Spartan Baseball Closes Regular Season Against Indiana

May 14, 2008

2008 Michigan State Baseball

vs. Indiana - May 15-17, 2008 - Kobs Field
Thursday, May 15 - Indiana at Michigan State - 3:05 p.m.
Friday, May 15 - Indiana at Michigan State - 1:05 p.m.
Saturday, May 15 - Indiana at Michigan State - 1:05 p.m.

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Spartans Host Indiana In Final Big Ten Series Of The Season
After winning seven of its last 10 games, the Michigan State baseball team (24-25, 12-14 Big Ten) hosts a four-game series against Indiana at Kobs Field in the final weekend of the regular seson. Game one is set for Thursday at 3:05 p.m. Friday's doubleheader and the series finale on Saturday will each begin at 1:05 p.m. The Spartans will honor their 12 seniors in a Senior Day ceremony on Saturday.

Big Ten Standings Update
Michigan State has won three Big Ten series in a row, climbing to seventh in the Big Ten standings. The Spartans, who are 8-3 over the last three Big Ten weekends, are just a half-game behind Northwestern for sixth place and a full game behind Ohio State for the fifth spot. Indiana is eighth in the standings, two games behind MSU. The top six teams make the Big Ten Tournament, which will be hosted by Michigan May 21-24. The Wolverines have clinched the regular season championship.

Roberts On A Tear
The hottest hitter in the Spartan lineup is sophomore Chris Roberts. The outfielder from Oshkosh, Wis., leads the Spartans in batting average (.364) hits (60) and triples (6) while ranking second on the team in on-base percentage (.433) while ranking second in slugging (.503). Roberts, a 27th round pick by Cleveland in the 2006 draft, is batting .438 in Big Ten games, good for second in the conference behind Purdue's Brandon Haveman (.484). He owns a .505 on-base percentage in league play, which ranks sixth in the Big Ten. Roberts, who was a Freshman All-American pick by Ping! Baseball, hit .456 and reached base at a .539 clip during the month of April.

A Good Day Everyday
Junior catcher Kyle Day is MSU's top power hitter. The Fort Wayne, Ind., native, who led Michigan State in hitting most of the year, is third on the Spartans with a .314 batting average while also leading MSU in home runs (7), RBI (43), slugging (.506) and walks (37). Day, who was a 19th round draft pick of the Chicago Cubs in the 2007 MLB draft, was at his best six weeks ago against Northwestern, going 5-for-11 with three homers and nine RBI. In the first game of the series, he hit a grand slam en route to a seven-RBI performance, only to hit two home runs in the second game of the series the next day. Day, who has two grand slams this season, hit a three-run homer on April 26 against Iowa.

Scouting Indiana (24-28, 11-17 Big Ten)
The Hoosiers, currently eighth in the Big Ten Standings, are surging at the end of the season. Indiana split with Michigan and won three of four games against Purdue recently after being swept by Penn State in mid-April. Indiana is the Big Ten's second-best hitting team in conference play with a .347 average. Josh Phegley is the Big Ten's leading hitter, batting .425 with 12 homers and 66 RBI this season. Six of IU's starters are hitting at least .332.

As good as the offense has been, the Hoosier pitching staff has struggled. IU stands ninth in the league in team ERA in Big Ten games. Indiana does have a strong ace in Matt Bashore (6-3, 2.72), but the team has a 6.35 team ERA this season.

A Look At The Indiana Series
Michigan State leads the all-time series with Indiana, 89-66, in a series that dates back to 1918. After dropping a 2-1 series opener against Indiana last year, MSU outscored Indiana 24-9 in the final three games. The Spartans are 15-9 against the Hoosiers this decade. David Grewe is 6-2 against Indiana, having led the Spartans to series wins in each of the last two years.

Working Well With Leather
MSU currently leads the Big Ten with a .966 fielding percentage. The Spartans are also the league's best defensive team in conference play, leading the Big Ten with a .975 fielding percentage. The Spartans have also committed the fewest amount of errors in all games (59) and in conference play (22).

