Baseball Faces Michigan In Four Game Series This Weekend
5/1/2000 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May. 1, 2000
THE WEEK: Friday - at Michigan, Ann Arbor, Mich., 3:00 p.m., Saturday- Michigan, Oldsmobile Park, Lansing, Mich., 1:00 p.m. (DH), Sunday- at Michigan, Ann Arbor, Mich., 1:00 p.m.
TOP STORY: Michigan State has the week off before facing intrastate and conference rival Michigan in a four-game series this weekend. MSU and UM will start the series off in Ann Arbor at Michigan's Ray Fisher Stadium on Friday at 3:00 p.m. The series will then turn to Oldsmobile Park on Saturday, as the Spartans host the Wolverines in a doubleheader beginning at 1:00 p.m. The four-game set will wrap-up Sunday back at Ray Fisher Stadium in Ann Arbor.
SERIES SUMMARY: Michigan leads the all-time series against Michigan State, 164-85-1. Last season, the Wolverines swept four games from MSU, including two one-run victories. Coach Ted Mahan's all-time record against UM is 4-13.
WEEK IN REVIEW: The Spartans struggled with a 1-5 record for the week of April 24-30, but ended with a 9-7 upset victory over 30th-ranked Minnesota on Sunday. Mike Pisani went 4-for-5 with an RBI in that game, helping the Spartans end their eight-game losing streak. MSU was swept by Central Michigan on Wednesday, April 26, and lost three of four to the Gophers over the weekend. All games were played at Oldsmobile Park.
OLDSMOBILE PARK: Michigan State is in its fifth season of playing baseball in state of the art Oldsmobile Park. The Spartans had the honor of playing Oldsmobile Park's inaugural game April 3, 1996, before a then-sellout crowd of 7,000, when they went up against intrastate-rival Michigan. MSU has since hosted 27 regular season games at Olds Park, posting their first series win at the ballpark in the final series of the 1997 season by taking three out of four games from the Iowa Hawkeyes on May 9-11. The Spartans were 2-3 at Oldsmobile Park last season, defeating Central Michigan and Ohio State.
BIG TEN LEADERS: Senior Mike Pisani and freshman Bob Malek's impressive offensive numbers are evident in the latest Big Ten weekly statistic report. In overall games, Pisani is third in the league in doubles (17), fifth in runs (44), fifth in hits (62) and sixth in hitting (.363), while Malek is sixth in home runs (seven), ninth in hitting (.348) and 13th in hits (56). In Big Ten play, Pisani is seventh in hitting (.394) and 10th in doubles (six), while Malek is sixth in RBI (19), ninth in hits (26) and 11th in hitting (.377).
SINGLE SEASON RECORDS: Two Spartans are having record years in a single season. Mike Pisani, who has 17 doubles, is fourth on the single-season charts thus far, while Bob Malek's 46 RBI are good for 11th best in a single season to date.
PISANI'S PLAYGROUND: Senior Mike Pisani, who has 62 hits thus far this season, needs only 14 more hits to become MSU's all-time hit leader. Steve Money currently holds the record with 238 hits. However, Pisani has already put his name in the Spartan record books this season. The co-captain broke the career doubles record in game two of a doubleheader against Penn State on April 9, his 13th double of the season and 48th of his career. Pisani, currently with 16 doubles, only needs five more to eclipse the single-season record of 19.
NOT BAD FOR A ROOKIE: Freshman Bob Malek is making quite a name for himself in his debut season for the green and white. Malek is currently leading the team in RBI with 46. He is also second on the team in hitting (.348), hits (56) and home runs (seven). The rookie has hit safely in 35 of MSU's 46 games, and posted a 13 game hitting streak earlier in the season. On Friday, April 14, Malek hit his first career grand slam in the bottom of the ninth inning against Illinois. Malek then followed with another grand slam, his second grand slam and third homer in a week, against Detroit-Mercy on April 19. Against the Titans, Malek went 3-for-3 with eight RBI.
BIG WHIFFER: Closer/Starter Josh Axelson has seen double duty this year as both a starting pitcher and reliever. Axelson has struck out a team-high 51 batters in 48 innings of work, good for seventh in the Big Ten. In the victory against Miami, Axelson preserved the win by striking out four Hurricanes in the last 1 2/3 innings of the game. On March 24 against Purdue, Axelson struck-out a season and team-high eight batters.
