Michigan State University Athletics
Baseball Travels to Penn State for Weekend Series
4/7/2016 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
| Michigan State (19-5, 3-0 B1G) vs. Penn State (17-12, 4-2 B1G) | |
| Game 1 | Friday, April 8 -- 6:30 p.m. |
| Location | University Park, Pa. | Medlar Field at Lubrano Park |
| Game Notes | Penn State | Michigan State |
| Probable Pitching Matchup | LHP Taylor Lehman (1-5, 4.46 ERA) vs. LHP Cam Vieaux (4-1, 1.60 ERA) |
| Coverage | Live Stats | Listen - Spartan Sports Network |
| Game 2 | Saturday, April 9 - 2 p.m. |
| Probable Pitching Matchup | RHP Sal Biasi (3-3, 4.15 ERA) vs. RHP Ethan Landon (2-1, 2.06 ERA) |
| Coverage | Live Stats | Listen - Spartan Sports Network |
| Game 3 | Sunday, April 10 - 1 p.m. |
| Probable Pitching Matchup | RHP Justin Hagenman (4-1, 1.96 ERA) vs. RHP Walter Borkovich (4-1, 4.37ERA) |
| Coverage | Live Stats | Listen - Spartan Sports Network |
EAST LANSING, Mich. - The Michigan State baseball team travels to Penn State to for its first road series of Big Ten play, beginning Friday at 6:30 p.m. in the first of a three-game set. Saturday's game will take place at 2 p.m. before the series concludes on Sunday at 1 pm. The Spartans enter the weekend with a 19-5 record and are off to a 3-0 start in conference play, while the Nittany Lions are 17-12 overall and 4-2 in the Big Ten.
Balanced Attack
Michigan State leads the Big Ten and is sixth in the nation with a 2.36 ERA while ranking second in the conference in batting average at .311.
With 12 games of double-digit hits, the Spartans are averaging more than 10.5 hits per game for the season. MSU has outhit its opponents in 17 games this season and is undefeated in such games.
The high-powered offensive attack paired with the shutdown pitching staff has led to the Spartans outscoring opponents by a total of 147-75 for the season. Michigan State is 19-1 when scoring more than two runs in a game and is 12-2 when scoring first.
Spartan Strikeouts
Michigan State pitchers struck out a season-high 14 batters in last Friday's win vs. Oregon. MSU ranks third in the conference with 214 strikeouts and the Spartans have posted 10 or more strikeouts in nine games this season, including five of the last seven.
For comparison, the 2015 Spartans that set the school record for most strikeouts in a season (409) had 177 through 24 games.
Starter Cam Vieaux and reliever Dakota Mekkes are both in the top five of the Big Ten in Ks, with Vieaux ranking third with 45 strikeouts while Mekkes ranks fifth. Mekkes has struck out 42 batters in just 24.0 innings, resulting in a 15.75 Ks per nine innings rate that is the best in the nation.
Zimmerman Streaking
First baseman Jordan Zimmerman is in the midst of a 17-game hitting streak in which he's hitting .484 with 17 runs and 14 RBIs. He's recorded a hit in 22 of 24 games for the Spartans this season, resulting in his conference-leading .430 batting average. Zimmerman has scored a run in eight consecutive games and 19 of 24 games this season.
The junior has been a dynamic addition to the Spartan lineup, as the transfer from Mesa, Arizona does it all, ranking in the top 10 in the Big Ten in batting average (.430, 1st), slugging percentage (.656, 3rd), on-base percentage (.509, 3rd), runs (27, T-3rd), hits (40, 6th), total bases (61, T-7th), doubles (9, T-4th) and stolen bases (9, T-8th).
Last weekend vs. Oregon, Zimmerman hit an extra inning walk-off home run to give the Spartans the victory.
After starting at second base in 14 games to start the season, he made the switch to first base where he's started in the last eight games.
Vieaux From the Top
Friday starter Cam Vieaux is coming off arguably his best start of the season last weekend vs. Oregon. The lefty threw eight innings and struck out a season-high 11 batters while allowing just three hits after retiring the first 15 batters of the game. Vieaux has struck out 10-plus in two of his last three starts and is third in the Big Ten with 45 strikeouts on the season.
Vieaux has allowed just eight earned runs in 45 innings of work, leading to a 1.60 ERA that ranks sixth in the Big Ten.
MSU is 6-1 as a team in Vieaux's seven starts this season and the Spartans are outscoring opponents 42-16 in those games. The junior is 4-1 on the season to rank tied for second in the Big Ten in wins.
Historic Start
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. Currently at 19-5, the Spartans trail only the 1971 club that started 20-4 for the best record this late in the season. The historic start puts the team in good company, as the '71 team finished 36-10 with a Big Ten title. Prior to this year, the best start under head coach Jake Boss Jr. was in 2011 when the team was 17-7 through 24 games. That club went on to finish 36-21 to win the Big Ten and earn a berth into the NCAA Tournament.
