Michigan State University Athletics
Baseball Set for Home Opener Wednesday vs. CMU
3/22/2016 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
| Michigan State (14-3) vs. Central Michigan (4-15) | |
| Probable Pitching Matchup | MSU - RHP Andrew Gonzalez (2-0, 1.59 ERA) vs. CMU - TBA |
| Date, Time | Wednesday, March 23 â€" 3:05 p.m. |
| Location | East Lansing, Mich. | McLane Baseball Stadium |
| Overall Stats | Michigan State | |
| Coverage | | Listen - Spartan Sports Network |
Midweek Quick Hitters
• After 17 games on the road to start the season, the Michigan State baseball team has its home opener vs. Central Michigan on Wednesday afternoon at McLane Baseball Stadium. The Spartans went 14-3 during the winter travel portion of their schedule, highlighted by a 14-1 start that is the best in school history.
• MSU went 7-1 on its spring break trip, resulting in a spot in the Baseball America Top-25 last week. It was the first time a Spartan baseball team has been ranked since April 1988.
• The Spartans' success has come from dominant performances as a team both on the mound and at the plate. Michigan State is the only team in the country to rank in the top 10 in the NCAA in both batting average (.333, 6th) and ERA (2.28, 8th).
• Michigan State's offense is atop the Big Ten in several notable categories, including batting average (.333), slugging percentage (.473), on-base percentage (.402) and runs scored (121). The Spartans are averaging 7.1 runs per game and are outscoring opponents by a total of 121-54 on the season.
• Juniors Dan Durkin (.421) and Jordan Zimmerman (.418) lead the team in batting and are currently riding hitting streaks of 11 and 10 games, respectively.
• Production has come from up and down the lineup, as seven starters are batting better than .300 for the season and five Spartans have recorded 10 or more RBIs. Sophomore centerfielder Brandon Hughes has notched a team-high 15 RBIs that ranks tied for fifth best in the Big Ten.
• Wednesday's starter Andrew Gonzalez is 2-0 on the season having allowed just six hits in 11.1 innings of work. In the sophomore's lone start of the season vs. Illinois State, he allowed one hit in seven scoreless innings.
• MSU's bullpen has been lockdown all season long, as they have allowed just 16 earned runs in 55.1 innings of work. Spartan relievers have struck out 72 batters in that time to only 30 walks and have allowed more than one run in a game only three times this season. The group has combined for six wins and three saves with no losses.
About Central Michigan
Wednesday's meeting will be the 121st between the two clubs, with CMU owning a 65-56 advantage in the all-time series. The Spartans have won 10 of the last 14 games dating back to 2011, including a 2-1 mark against the Chippewa's last season. Since head coach Jake Boss took over in 2009, MSU owns a 13-8 record against Central.
The Chippewas have struggled early in the season are off to a 4-15 start. CMU was picked to win the West Division of the Mid-American Conference a year after winning its first regular-season Mid-American Conference championship since 2010 and going 35-22 and 20-7 in conference play. This year, the Chips are led by Zach McKinstry, who's hitting .346 on the season. Daniel Jipping leads the team in RBIs with 19.
Up Next
Michigan State kicks off Big Ten play this weekend at home vs. Rutgers, starting on Friday at 3:05 p.m. Friday's game will be featured live on Big Ten Network before the series closes out with games on Saturday and Sunday at 1:05 p.m. both days.
