Freshman Brandon Eckerle is hitting .333 over the past four games.

May 1, 2008

Complete MSU Baseball Notes in PDF Format

2008 Michigan State Baseball

at Penn State - May 2-4, 2008 - Medlar Field at Lubrano Park
Friday, May 2 - Michigan State at Penn State - 6:35 p.m.
Saturday, May 3 - Michigan State at Penn State - 4:05 p.m. (DH)
Sunday, May 4 - Michigan State at Penn State - 1:05 p.m.

Probable Pitching Match-Ups
Friday - Mike Monterey (1-3, 5.75 ERA, 51.2 IP) vs. Ryan Stobart, PSU (2-3, 5.40 ERA, 53.1 IP)
Saturday 1 - Chris Cullen (4-2, 4.33 ERA, 52.0 IP) vs. Mike Wanamaker, PSU (4-4, 3.25 ERA, 61.0 IP)
Saturday 2 - Mark Sorensen (2-5, 4.28 ERA, 40.0 IP) vs. T.J. Macy, PSU (2-1, 4.50 ERA 14.0 IP)
Sunday - TBA

GameTracker Links
Friday GameTracker
Saturday Game 1
Saturday Game 2
Sunday GameTracker

Spartans Travel To Penn State For Key Big Ten Series
After winning five of its last six games, the Michigan State baseball team (18-22, 7-12 Big Ten) travels to Penn State for a four-game series beginning Friday, May 2 at 6:35 p.m. at PSU's Medlar Field. The two teams will then play a 4 p.m. doubleheader that will be televised by the Big Ten Network. MSU finished last week by winning three straight games over Iowa. The Spartans also posted a 7-6, come-from-behind win over Oakland on Wednesday. MSU trails Penn State (19-23, 10-10) by 2.5 games for sixth place in the Big Ten standings.

A Good Day Everyday
Junior catcher Kyle Day is MSU's top overall offensive performer. The Fort Wayne, Ind., native is second on the Spartans with a .343 batting average while also leading MSU in home runs (6), RBI (41), hits (46), slugging (.537) and runs (34). Day, who was the 19th round draft pick of the Chicago Cubs in the 2007 MLB draft, was at his best four weeks ago against Northwestern, going 5-for-11 with three homers and nine RBI. In the first game of the series, he hit a grand slam en route to a seven-RBI performance, only to hit two home runs in the second game of the series the next day. Day, who has two grand slams this season, hit a three-run homer last Saturday against Iowa.

Roberts On A Tear
The hottest hitter in the Spartan lineup is sophomore Chris Roberts. The outfielder from Oshkosh, Wis., leads the Spartans in batting average (.349) and triples (4), while ranking second in slugging (.473). Roberts, a 2006 draft pick by Cleveland, is batting .435 in Big Ten games, good for the fourth-highest mark in the conference. He owns a .514 on-base percentage in league play, which ranks third in the Big Ten. Roberts, who was a Freshman All-American pick by Ping! Baseball, hit .456 and reached base at a .539 clip during the month of April.

Scouting Penn State (19-24, 10-10 Big Ten)
The Nittany Lions enter the weekend having won nine of their last 13 games dating back to April 13. PSU, which lost a 7-5 contest to Villanova on Wednesday, split with Illinois last weekend. Penn State has also split with Ohio State and swept Indiana. PSU is led by a pair of .333 hitters, Brian Ernst and Joe Blackburn. Cory Wine (.296) and Rob Yodice (.275) are the team's RBI leaders and each have a team-high five homers. PSU has one of the Big Ten's best starters in righty Mike Wanamaker, who is 4-4 with a 3.25 in 10 starts. Drew O'Neil is arguably the top reliever in the Big Ten. O'Neil has a 0.49 ERA and seven saves, holding opponents to a .169 average.

A Look At The Penn State Series
Michigan State is 28-26 all-time against the Nittany Lions, in a series that dates back to 1920. The two teams have been even this decade, with each team winning 15 of 30 contests. Penn State won three of four against MSU last season, with two of those games decided by two runs or less. The Spartans are 3-5 against PSU under David Grewe.

Record Crowd At Crosstown Showdown
An Oldsmobile Park record 12,862 saw the Lansing Lugnuts edge the Spartans, 4-2, Thursday night in the second annual Crosstown Showdown. The previous record crowd was 12,685 when Lansing hosted Cedar Rapids on July 28, 2001. Michigan State had guest base coaches every inning, including MSU basketball coaches Tom Izzo and Suzy Merchant, director of athletics Mark Hollis and Spartan softball coach Jacquie Joseph. The game was a seven-inning contest played with wooden bats. Lansing is the Class A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays.

Playing Defense In Big Ten Play
MSU has played strong defense in league games thus far, leading the conference with a .977 fielding percentage in Big Ten games. The Spartans have also committed the fewest amount of errors (15) in conference play. MSU's .966 fielding percentage in all games ranks third in the Big Ten.

Chris Cullen Honored After Throwing Two-Hit Shutout
Senior right-hander Chris Cullen was named Big Ten Co-Pitcher of the Week last week after throwing a two-hit shutout against Ohio State on Sunday, April 13. He was also named Heartland Pitcher of the Week by CollegeBaseballHub.com. The Tecumseh, Ontario, native struck out five and walked two over 8.0 innings in MSU's 1-0 win over the Buckeyes. The performance stands as the first Spartan shutout of the season.

First Big Ten Series Win
Michigan State took three of four games against Iowa last weekend, giving the Spartans their first Big Ten series win of the season. MSU did, however, win two of three at the Stetson Invitational, Rice Invitational and in South Carolina versus Quinnipiac.

