Michigan State University Athletics
Baseball Opens 2005 Season Friday At Centenary
2/23/2005 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Feb. 23, 2005
MSU-Centenary Baseball Notes
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EAST LANSING, Mich. -
Centenary (2-3)Friday, Feb. 25 - 4 p.m.Saturday, Feb. 26 - 1 p.m.Sunday, Feb. 27 - 11 a.m.Shehee Stadium - Shreveport, La.
Series History: Michigan State leads 2-1Mahan vs. Centenary: 2-1Last Meeting: Centenary won 11-10 (Feb. 23, 2002)
This Week: Michigan State (0-0) opens the 2005 season this weekend with a three-game series against Centenary College (2-3) in Shreveport, La. This marks the second time in three seasons that the Spartans have opened the season against Centenary in the Bayou State.
MSU Baseball Makes Complete Turnaround In 2004: After finishing 13 games below .500 in 2003, the Michigan State baseball team had a remarkable turnaround in 2004, posting a 33-26 record. In the 117-year history of the program, MSU has amassed a 1938-1548-28 record (.555). The Spartans finished in a tie with Michigan for third place in the Big Ten with a 19-13 conference mark. Minnesota captured its third consecutive Big Ten regular-season title last season with a 21-10 record in league play. Senior Erik Morris (.321, 10 HR, 44 RBI) and junior Alan Cattrysse (.309, 6 HR, 31 RBI) are the top returning hitters for the Spartans this season.
Scouting The Gents: Centenary continues its eight-game, season-opening homestand against the Spartans this weekend. The Gents dropped two out of three games to Northern Iowa at Shehee Stadium, earning their only victory by a score of 9-5 on Feb. 19. Leading the Gents this season offensively is senior David Kiefer, who comes into the weekend batting .550 with eight runs scored and six RBI.
Centenary opened its 2005 campaign with a split against Loyola (New Orleans) on Feb. 6-7. The Gents won the first game, 9-8, before falling to the Wolfpack by a margin of 17-7 in the second contest. The Spartans are one of two Big Ten teams the Gents will face this season as Indiana comes to Shreveport March 4-5 to compete in the Gent Classic.
Series History: This is only the second series meeting between Michigan State and Centenary. MSU leads the all-time series by a 2-1 margin after winning two out of three games from the Gents in 2002. The Spartans took the first two contests from Centenary, 7-3 and 16-3, before dropping the series finale by a score of 11-10.
Spartans In Season Openers Under Mahan: State has tallied a 4-5 record in season-opening games in the Ted Mahan era, but the Spartans have won their last three season openers in a row. The Spartans handed UNLV a 7-6 setback in their first game of the 2004 season in Las Vegas, Nev.
Spartans Picked Fourth In Big Ten Preseason Rankings: Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball have projected MSU to finish fourth in the Big Ten this upcoming season in both publications' college preview editions. Last season, the Spartans tied Michigan for third place in the league with a 19-13 mark.
Four Spartans Earn All-Big Ten Honors In 2004: Four members of the MSU baseball team earned All-Big Ten honors last season. Seniors third baseman James Moreno, senior pitcher Adam White and junior outfielder Travis Gulick received first-team honors. Senior pitcher Bryan Gale was named to the All-Big Ten second-team. It marked the first time that the Spartans had three players named first-team all-conference since the 1978 season (Rodger Bastien, Kirk Gibson and Tony Spada).
Coach Mahan Aims For 250th Career Win: MSU head coach Ted Mahan enters the 2005 season just 13 victories away from earning his 250th win as the Spartans' skipper. Mahan, who has coached winning teams in four of the last six seasons, collected his 200th victory against Penn State on May 18, 2003. His win total ranks him fourth all-time in school history.
MSU Baseball Names 2005 Captains: Senior Erik Morris and red-shirt junior Tim Day were selected by MSU Baseball as captains for the 2005 season. "I think the 2005 Spartan team chose two outstanding young men to lead their team, in Tim Day and Erik Morris," said Mahan. "Both Tim and Erik are proven quality Big Ten players and outstanding students. We look forward to these two players providing leadership and direction for the team in 2005."
Erik Morris Earns Preseason All-Big Ten Honors From Baseball America: Senior utility player Erik Morris was named to the Baseball America Preseason All-Big Ten team in the publication's annual college preview edition released last month. The 6-3, 220-pound Morris earned league honors at the designated hitter position after batting .321 with 10 home runs and 44 RBI last season. He is the Spartans' leading returning hitter for the upcoming season and was named a team captain in December.
Cattrysse Gets Preseason Recognition: Junior utility player Alan Cattrysse was named the Big Ten's outfielder with the "Best Arm" by Baseball America. The Chatham, Ontario, native batted .306 with 31 RBI in 2004. He recorded 15 assists as a starter in right field last season.
Baseball America Honors Walker: Sean Walker earned another honor as he was recognized by Baseball America after an impressive freshman season in 2004. A native of Round Lake, Ill., Walker was tabbed as the league's "Best Raw Power" hitter after compiling a .288 batting average with 15 doubles and 29 RBI as a freshman.
It's A Brand New Day: Red-shirt junior pitcher Tim Day returns to the mound for MSU after sitting out the 2004 season due to injury. Day, a native of West Chester, Ohio, is now three wins shy of cracking the school's Top 10 all-time career wins list. Day amassed 14 wins over his first two seasons as a Spartan, including an 11-3 mark in 2002 that earned him Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American honors. He was named a player to watch in the Big Ten this season by Collegiate Baseball newspaper.
Design Of A Decade: Ted Mahan enters his 10th season as the Spartans head coach and his 14th season with Michigan State after serving four years (1992-1995) as an assistant coach. The Davison, Mich., native continues to coach winning teams at MSU as three of his last four Spartan teams have produced winning records.
Last season, Mahan coached four players to All-Big Ten honors (Bryan Gale, Adam White, James Moreno and Travis Gulick) and had one player receive second-team All-Mideast Region honors (White). His 2004 squad posted 33 victories, finished in a tie for third place in the Big Ten, and won a game at the Big Ten Tournament.
During Mahan's tenure, over 55 Michigan State players have signed professional baseball contracts, with eight advancing to the Major Leagues. He has coached four Louisville Slugger Freshman All-Americans (Sean Walker- 2004, Tim Day- 2002, Bryan Gale- 2001 and Bob Malek- 2000) over the past five seasons at MSU.
On Deck: The Spartans travel to Jacksonville, Fla., to open its spring break schedule. MSU battles Western Michigan Friday, March 4 in the first of five games at the Kennel Club Classic, hosted by the University of North Florida.