Three Straight Big Ten Series Wins
Michigan State took three of four games against Iowa and Penn State in recent weeks, giving the Spartans their first Big Ten series wins of the season. MSU also took two of three (Sunday was rained out) at Purdue last weekend, giving Michigan State three straight series wins. Prior to league play, MSU won two of three at the Stetson Invitational, Rice Invitational and in South Carolina versus Quinnipiac.

The Roof Is On Fire
Eric Roof has been one of the Spartans' key contributors to MSU's offensive production. The junior from Paducah, Ky., was batting just .222 at the end of March, but he is now second on the team in batting average (.315) and RBI (33). He had four RBI twice in a game last week and smacked an RBI double Wednesday at Central Michigan. Eric Roof, who can play catcher, first base or third base, is also batting .309 in Big Ten games.

From One Roof To Another
Eric Roof's younger brother, Jonathan, has started all 49 games this season at shortstop. A true freshman, Jonathan is batting .293 and ranks third on the team with 32 runs scored. He has hit safely in 15 of the last 17 games, collecting six multi-hit games during that span. Jonathan Roof was selected in the 39th round by Boston in the 2007 draft.

Gerstenberger Rounding Into His Usual Form
Senior infielder Steve Gerstenberger has shaken off a slow start and has returned to form as MSU has gotten into Big Ten play. Gerstenberger is batting .312 with six doubles and three home runs in league games. The Fort Gratiot, Mich., native, who led MSU with a .368 batting average last season. Last weekend, he had his 14-game hitting streak snapped, but has hit safely in 16 of the last 17 games, batting .344 during the skein. Last season, Gerstenberger batted .378 in Big Ten play en route to second-team all-conference honors.

Gerstenberger Hits 200 Hits
Steve Gerstenberger, a .317 career hitter who led the Spartans with 77 hits a year ago, picked up his 200th career hit in the third inning of MSU's win over Toledo on April 23. Gerstenberger, who has played in 196 games for Michigan State, now has 218 career hits, which ranks sixth in school history. He needs five hits to tie James Moreno (2001-04) for fifth on the all-time list.

Chris Cullen Honored After Throwing Two-Hit Shutout
Senior right-hander Chris Cullen was named Big Ten Co-Pitcher of the Week after throwing a two-hit shutout against Ohio State on Sunday, April 13. He was also named Heartland Pitcher of the Week by CollegeBaseballHub.com. The Tecumseh, Ontario, native struck out five and walked two over 8.0 innings in MSU's 1-0 win over the Buckeyes. The performance stands as the lone Spartan shutout this season.

More On the Showdown
Steve Gerstenberger had an RBI double and freshman catcher Andy Johnson had an RBI single to lead MSU in the Crosstown Showdown. The Spartans used 26 players in the contest, including eight pitchers. Moises Sierra homered for the Lugnuts.

Spike In Offensive Production
Michigan State is averaging 7.42 runs and 10.83 hits per game over the past 12 games. In MSU's doubleheader sweep of Iowa on April 26, the Spartans scored 22 runs and pounded out 25 hits. Only once in the past two seasons has Michigan State scored that many runs in a doubleheader. MSU tallied 23 runs in a twinbill at Illinois last year. Additionally, the Spartans have scored 10 or more runs nine times in the last 15 games. MSU only tallied double-digit runs four times in the season's first 34 games.

MSU Beating The Best
Considering the difficulty of Michigan State's non-conference schedule, the Spartans have had opportunities to defeat some of the nation's top programs. MSU opened the season with a 6-4, 10-inning win over Stetson on Feb. 22. At the Rice Invitational March 6-8, Michigan State posted a 5-3 win over 2007 NCAA Tournament participant Western Carolina on March 6 and a 9-3 win over then-No. 4 Rice the next day. Michigan State also has one win each over Connecticut, Illinois and Ohio State, three teams that have a combined winning percentage of .536 this season.

Milestone Win For The Program
Rice is the highest-ranked team Michigan State has beaten this decade, and it is believed the Owls may be the highest-ranked opponent MSU has beaten in the program's history. The Owls were ranked No. 4 by Rivals.com and No. 6 by the NCBWA at the time of the game. The victory is the highest-profile win Michigan State has had under David Grewe. The Spartans did post a 13-11 win over Miami (Fla.) on March 8, 2000, one year after the Hurricanes won the College World Series.

