Michigan State University Athletics
MSU Baseball Faces Northwestern, Series To Begin On Saturday
5/11/2006 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 11, 2006
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State baseball (23-24, 10-14 Big Ten) will travel to Northwestern May 13-15 to face the Wildcats in a four-game series. Originally scheduled as a Friday-Sunday series, the games have all been bumped back one day due to rain. The series will begin with a single game on Saturday (1 pm), a doubleheader on Sunday (12 pm) and will conclude with a single game on Monday (3 pm).
The Wildcats (19-28, 16-8 Big Ten) enter the second-to-last weekend of the regular season in a first-place tie with Michigan. Currently ranked eighth, MSU is looking to make a move in the Big Ten standings this weekend and keep its post-season hopes alive.
Purdue, Minnesota and Penn State (11-14) are all just one game ahead of the Spartans. The top six teams in the final standings advance to the Big Ten Tournament.
"I expect our guys to compete with every team in the Big Ten," MSU head coach David Grewe stated. "We know going into this weekend that we need to get wins. I have no doubt that we can do it, if we play and pitch like we know we can."
News and Notes
Entering the Weekend: Michigan State owns the second-best batting average in the league, hitting .325 as a team. Pitching will be crucial for the Spartans, as their staff ERA stands at 6.12. As a team, Northwestern owns a batting average of .275 and an ERA of 6.37.
Last Time Out: State picked up a 10-6 win over Western Michigan in Kalamazoo on Tuesday, May 9. Sean Walker went 3-for-4 with a home run and two RBI. Northwestern fell in its Tuesday meeting with Illinois-Chicago, 23-5.
Series History: Michigan State is 72-39-1 all-time vs. Northwestern since the two schools' first meeting in 1931.
MSU last swept a four-game series against NU in 1992 (April 18-19). The Wildcats have never swept a four-game series when playing the Spartans.
Northwestern took three of four games in Evanston, Ill., in 2005.
Probable Starters: Saturday: MSU-RHP Craig Brookes (1-3, 5.25 ERA, 58.1 IP) vs. NU-RHP Ryan Myers (2-4, 9.46 ERA, 45.2 IP)
Sunday 1: MSU-RHP Jeff Gerbe (4-5, 4.86 ERA, 66.2 IP) vs. NU-LHP Dan Brauer (5-1, 3.69 ERA, 70.2 IP)
Sunday 2: MSU-LHP John Dwan (1-5, 6.41 ERA, 53.1 IP) vs. NU-RHP George Kontos (2-8, 5.28 ERA, 73.1 IP)
Monday: MSU-RHP Mark Sorensen (3-2, 5.30 ERA, 52.2 IP) vs. NU-RHP Julio Siberio (3-2, 3.38 ERA, 50.2 IP)
