starter Joseph Dzierwa rang up a career-high nine strikeouts in the start vs. Seton Hall on Feb. 17, bettering his previous career-best of eight Ks on March 19, 2023, vs. Indiana State.
Junior reliever Noah Matheny rang up six strikeouts in 4.0 innings vs. Lehigh on Feb. 17, striking out the side in two innings as part of retiring all 12 Mountain Hawk batters he faced. Matheny’s previous MSU career high was five Ks in 5.0 IP vs. Arizona on Feb. 19, 2023, in Phoenix, Ariz.
Sophomore starter Nolan Higgins chalked up a career-best seven Ks in his Opening Day start vs. Merrimack, topping his previous career-high of six Ks vs. Oakland on April 12, 2023.
Sophomore reliever Robert Klann collected three Ks in 2.0 IP vs. Seton Hall on Feb. 17 for his first multi-strikeout outing of his career, bettering his previous career-best of one K vs. Wofford on March 8, 2023.
• Three other Spartan pitchers had smashing debuts:
Senior Aaron Mishoulam made his first start in the Green & White, went 5.0 innings, and chalked up seven strikeouts against Lehigh on Feb. 17.
Sophomore Tommy Szczepanski made his MSU debut in the season opener vs. Merrimack on Feb. 16, striking out the side to secure the 10-3 victory for MSU. Szczepanski also came on in relief in the game vs. Lehigh, adding a pair of punchouts in 1.1 IP.
Freshman Logan Pikur made his collegiate debut in the season opener vs. Merrimack on Feb. 16, tallying two Ks in 1.0 IP. Pikur also added one more K in 1.2 IP vs. Ball State on Feb. 18.
FIRST ROUND-TRIPPERS
• Two Spartans smashed their first home runs of their Green & White career in MSU’s 10-3 win over Merrimack on Opening Day:
Junior transfer catcher Noah Bright bashed his first home run in his first ever game as a Spartan, smacking a solo shot to left field in the sixth inning to tie it up at 4-all.
Sophomore Jake Dresselhouse belted the first home run of his MSU career in the sixth inning to put the Spartans on top for good at 5-4.
JOINING IN THE DEBUT PARTY
• Junior transfer outfielder Nick Williams was 3-for-4 with a run scored and a stolen base in his MSU debut.
BACK-TO-BACK TWICE
• Michigan State went back-to-back twice in the 10-3 victory for MSU over Merrimack on Opening Day, with junior catcher Noah Bright and Jake Dresselhouse going back-to-back in the sixth inning, then junior infielder Sam Busch and sophomore infielder Jacob Anderson knocking back-to-back homers in the ninth.
140TH SEASON OF MICHIGAN STATE BASEBALL
Michigan State is playing its 140th season of baseball in 2024, which was the first varsity sport on campus. The first season of Spartan baseball was 1884, going 4-2 in the six-game schedule, and baseball has been played every season since, with only no varsity in 1944 due to World War II. MSU has played over 4,500 games in program history.
70TH ANNIVERSARY OF 1954 MICHIGAN STATE COLLEGE WORLD SERIES TEAM
Michigan State will be celebrating the 1954 Spartan team that won the Big Ten Championship en route to the College World Series, the first and lone trip to the CWS by MSU.
The 1954 season was one for the ages as the Spartans won their first Big Ten Championship, ran through the NCAA tournament en route to a College World Series 3rd place finish, and completed the season with a then-school-record 25-10-1 record behind the leadership of Spartan legend John Kobs. The ‘54 team featured three future Major League players in Ed Hobaugh, Bob Powell, and College World Series MVP Tom Yewcic, and future NFL quarterback and 1968 NFL MVP Earl Morrall.
After winning the Big Ten Championship, the Spartans defeated Ohio University to earn their first bid to the College World Series. Michigan State won its first two games of the CWS, beating Massachusetts, 16-5, then topping Arizona, 2-1, before dropping a close game to Rollins College, 5-4. The Spartans rebounded to beat Rollins in extra innings 3-2 before dropping the season finale to eventual champion Missouri, 4-3, on a controversial call late in the game on a foul tip that wasn’t called and led to the winning run crossing the plate.
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