Spike In Offensive Production
Michigan State is averaging 10 runs 12 hits per game over the past four games. In last Saturday's doubleheader sweep of Iowa, the Spartans scored 22 runs and pounded out 25 hits. Only once in the past two seasons has Michigan State scored that many runs in a doubleheader. MSU tallied 23 runs in a twinbill at Illinois last year. Additionally, the Spartans have scored 10 or more runs in three of the last six games. MSU only reached 10 runs four times in the season's first 34 games.

Gerstenberger Rounding Into His Usual Form
Senior infielder Steve Gerstenberger has shaken off a slow start and has returned to form as MSU has gotten into Big Ten play. Gerstenberger is batting .313 with five doubles and two home runs in league games. The Fort Gratiot, Mich., native, who led MSU with a .368 batting average last season, has raised his batting 67 points since March 16, from .222 to .289. He is currently on an eight-game hitting streak, batting .363 during the skein. Last season, Gerstenberger batted .378 in Big Ten play en route to second-team all-conference honors.

More On the Showdown
Steve Gerstenberger had an RBI double and freshman catcher Andy Johnson had an RBI single to lead MSU in the Crosstown Showdown. The Spartans used 26 players in the contest, including eight pitchers. Moises Sierra homered for the Lugnuts.

Gerstenberger Hits 200 Hits
Steve Gerstenberger, a .317 career hitter who led the Spartans with 77 hits a year ago, picked up his 200th career hit in the third inning of MSU's win over Toledo last Wednesday. Gerstenberger, who has played in 187 games for Michigan State, now has 207 career hits, which ranks seventh in school history.

The Roofs Are On Fire
Brothers Eric and Jonathan Roof have developed into key members of the starting lineup. Jonathan, a freshman shortstop, is batting .297 with two homers and has started every game this season. Jonathan, who was selected in the 39th round in the 2007 MLB draft by Boston, is batting .400 (10-for-25) during his current eight-game hitting streak. Eric, a junior catcher, ranks third on the team in batting average (.310) and second in RBI (23). He had four hits and seven RBI in the final two games of the Iowa series last weekend, including a grand slam on Saturday.

MSU Beating The Best
Considering the difficulty of Michigan State's non-conference schedule, the Spartans have had opportunities to defeat some of the nation's top programs. MSU opened the season with a 6-4, 10-inning win over Stetson on Feb. 22. At the Rice Invitational March 6-8, Michigan State posted a 5-3 win over 2007 NCAA Tournament participant Western Carolina on March 6 and a 9-3 win over then-No. 4 Rice the next day. Michigan State also has one win each over Connecticut, Illinois and Ohio State, three teams that have a combined winning percentage of .543 this season.

Milestone Win For The Program
Rice is the highest-ranked team Michigan State has beaten this decade, and it is believed the Owls may be the highest-ranked opponent MSU has beaten in the program's history. The Owls were ranked No. 4 by Rivals.com and No. 6 by the NCBWA at the time of the game. The victory is the highest-profile win Michigan State has had under David Grewe. The Spartans did post a 13-11 win over Miami (Fla.) on March 8, 2000, one year after the Hurricanes won the College World Series.

Power Surge
The Spartans have hit for power much more effectively in recent games. MSU has clubbed 13 home runs in the last 20 games after hitting just eight home runs in the season's first 20 games. MSU started the surge with a pair of homers against Eastern Michigan on April 2, and then hit three each in the first two games against Northwestern. MSU hit four home runs last week, with three coming against Iowa. Nine different Spartans have gone deep this season, compared to just eight last year.

Day Reaches 100 Career RBI
Kyle Day is hitting .316 with 11 home runs and 100 RBI in 146 career games. Day, who was a preseason All-Big Ten pick by Baseball America, reached the plateau with a two-run single Wednesday against Oakland. Day, a .315 hitter as a freshman in 2006, was a Cape Cod League All-Star last summer with the Harwich Mariners.

Road Warriors
The Spartan baseball program had a stretch where it was on the road for 21 of 26 calendar days, spanning from Feb. 20-March 16. MSU left for Florida on Wednesday, Feb. 20 and returned on Monday, Feb. 25. Two days later, the Spartans embarked on the nine-game trip that lasted from Feb. 27-March 9 before leaving March 13-16 for South Carolina. Michigan State played its first 15 contests in five cities, four states and two time zones.

Potent Offense From Potes
Senior outfielder Justin Potes has started 37 games this season either in the outfield or at DH after playing primarily at third base last season. The Adrian, Mich., native is batting .275 with four home runs and a team-leading eight doubles. Potes homered twice in the Northwestern series and he hit a two-run shot against Central Michigan last Wednesday. His solo homer against Rice on March 7 gave MSU a 3-1 lead and boosted MSU past the Owls. Potes was batting .302 after 14 games this season.

A Closer Look At Cullen
Senior right-hander Chris Cullen has been a reliable starting pitcher all season, leading the Spartans with a 4-2 record and 4.33 ERA in nine starts. He has held opponents to a .250 opponent batting average, which is the ninth-best mark in the Big Ten. The Tecumseh, Ontario, native's two best outings came against Rice and Ohio State. He held the nationally-ranked Owls to two earned runs on five hits over seven innings for the victory, and tossed a two-hitter against Ohio State last Sunday.

On Deck For MSU
Michigan State will play at Oldsmobile Park for the final time this season on Wednesday, May 7 at 6:05 p.m. against Western Michigan. MSU defeated the Broncos, 10-1, on April 9 in Kalamazoo. The Spartans then travel to Purdue (16-4 Big Ten) for a four-game set beginning Friday, May 9 at 3 p.m.