Baseball Hosts Purdue In Final Home Series

May 8, 2009

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Jake | A.J.

Purdue (20-22, 7-10) vs. Michigan State (21-24, 11-7)
McLane Baseball Stadium • East Lansing, Mich.

Saturday, May 9, 1:05 p.m.
Jr. RHP Matt Bischoff (3-4, 5.35) vs. Sr. RHP Nolan Moody (6-4, 3.82)
Sunday, May 10, 1:05 p.m.
Jr. LHP Matt Jensen (3-5, 6.71) vs. So. RHP A.J. Achter (3-3, 3.09)
Monday, May 11, 1:05 p.m.
So. RHP Matt Morgan (4-4, 4.30) vs. Fr. RHP Tony Bucciferro (4-1, 3.09)

GameTracker available for all games at MSUSpartans.com
Pitching matchups probable and subject to change

Spartans Look To Extend Streak Against Boilermakers
Michigan State enters its weekend series with a six-game Big Ten winning streak after back-to-back sweeps over Iowa and Penn State, respectively. Purdue comes into the weekend having taken two of three from rival Indiana. At 7-10 in conference play, the Boilermakers currently sit in sixth position in the Big Ten race while MSU, at 11-7 in the league, has a firm grip on the fifth-place spot, 3.5 games ahead of Purdue.

Spartans Get Hot
With six consecutive Big Ten wins the Spartans have shot up from the lower tier of the league into the thick of contention for a spot in the conference tournament. MSU's six straight Ws marked just the the third time MSU has won at least six conference consecutive conference games since 2000. The Spartans' streak of six straight is its longest winning streak in the conference since 2007 when it won seven consecutive. Over its six-game Big Ten winning streak, MSU has outscored its opponents by a total of 71-26.

...More About the Streak
The Spartans are 19-11 since their spring trip and 10-3 over their last 13 games, going 4-0 on the road and 6-2 at home over that stretch. Prior to the last 13 games MSU had won just one road game and and stood at 1-6 in league play.

The Spartans' run has been largely keyed by six players that have hit at least .300 during the last 13 games, including: Jeff Holm (.420), A.J. Shindler (.385), Eric Roof (.383), Bo Felt (.347), Brandon Eckerle (.341) and Chris Roberts (.327). Holm, Roof, Roberts and Eli Boike have all driven in 13 runs over the 13 game stretch.

As a team, the Spartans are hitting .337 over their last 13 games and are now hitting .285 for the season. This is 22 points higher when compared to the .263 they were hitting entering their April 15 game against Western Michigan that started the streak.

Inside the Pitching Matchup
In Big Ten games, MSU leads the conference with a league-low 4.03 ERA. Purdue enters the weekend with a staff ERA of 5.51 in conference games which ranks seventh in the league.

Spartan reliever Kurt Wunderlich ranks second in ERA in conference games at 0.89 while starter A.J. Achter is sixth in conference games at 2.95.

Bullpen Slamming The Door
The Spartans haven't gone 10-3 over their last 13 games due to offense alone as several relief pitchers have stepped up to keep opponents off the board. Relievers A.J. Dunn, Kurt Wunderlich and Kurtis Frymier have combined to pitch 34 innings during MSU's 10-3 stretch and have given up just a total of seven runs in that time.

Dunn has allowed just one run in his last six appearances and has given up just six hits in 13.2 innings of work over that time. In his last appearance vs. Penn State (5/3), he threw the final 2.1 innings and fanned two in the top of the ninth to earn his first win of the year.

Wunderlich has given up just one run in his last six outings (13.2 IP) and hasn't surrendered more than one run since March 21 vs. Oakland. He enters Friday's game with a 4.62 ERA and has gone 2-0 in his last five appearances and given up a total of 10 hits.

Frymier has done his part as well out of the bullpen, pitching 8.2 innings (six outings) while striking out 11 and walking just two over the Spartans' 10-3 stretch.

Friendly Confines
After sweeping Penn State last weekend, the Spartans are now 14-2 at home after a perfect 10-0 start. It is the first time MSU has had at least 14 wins at home since the 2006 season, when it also won 14. MSU's home start was its best since 2004, when it won its first 12 at home to start the year and went on to win 21 at Kobs Field.

Thank You, Seniors
Seven Spartans will play their final game at McLane Baseball Stadium at Kobs Field on Monday - A.J. Dunn, Johnny Lee, Max Miller, Nolan Moody, Eric Roof, A.J. Shindler and Peter Wolff.

Streaking Into the Series
Six Spartans bring multi-game hitting streaks into the weekend, led by Jeff Holm who has hit safely in 10 consecutive games. Others Spartans that bring hitting streaks into the series with the Boilermakers include: Bo Felt (nine games), Jonathan Roof (seven), Chris Roberts (four), Eric Roof (three) and Brandon Eckerle (three).