Power Surge
The Spartans have hit for more power this season. After hitting just 21 home runs in 51 games last season, MSU has clubbed 25 home runs in this season's first 49 games. MSU started the surge with a pair of homers against Eastern Michigan on April 2, and then hit three each in the first two games against Northwestern. MSU hit three home runs against both Penn State and Iowa. Nine different Spartans have gone deep this season, compared to just eight last year.

Day Reaches 100 Career RBI
Kyle Day is hitting .309 with 13 home runs and 102 RBI in 155 career games. Day, who was a preseason All-Big Ten pick by Baseball America, reached the plateau with a two-run single on April 30 against Oakland. Day, a .315 hitter as a freshman in 2006, was a Cape Cod League All-Star last summer with the Harwich Mariners.

Potent Offense From Potes
Senior outfielder Justin Potes has started 45 games this season either in the outfield or at DH after playing primarily at third base last season. The Adrian, Mich., native is batting .272 with four home runs, eight doubles and 21 RBI. Potes homered twice in the Northwestern series and he hit a two-run shot against Central Michigan on April 16. His solo homer against Rice on March 7 gave MSU a 3-1 lead and boosted MSU past the Owls. Potes was batting .302 after 14 games this season.

A Closer Look At Cullen
Senior right-hander Chris Cullen has been a reliable starting pitcher all season, leading the Spartans with a 5-3 record and 4.40 ERA (ninth-best in Big Ten) in 11 starts. He has held opponents to a .268 opponent batting average, which is the eighth-best mark in the Big Ten. The Tecumseh, Ontario, native's two best outings came against Rice and Ohio State. He held the nationally-ranked Owls to two earned runs on five hits over seven innings for the victory, and tossed a two-hit shutout against Ohio State on April 16.

Sorensen Among The Big Ten's Best
Mark Sorensen, who has been a Saturday starter in each Big Ten series this season, ranks sixth in the Big Ten by holding opponents to a .246 average. The Northville, Mich., native is 3-6 this season, but has yielded just 44 hits over 48.0 innings. He has worked two complete games in Big Ten play, striking out eight both times. He threw a two-hit complete game on April 5 at Northwestern and then worked all seven innings against Iowa on April 26.

Batting Against Achter
Freshman right-hander A.J. Achter is holding opponents to a .200 batting average this season, which would be the Big Ten's best had he thrown enough innings to qualify. He's been even better in league games, holding opponents to a Big Ten-leading .174 average. The Oregon, Ohio, native baffled Penn State on May 4, holding PSU to one hit over 7.1 innings. The 10-2 victory was Achter's first career win. Achter, who has given up only 24 hits over 33.1 innings of work, has yielded just six extra-base hits this season.

Strength Of Schedule Update
Michigan State has played 45 games against 22 different teams that have combined for a .511 winning percentage. That percentage is currently the fifth-highest mark in the Big Ten. Penn State's opponents have the highest winning percentage in the Big Ten at .531, followed by Iowa's and Indiana's opponents (.514). Minnesota's opponents have combined for a .512 winning percentage, followed by MSU, Michigan and Northwestern. The Big Ten average for opponent winning percentage is .507.

Big Ten's Top Recruiting Class
MSU's 34-man roster features 12 newcomers which comprise the Big Ten's top-rated recruiting class, according to Baseball America. Those newcomers have made an impact already. Jonathan Roof has started every game at shortstop this season, while A.J. Shindler (3B) and Tyler Newsome (1B, P) have also seen extended action on the field. Kurt Wunderlich and A.J. Achter have also combined to pitch 49.1 innings.

Monterey Thriving In The Rotation
After saving eight Spartan wins last season, senior right-hander Mike Monterey has been MSU's Friday starter for almost every weekend series this season. The 6-4, 225-pound Monterey is 3-3 with a 4.72 ERA over a team-best 68.2 innings pitched. His innings pitched total is good for sixth in the conference. He has appeared in 68 career games, having made just 12 starts. The Livonia, Mich., native ranks fifth on MSU's all-time list with nine saves.

On Deck For MSU
The top six teams of the Big Ten regular season will travel to Ann Arbor, Mich., for the 2008 Big Ten Baseball Tournament May 21-24.