Spartans Head West To Begin 2002 Season
2/20/2002 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Feb. 20, 2002
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TOP STORY: The Michigan State baseball team opens the 2002 season in Las Vegas with three games vs. UC-Santa Barbara, UNLV and Creighton. Last season, the Spartans went 29-27, narrowly missing out on Big Ten Tournament play. Among the Spartans' top returners are All-American Bob Malek (Jr., OF) and Bryan Gale (So., RHP), who earned Freshman All-America honors.
AROUND THE HORN FOR 2002 PITCHING: Experience will play a role in the Spartans' pitching staff in the 2002 season as six seniors will look to make their mark. However, it is sophomore Bryan Gale who will lead the MSU staff. Gale earned Freshman All-America honors as well as All Big Ten accolades after recording a 9-1 record in 2001. He had the team's second lowest ERA (3.53) and finished the year tied for the team lead in strikeouts with 59.
"We have a very experieced pitching staff even though it is led by a sophomore, Bryan Gale," said Coach Mahan. "Bryan is, no question, our top pitcher. He had a great summer, going 8-1."
INFIELD: The Spartans boast a talented and experienced group in the infield heading into 2002. Anchoring the corners of the diamond are sophomores Scott Koerber and James Moreno. The two combined for 71 starts last season while putting up impressive offensive numbers. Moreno, who plays third, hit .309 with four homers while first baseman Koerber hit .284 with eight doubles. The Spartans also return middle infielders Jared Koutnik, Kevin Crews and Charlie Braun, all starters in 2001.
OUTFIELD: The Spartan outfield is led by the All-American, Bob Malek, who will make the switch from starting in centerfield to rightfield. Alongside Malek will be last year's starting leftfielder, Chris McCuiston, who will switch to centerfield this season. McCuiston put up the best offensive numbers of his career last season, hitting .277 and delivering 38 RBI.
CATCHING: Junior Brady Burrill will get most of the time behind the plate this season after starting 41 games a season ago. Burrill, who had just one passed-ball last year, hit .331 and drove in a team-best 44 runs.
VIVA LAS VEGAS: For the second time in the past three seasons, the Spartans will open their season in Las Vegas at the UNLV Desert Classic. In 2000, State went 1-4 in the tournament, topping West Virginia, 6-5.
FALL BALL: Leading the way offensively during the fall was junior Bob Malek, who hit .464 with 12 RBI, Charlie Braun who hit .400 and Kevin Crews who hit .393. Nick Bates and Bryan Gale pitched a combined 22 innings and had ERAs of 0.00 and 1.92, respectively.