MSU finished 7-1 on its spring break trip, resulting in a spot in the Baseball America Top-25 for the week of March 14. It was the first time a Spartan baseball team has been ranked since April 1988.
About Penn State
The Nittany Lions enter the weekend with a 17-12 overall record and 4-2 mark in conference play to sit fourth in the standings. PSU has been hot as of late, winning eight straight games and 12 of the last 14.
Penn State is led by junior infielder Jim Haley, who's hitting .351 with 20 RBIs to lead the team in both categories. The Nittany Lions strength comes on the mound, where their team ERA of 3.28 ranks fourth in the Big Ten. Justin Hagenman leads the staff with a 4-1 record and a 1.96 ERA that ranks sixth in the Big Ten.
MSU leads the all-time series with Penn State with a record of 54-30, including a 24-18 edge when the teams play in University Park. The Spartans are 14-10 against the Nittany Lions under head coach Jake Boss Jr and are winners of six of the last seven.
Reliable Relievers
If MSU holds a lead late in games, it's meant good things for the club, as the Spartans are 16-0 when leading after six innings. Michigan State has allowed only 11 runs all season in the eighth and ninth innings and MSU is outscoring its opponents 74-25 after the fifth inning.
The lockdown bullpen has allowed just 22 earned runs in 79.2 innings of work, good for a 2.49 ERA. Before Tuesday's loss in which six pitchers were scheduled to see action, the bullpen had allowed just four earned runs in the previous 29.1 innings.
Spartan relievers have struck out 107 batters to only 37 walks this season and have allowed more than one run in a game only four times. The group has combined for a 7-1 record with seven saves.
M&M Combo
Relievers Dakota Mekkes and Joe Mockbee are the two arms out of the bullpen that Coach Boss likes to call on most. Mekkes leads the team and is fifth in the Big Ten with 14 appearances while Mockbee's 13 are tied for seventh. The two have combined for all seven of MSU's saves, with Mockbee's five saves tied for the fourth most in the conference.
In the last 14 appearances between the two spanning 23 innings, they have combined to allow just two earned runs with 41 strikeouts.
Offensive Output
Michigan State is averaging 6.1 runs per game with seven players recording 10 or more RBIs so far this season. Five starters are batting better than .300 for a team that is second in the league in batting average and fourth in slugging percentage (.436) and on-base percentage (.382).
Jordan Zimmerman leads the charge with 13 multiple hit games while Marty Bechina and Dan Durkin have 10 such games. Durkin and Bechina both have four games of multiple RBIs while Zimmerman and sophomore Brandon Hughes lead the team with five games of multiple RBIs.
New Look Spartans
The Michigan State roster consists of three seniors, eight juniors, 14 sophomores and nine freshmen. Highlighting the sophomore-heavy roster is 2015 All-Big Ten Freshmen team members OF Brandon Hughes, C Chad Roskelly and RHP Andrew Gonzalez.
After going 34-23 during the 2015 campaign and finishing tied for third in the Big Ten with a 14-10 mark in conference play, the 2016 Spartans are a new-look team. Spartan returners account for just 27% of the team's RBI total and 24% of the team's hit total in 2015 with Brandon Hughes being the only returning every day starter in centerfield.
Freshman Marty Bechina has started in all 24 games for the Spartans as a dynamic puzzle piece, seeing action at third base, left field, center field and designated hitter. Fellow freshman Royce Ando has started in all but one game at shortstop, while four other starting spots in the field are currently filled by transfers. Matt Byars has started in 23 games behind the plate, Jordan Zimmerman has started in every game for MSU and Kris Simonton and Taylor Grace both hold down outfield spots as transfers.
Saturday starter Ethan Landon is also a transfer in his first year in the Green and White and is 2-1 with a 2.06 ERA.
Continued Success Under Head Coach Jake Boss
In his eighth season as head coach, Jake Boss Jr. has led MSU to six straight 30-win seasons on top of winning his 200th game in the Green and White last season.
Spartans Drafted
MSU had eight players drafted in the 2015 MLB Draft, the most in school history. The previous high for Spartans selected in one MLB Draft was five, which last happened in 2002.
Draft Prospects
Junior right-hander Walter Borkovich was picked as the sixth-best prospect in the Big Ten by D-1 Baseball while Cam Vieaux was selected ninth. In addition to having prospects for the 2016 draft, sophomores Alex Troop (5th), Jake Lowery (9th) and Ethan Landon (10th) were listed as top prospect for the 2017 draft. Freshman infielder Marty Bechina was also ranked No. 8 on the list of Impact Freshman in the Big Ten.
Up Next
Michigan State added a game vs. Michigan to its schedule set for next Tuesday at home in a non-conference matchup starting at 4 p.m.. The following day, the Spartans will head to Detroit to take on Central Michigan in the annual Clash at Comerica, starting at 7:05 pm. MSU returns to Big Ten action next weekend with a three-game set vs. Purdue in West Lafayette, Indiana.
