Junior Eric Roof had four RBI in MSU's 8-6 win over Western Michigan.

May 8, 2008

Complete Baseball Game Notes in PDF Format

Spartans Travel To Purdue For Key Big Ten Series
After winning eight of its last nine games, the Michigan State baseball team (22-23, 10-13 Big Ten) travels to Purdue for a four-game series beginning Friday, May 9 at 4 p.m. at PU's Lambert Field. The two teams will then play a 1 p.m. on Saturday and a 1 p.m. contest on Sunday. MSU went 4-1 last week, posting a win over Oakland before taking three of four at Penn State. The Spartans have started this week in the same fashion, defeating Western Michigan, 8-6, Wednesday evening.

Big Ten Standings Update
Michigan State has won two Big Ten series in a row, climbing to seventh in the Big Ten standings. The Spartans are just a half-game behind Northwestern and Penn State for fifth place and one full game behind Ohio State for the fourth spot. The top six teams make the Big Ten Tournament, which is hosted by the regular season champion.

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 (.369) hits (55), triples (5) and on-base pergcentage (.444) while ranking second in slugging (.510). Roberts, a 27th round pick by Cleveland in the 2006 draft, is batting .449 in Big Ten games, good for second in the conference behind Purdue's Brandon Haveman (.484). He owns a .514 on-base percentage in league play, which ranks fifth 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.

A Good Day Everyday
Junior catcher Kyle Day is MSU's top power hitter. The Fort Wayne, Ind., native is second on the Spartans with a .322 batting average while also leading MSU in home runs (7), RBI (43), slugging (.513) and walks (31). Day, who was a 19th round draft pick of the Chicago Cubs in the 2007 MLB draft, was at his best five 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 on April 26 against Iowa.

Scouting Purdue (26-20, 17-7 Big Ten)
The Boilermakers have been firmly entrenched in second place in the Big Ten standings all season. Purdue, however, enters the weekend with little momentum after having lost three of four to Indiana last weekend. There are no easy outs in Purdue's lineup. Ben Wolgamot leads PU in batting average (.410) and on-base percentage (.510), while Brandon Haveman is hitting .390 with 15 doubles. Ryne White (9 HR, 40 RBI) and Dan Black (12 HR, 49 RBI) provide Purdue's power.

The Boilermakers have made their mark on the mound this season, ranking second in the Big Ten in team ERA. Matt Bischoff (4-2), Kyle Cook (3-2) and Matt Jansen (3-1) are the team's top starters, while Josh Lindblom has a conference-best 11 saves.

A Look At The Purdue Series
Michigan State leads the all-time series with Purdue, 67-57, in a series that dates back to 1949. MSU took two of three against Purdue last season in a low-scoring series, with each team posting one shutout. The Spartans are 5-13 against the Boilermakers this decade. David Grewe is 3-4 against Purdue.

Record Crowd At Crosstown Showdown
An Oldsmobile Park record 12,862 saw the Lansing Lugnuts edge the Spartans, 4-2, April 24 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 .978 fielding percentage in Big Ten games. The Spartans have also committed the fewest amount of errors (17) 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 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 lone Spartan shutout this season.

First Two Big Ten Series Wins
Michigan State took three of four games against Iowa and Penn State over the last two weekends, giving the Spartans their first Big Ten series wins 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 8.0 runs and 11.9 hits per game over the past eight games. In last MSU's doubleheader sweep of Iowa on April 26, 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 seven or more runs in six of the last eight games. MSU only reached seven runs nine times in the season's first 37 games.

The Roof Is On Fire
Eric Roof has been one of the Spartans' key contributors to that offensive production. The junior from Paducah, Ky., was batting just .222 at the end of March, but he is now up to .305 and tied for second on the team with 28 RBI. He is hitting .321 over the past with a team-high 18 RBI over the past 16 games. Eric Roof, who can play catcher, first base or third base, is also batting .305 in Big Ten games.

From One Roof To Another
Eric Roof's younger brother, Jonathan, has started all 45 games this season at shortstop. A true freshman, Jonathan is batting .291 and ranks second on the team with 29 runs scored. He has hit safely in 12 of the last 13 games, collecting four multi-hit games during that span. Jonathan Roof was selected in the 39th round by Boston in the 2007 draft.

