Spartans Head to Ohio State for Weekend Series

April 9, 2009

Michigan State (11-18, 3-3) vs. Ohio State (23-7, 3-3)
Bill Davis Stadium • Columbus, Ohio

Friday, April 10, 6:35 p.m. • Radio: WTDA FM
Sr. RHP Nolan Moody (4-3, 2.94) vs. So. RHP Alex Wimmers (5-1, 3.75)

Saturday, April 11, 1:05 p.m. • Radio: WTDA FM
So. RHP A.J. Achter (1-2, 3.35) vs. Jr. RHP Dean Wolosiansky (6-1, 5.80)

Sunday, April 12, 1:05 p.m. • Radio: WTDA FM
TBS vs. TBA

Pitching matchups probable and subject to change

Spartan Baseball Notes

Leading Off...
Spartans Head to Columbus
After sweeping Northwestern at McLane Baseball Stadium last weekend to pull their Big Ten record even at 3-3, the Spartans head to Columbus, Ohio, for a three-game set with Ohio State. The Buckeyes took two of three meetings between the teams last year, but the Spartans have won three out of four games in each of their last two trips to Columbus in 2007 and 2005.

The Spartans enter the weekend with a 4-1 record in their last five games.

The Series
All-Time: OSU leads, 126-82-1
Last Series: April 11-13, 2008 - OSU won two of three games in East Lansing
Last MSU Series Win: 2007, MSU won three of four games in Columbus
Current Streak: MSU won one
Fact: All three games between the teams in 2008 were decided by one run

Moody Christens McLane Baseball Stadium With No-Hitter
In the Spartans' opening game at McLane Baseball Stadium on Saturday in game one of a doubleheader with Northwestern, senior Nolan Moody threw the first MSU no-hitter in over 16 years. Moody pitched brilliantly and carried a perfect game into the eighth inning before issuing a two-out walk. The East Lansing native received spectacular defense all day and got a double play to end the game in the ninth, giving MSU a 2-0 win. Moody's five strikeouts in the game tied a career high.

Moody's no-hitter was the first by a Spartan since Dan Garman no-hit Purdue in a 1-0 win on March 28, 1993. The no-hitter is also the first in a Big Ten Conference game since 2006 when Northwestern no-hit MSU.

For his effort, Moody earned Big Ten Pitcher of the Week, National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Pro-Line Athletic National Pitcher of the Week accolades, and was named to the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper Louisville Slugger's National Players of the Week list and also named to the College Baseball Foundation's National All-Star Lineup.

Moody enters Friday's game with a 2.94 ERA which is 10th-best in the Big Ten.

Runners Beware
The Spartans have made it tough on opponents on the bases this year as the the MSU pitching staff has picked off a conference-leading 11 runners. Junior pitcher Kyle Corcoran is the Big Ten leader with four runners picked off.

Overall defensively, MSU has thrown out a conference-leading 19 runners caught stealing.

Achter Gets First Win
A.J. Achter has been one of the Spartans best arms this season and was finally rewarded when he picked up his first win of the year last weekend in a 9-4 victory over Northwestern. In Achter's seventh start of the year, he got the most run support he's received all season - nine runs. Not only did Achter get run support from his offense, but he also fanned a team season-high eight batters.

Achter entered Saturday's second game with Northwestern with a 0-2 record despite having the lowest ERA of any starter on the MSU staff coming into the weekend. To date, just 16 of his 27 runs surrendered this year have been earned. Achter has been the recipient of some bad luck this season as he gave up a season-high seven runs in his March 7 start vs. Xavier, but just one of the runs was earned as MSU committed a season-high five errors in the game. Adversly, when the Spartans played error-free defense behind Achter on Feb. 27 vs. UNC Wilmington, Achter went 7.1 innings, giving up two hits and three runs, two of which were earned.

Pitchers Leading the Conference
After giving up 10 runs in the Spartans' first confrence game at Illinois, the MSU pitching staff has combined to surrender just 15 runs in their last five Big Ten games. The Spartan staff's 3.31 ERA and .222 opponent batting average in conference play are both tops in the Big Ten.

Miller Takes On New Role
Senior Max Miller, who has been a member of the Spartan pitching staff his entire career, has recently transitioned to the infield to due a rash of injuries that have left the Spartans with a lack of depth around the bases. Miller went 1-for-1, scored twice and got his first collegiate hit in MSU's 20-3 victory over CMU on April 1. He got his first start as MSU's designated hitter vs. Western Michigan on April 9 in a 5-4 loss.

Miller, who is still available to pitch, has made a career-high six appearances and struck out three on the mound this year.

Good To Be Home
With an 8-0 record at home this season, the Spartans are off to their best winning streak at home to start a season since 2004 when they won 12 home games to start the year.

Spartans and Lugnuts: Round 3 Just Around The Corner
The Spartans and Toronto Blue Jays Class-A affiliate Lansing Lugnuts will meet in the third annual Crosstown Showdown this year on Thursday, April 16 at 7:05 p.m. The popular exhibition game drew an Oldsmobile Park record crowd of 12,862 last season. The Lugnuts have won both of the previous contests by slim margins as they defeated MSU, 4-2, last season and 4-3 in the inaugural meeting in 2006.

McLane Baseball Stadium
The Michigan State baseball program added one of the biggest highlights to its illustrious 125-year history last weekend with the opening of McLane Baseball Stadium. The 2,500-seat stadium enhances one of the most pristine settings in college athletics and was made possible with the generous gift of Drayton and Elizabeth McLane who committed $4 million toward the project. Drayton McLane earned his masters in food marketing management in 1959 from MSU and is currently Chairman and CEO of the Houston Astros.

The stadium will be formally dedicated in a pre-game ceremony on May 2.

McLane Baseball Stadium is part of the "New Life for Old College Field" project which began in 2006 with one of the chief purposes of the project to enhance historic Kobs Field. The first step in the project was the replacement of the field in 2006 and the addition of a new indoor hitting and pitching facility in the fall of 2007. The ballpark's brick accents will architecturally match historic Jenison Field House and MSU's newly constructed hitting and pitching facility.

The MSU Board of Trustees approved the naming of the stadium in September 2008 and construction began in early December.