Michigan State University Athletics
No. 23 Baseball Hosts Notre Dame and Western Michigan
4/18/2016 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
| Michigan State (25-7, 7-2 B1G) vs. Notre Dame (21-12, 9-7 ACC) | |
| Probable Pitching Matchup | MSU - LHP Keegan Baar (0-0, 3.31 ERA) vs. ND - LHP Michael Hearne (4-0, 2.72 ERA) |
| Date, Time | Tuesday, April 19 - 3:05 p.m. |
| Location | East Lansing, Mich. | McLane Baseball Stadium |
| Overall Stats | Michigan State | ND |
| Coverage | | Listen - Spartan Sports Network | BTN Plus |
| Michigan State (25-7, 7-2 B1G) vs. Western Michigan (9-23, 2-7 MAC) | |
| Probable Pitching Matchup | MSU - TBD vs. WMU - TBD |
| Date, Time | Wednesday, April 20 - 3:05 p.m. |
| Location | East Lansing, Mich. | McLane Baseball Stadium |
| Coverage | | Listen - Spartan Sports Network |
EAST LANSING, Mich. - The 23rd-ranked Michigan State baseball team has a pair of upcoming midweek games vs. Notre Dame on Tuesday and Western Michigan on Wednesday. Both games will take place at McLane Baseball Stadium with a 3:05 p.m. start time. The Spartans are 25-7 and 7-2 in Big Ten play after winning their third straight Big Ten series to start the season last weekend vs. Purdue.
Midweek Quick Hitters
•Tuesday's game vs. Notre Dame starts a six-game homestand for the Spartans and a stretch of 14-straight games that will take place in the state of Michigan. With Big Ten home series vs. Indiana and Nebraska sandwiching a three-game set vs. Michigan, MSU doesn't have to leave the state until May 13 when it heads to Iowa. The Spartans are off to a 6-2 start at McLane Baseball Stadium this season after going 12-5 at home in 2015.
•Michigan State's success has come as a beneficiary of a balanced attack, as the Spartans rank first in the Big Ten in ERA (2.39) and second in batting average (.311). MSU's ERA is the third best in the country, while its batting average ranks 20th. The Spartans are one of three teams to rank in the top 20 nationally in both categories, joining Louisville and TCU.
•After going 4-1 last week, Michigan State jumped into the Baseball America Top 25 for the second time this season, appearing at No. 23 in this week's poll. The Spartans have been out of the poll since the week of March 14 when they appeared in the national ranking for the first time since April 1988.
•Junior Jordan Zimmerman ranks in the top five of several categories in the Big Ten, including leading in batting average (.427) and doubles (13), while ranking second in slugging percentage (.653) and third in on-base percentage (.517).
•Production has come from up and down the lineup this season for the Spartans, as five every day starters bat better than .300, while nine players have 10 or more RBIs.
About Notre Dame
All-Time Series: MSU leads, 79-54
Last Meeting: MSU 9, ND 6 (12), April 28, 2015 -- South Bend, Indiana
The Spartans have had success in the recent series vs. Notre Dame, as they've won 16 of the last 18 meetings vs. the Irish, including a 9-6 extra inning win last season. MSU is 40-23 at home against ND.
Notre Dame brings a 21-12 record into Tuesday's game and are winners of seven of the last eight. The Fighting Irish are 9-7 and sit fourth in the ACC Atlantic Division. Ricky Sanchez leads the team in batting with a .344 average while Zak Kutsulis and Cavan Biggio have the most RBIs on the team with 24 and 23, respectively.
About Western Michigan
All-Time Series: WMU leads, 92-80
Last Meeting: MSU 5, WMU 4, April 8, 2015 -- East Lansing, Michigan
Western Michigan enters the week 9-23 overall and 2-7 in the MAC and are coming off a 15-12 win over Northern Illinois on Sunday. Grant Miller leads the charge on offense for the Broncos, batting .302 with a team-high 19 RBIs, while Evan Nelson leads the team with a .338 average
Up Next
Michigan State plays host to Indiana next weekend, starting on Friday at 3:05 p.m. Sunday's series finale will take place at 1:05 p.m. and air live on Big Ten Network.