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 .333 with six doubles and three home runs in league games. The Fort Gratiot, Mich., native, who led MSU with a .368 batting average last season, has raised his batting 79 points since March 16, from .222 to .301. He is currently on a 13-game hitting streak, batting .383 during the skein. Last season, Gerstenberger batted .378 in Big Ten play en route to second-team all-conference honors.

Gerstenberger Hits 200 Hits
Steve Gerstenberger, a .319 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 on April 23. Gerstenberger, who has played in 192 games for Michigan State, now has 214 career hits, which ranks seventh in school history. He needs two hits to tie Dave Veres (1991-94) for sixth on the all-time list.

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.

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 .535 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 17 home runs in the last 24 games after hitting just eight home runs in the season's first 21 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 .311 with 13 home runs and 102 RBI in 151 career games. Day, who was a preseason All-Big Ten pick by Baseball America, reached the plateau with a two-run single on April 30 against Oakland. Day, a .315 hitter as a freshman in 2006, was a Cape Cod League All-Star last summer with the Harwich Mariners.

Potent Offense From Potes
Senior outfielder Justin Potes has started 41 games this season either in the outfield or at DH after playing primarily at third base last season. The Adrian, Mich., native is batting .272 with four home runs and eight doubles. Potes homered twice in the Northwestern series and he hit a two-run shot against Central Michigan on April 16. 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 4-3 record and 4.24 ERA in 10 starts. He has held opponents to a .258 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-hit shutout against Ohio State on April 16.

Sorensen Among The Big Ten's Best
Mark Sorensen, who has been a Saturday starter in each Big Ten series this season, ranks fifth in the Big Ten by holding opponents to a .240 average. The Northville, Mich., native has yielded just 37 hits over 40.0 innings. He has worked two complete games in Big Ten play, striking out eight both times. He threw a two-hit complete game on April 5 at Northwestern and then worked all seven innings against Iowa last Saturday.

Batting Against Achter
Freshman right-hander A.J. Achter is holding opponents to a .198 batting average this season. He's been even better in league games, holding opponents to a Big Ten-leading .174 average. The Oregon, Ohio, native baffled Penn State last weekend, holding PSU to one hit over 7.1 innings. The 10-2 victory was Achter's first career win. Achter, who has given up just 23 hits over 32.1 innings of work, has yielded just five extra-base hits this season.

Strength Of Schedule Update
Michigan State has played 45 games against 22 different teams that have combined for a .511 winning percentage. That percentage is currently the fifth-highest mark in the Big Ten. Penn State's opponents have the highest winning percentage in the Big Ten at .531, followed by Iowa's and Indiana's opponents (.514). Minnesota's opponents have combined for a .512 winning percentage, followed by MSU, Michigan and Northwestern. The Big Ten average for opponent winning percentage is .507.

Big Ten's Top Recruiting Class
MSU's 34-man roster features 12 newcomers which comprise the Big Ten's top-rated recruiting class, according to Baseball America. Those newcomers have made an impact already. Jonathan Roof has started every game at shortstop this season, while A.J. Shindler (3B) and Tyler Newsome (1B, P) have also seen extended action on the field. Kurt Wunderlich and A.J. Achter have also combined to pitch 49.0 innings.

Monterey Thriving In The Rotation
After saving eight Spartan wins last season, senior right-hander Mike Monterey has been MSU's Friday starter for almost every weekend series this season. The 6-4, 225-pound Monterey is 2-3 with a 5.43 ERA over a team-best 59.2 innings pitched. He has appeared in 66 career games, having made just 10 starts. The Livonia, Mich., native ranks fifth on MSU's all-time list with nine saves.

Sorensen Coming On Strong Following Surgery
After only appearing in four games due to injuries last season, Mark Sorensen has battled back to post solid pitching performances this season. Excluding his first outing of the season (vs. Missouri on Feb. 23) where he didn't record an out, the redshirt junior has a 3.38 ERA with 31 strikeouts against just 13 walks.

On Deck For MSU
Michigan State will travel to Central Michigan on Wednesday, May 13 at 3 p.m. for the season's final non-conference game. The Chippewas defeated the Spartans, 10-7, on April 16 at Oldsmobile Park. The Spartans then finish the regular season with a four-game series at Kobs Field against Indiana May 15-17.