Michigan State University Athletics
Baseball Travels To Florida For Kennel Club Classic
3/2/2005 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 2, 2005
UNF Kennel Club Classic Notes
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EAST LANSING, Mich. -
2005 UNF Kennel Club ClassicHarmon Stadium - Jacksonville, Fla.Friday, March 4 - 3 p.m.Western Michigan (1-2)Saturday, March 5 - NoonNorth Florida (8-6)Radio Broadcast on WIOJ-AM 1010Sunday, March 6 - NoonBrown (0-0)Tuesday, March 8 - NoonCampbell (5-2)Thursday, March 10 - NoonToledo (1-2)
This Week: Michigan State continues its road swing with an eight-game spring break schedule that begins with five games at the 2005 Kennel Club Classic in Jacksonville, Fla. State opens the classic this weekend with games against in-state rival Western Michigan (March 4), host North Florida (March 5) and Brown (March 6). The Spartans will take on Campbell (March 8) and Toledo (March 10) next week.
Scouting The Spartans: State is 2-1 on the young season, coming off its three-game, season-opening series at Centenary last weekend. The Spartans captured the first two games (9-3, 6-0) of the series before dropping the final game by a 3-2 margin to the Gents.
Leading the way for MSU offensively is sophomore outfielder Ryan Basham, who batted .364 with a stolen base against Centenary. On the mound, red-shirt junior Tim Day returned to form with a strong outing against the Gents in the first game, posting two strikeouts and a walk in six shutout innings for the Spartans.
Scouting The Broncos: Western Michigan (1-2) enters its meeting Friday with the Spartans after dropping two out of three games last weekend at Bethune-Cookman in Daytona Beach, Fla. The Broncos will take on host North Florida for two games on March 2-3 before facing MSU. The Broncos currently lead the all-time series, 81-65, after both teams won a game to earn a split in last season's series.
Junior Rich Rennhack leads Western Michigan with a .615 batting average with four runs scored and two RBI on the season, while sophomore Dan O'Brien is the team's leader on the mound, posting a 1.29 ERA with five strikeouts in 7.0 innings pitched.
Scouting The Ospreys: North Florida begins the three-week, 28-game Kennel Club Classic Tuesday with games against Western Michigan and Brown. In its final season as a NCAA Division II institution, UNF (8-6) will make the jump to Division I competition beginning in 2005-06. The Opsreys, currently ranked 17th in this week's Collegiate Baseball NCAA Division II poll, enter the weekend with a record of 8-6 after splitting two games at the UAH Classic last weekend in Huntsville, Ala. UNF has captured the previous two meetings with the Spartans, including an 18-1 victory last season in Jacksonville.
UNF is led offensively by senior infielder Jon Skorupski, who is currently hitting .360 with four doubles, two home runs and 10 RBI. Sophomore RHP Colin Fender has posted a 3-0 record with a 0.00 ERA to lead the Ospreys on the mound.
Scouting The Bears: Brown (0-0) opens the 2005 season with a contest against North Florida at the Kennel Club Classic this week before battling the Spartans this Sunday. It marks the first time that Michigan State has played Brown on the baseball diamond, while the Spartans have posted a 13-2 mark against Ivy League schools.
Senior third baseman Chris Contrino is the leading returning hitter for Brown after batting .369 with 10 doubles and 34 RBI last season. Junior Shaun McNamara led the Bears' pitching staff in 2004 with a 5-2 record and a team-best 66 strikeouts.
Scouting The Camels: Campbell (5-2) hosts Barton and UNC Pembroke in two midweek contests before taking on High Point in a home-and-home series this weekend. The Spartans will serve as the Camels' first opponent at the Kennel Club Classic on March 8. The Camels had their four-game winning streak snapped after dropping a 10-6 decision to Virginia Tech on Feb. 25. CU posted its first series sweep of the season at home over Ohio (18-17, 6-4, and 3-1) on Feb. 18-19.
Campbell is led by junior first baseman Mike Priest, who is hitting .452 with five homers and 11 RBI on the season. Freshman RHP Lemmie Barwick paces the CU pitching staff with a 2-0 record, a 2.16 ERA and 10 strikeouts.
Scouting The Rockets: Before heading to the Kennel Club Classic, Toledo heads to Lexington, Ky., for a three-game set against Kentucky this weekend. The Rockets currently sport a record of 1-2 after losing two out of three games last weekend at Louisville to open the season. UT captured the final game of its series with the Cardinals on Feb. 27, winning by a score of 5-2. MSU holds a 7-1 lead in the all-time series with Toledo, while the two teams will meet again in Ohio on March 29.
The Rockets are led by freshman outfielder Drew Hosington's .333 batting average with two doubles and an RBI. Senior RHP Nick Szczur leads UT with a 1-0 record and a team-high six strikeouts.
Rocket With A Spartan Connection: Entering Toledo's contest with the Spartans March 10 in Jacksonville, Rockets head coach Cory Mee also a lineage with MSU baseball. Mee served as an assistant coach under Ted Mahan for four seasons from 2000-2003.
Recapping 2004 Kennel Club Classic: MSU posted a 3-2 record in its most recent appearance in the Kennel Club Classic last season. The Spartans opened with a come-from-behind 8-7 win over Western Michigan, but fell the following game to host North Florida, 18-1. After posting its biggest win of the classic with a 14-4 dismantaling of Butler, MSU ended its run by splitting the final two games with Mercer, losing 8-4 in the first game and winning 12-10 in the nightcap.
Michigan State 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.
Day of Dominance: In his first start since the 2003 season, red-shirt junior RHP Tim Day made an impressive return to the mound for MSU after sitting out the 2004 season due to injury.
The West Chester, Ohio, native threw six shutout innings with two strikeouts to help the Spartans defeat Centenary, 9-3, in their season-opener on Feb. 25.
The shutout outing was Day's first since holding Central Michigan scoreless over 1.1 innings of relief on April 23, 2003. He was named a player to watch in the Big Ten this season by Collegiate Baseball newspaper.
 Sophomore Adam Tripp posted a career-best three hits with two RBI and two stolen bases Feb. 25 at Centenary.  | |
Tripp Has Career Day At Centenary: Sophomore outfielder Adam Tripp posted career-best numbers in the Spartans' season opener at Centenary on Feb. 25. Tripp went 3-for-5 at the plate with two RBI and two stolen bases against the Gents.
Stealin' Spartans: The Spartans left Shreveport as unruly guests last weekend after going 9-for-9 in stolen base attempts at Centenary. Leading the theft brigade were sophomores Adam Tripp and Troy Krider, who tallied two stolen bases apiece, while five other MSU players recorded a stolen base.
Saving Grace: Junior RHP Jeff Gerbe recorded his first collegiate save with a strong outing out of the bullpen at Centenary on Feb. 25. Gerbe threw 1.2 innings with a strikeout to help preserve the Spartans' 9-3 season-opening victory over the Gents.
Day, Morris Named 2005 Captains: Senior Erik Morris and redshirt 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."
Coach Mahan Aims For 250th Career Win: MSU head coach Ted Mahan enters the 2005 season just 11 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.
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.
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: Michigan State continues its spring break trip with a three-game series at No. 8/10 Florida March 11-13 at UF's McKethan Stadium in Gainesville, Fla.
