Michigan State University Athletics
Photo by: Steven Branscombe
MSU Baseball Begins 2019 Season With Weekend Series At New Orleans
2/14/2019 12:33:00 PM | Baseball
Spartans begin 135th season of baseball.
| MICHIGAN STATE (0-0, 0-0 B1G) at NEW ORLEANS (0-0, 0-0 Southland)Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â | |
| Location | Maestri Field || New Orleans, La. |
| Tickets | New Orleans Ticket Office |
| Weather | High/Low - Fri: 72/65 | Sat: 71/65 | Sun: 77/63 |
| Game Notes | Michigan State | New Orleans |
| Social Media |   @statebaseball |  MichiganStateBaseball  @statebaseballgogreen |
| Game 1 | Friday, Feb. 15 - 7:30 p.m. ET / 6:30 p.m. CT |
| Probable Pitching Matchup | MSU: #30 RHP Mason Erla (SO) (6-4, 3.73 ERA)* vs. UNO: # RHP Steven Swift (FR) (0-0, 0.00 ERA) |
| Television | None |
| Coverage | Live Stats | Listen Live | Watch Live |
| Game 2 | Saturday, Feb. 16 - 2 p.m. ET / 1 p.m. CT |
| Probable Pitching Matchup | MSU: #20 RHP Mike Mokma (JR) (2-5, 4.66 ERA)* vs. UNO: #23 RHP Chris Turpin (JR) (5-2, 4.83 ERA)*^ |
| Coverage | Live Stats | Listen Live | Watch Live |
| Game 3 | Sunday, Feb. 17 - 1 p.m. ET / 12 p.m. CT |
| Probable Pitching Matchup | MSU: #24 RHP Indigo Diaz (JR) (11-1, 1.52 ERA)*^ vs. UNO: TBA (0-0, 0.00 ERA) |
| Coverage | Live Stats | Listen Live | Watch Live |
• Michigan State baseball will open its 135th season of baseball with the first pitch of the 2019 ledger on Friday, Feb. 15 at 7:30 p.m. ET at New Orleans in a three-game series against the UNO Privateers in the first of a 56-game regular-season slate. MSU and UNO play on Saturday, Feb. 16 at 2 p.m. ET, before the finale of the opening-weekend series on Sunday, Feb. 17 at 1 p.m. ET.
• All three games will have live stats along with live video and audio streaming through respective "Live Stats," "Watch Live" and "Listen Live" links found at MSUSpartans.com.
• Michigan State and New Orleans are meeting on the diamond for the first time in program history.
• The Spartans are making their first trip to the state of Louisiana since 2014, when they played at Louisiana Monroe ... MSU is 5-6 in games played in Louisiana ... Michigan State is also 7-7 against teams from the Pelican State.
Spartans Vs. Teams From Louisiana
Team   Overall   In LA   Last Meeting
Centenary   4-2   4-2   2005
Louisiana Monroe   0-1   0-1   2014
LSUÂ Â Â 1-3Â Â Â 0-2Â Â Â 2008
Louisiana Tech   0-1   0-1   1999
McNeese State   1-0   1-0   1999
Southeastern Louisiana   1-0*    0-0   2015
* = Arlington Texas
Limited Series History Between Spartans And Privateers Across The Board
The limited competition between Michigan State and New Orleans isn't confined to just the baseball diamond, as the Spartans and Privateers' athletics teams have a small series history across the board, playing only twice, once in men's basketball and once in women's volleyball, with the series tied 1-1:
Sport   Series   First Met   Last Met
Baseball   0-0   Feb. 15, 2019   --
Men's Basketball   MSU, 1-0   Dec. 28, 2013   Dec. 28, 2013
Volleyball   UNO, 1-0   Sept. 17, 1991   Sept. 17, 1991
Total   Tied 1-1
Season-OpenersÂ
The Spartans have won four of their last five season-openers, as last year's 5-4 loss in the 2018 season lid lifter at Fresno State halted a four-game season-opening win streak for MSU ... Michigan State is 8-2 in season-openers under head coach Jake Boss Jr. ... Since 2000, the Spartans are 13-6 in the first game of the season ... Overall, MSU is 80-53 all-time in known season-openers, as the Spartans are opening their 135th season of baseball.
Back From '18
The Spartans return eight position players and three returning starting pitchers from last season, as MSU led the country in percentage of 1-2 run games (57.8 percent), finishing 20-32 overall and 11-12 in Big Ten play, good for eighth in the league. Michigan State made its fourth appearance in the last five seasons in the Big Ten Tournament and its seventh in the 10 years under head coach Jake Boss Jr. MSU won four of its last seven B1G games of the regular-season to claim the No. 8 seed. The Spartans also had a stretch of winning seven-straight conference contests for the first time since 2009, including sweeping back-to-back B1G series for the first time since 2011.
Big Returning Numbers In The Field
Michigan State returns eight position players, as part of a total of 11 players who have starting experience from 2018 ... Those 11 players combine for 76.9 percent (360 of 468 possible starts), including seven with over 30 starts ... Junior outfielder Bryce Kelley leads the way with 49 starts last season, followed by junior infielder/outfielder Justin Antoncic (48 start), senior infielder Marty Bechina (47), sophomore infielder Zach Iverson (42), sophomore infielder Ryan King (37), senior outfielder Dan Chmielewski (32) and junior outfielder Danny Gleaves (31).
Numbers Returning On The Mound
MSU returns three pitchers with regular starting experience, as part of five total pitchers who started at least one game last season ... Sophomore Mason Erla tops the staff with 15 starts, followed by junior Mike Mokma with seven, junior Sam Benschoter (2), sophomore Jesse Heikkinen (2) and junior Mitchell Tyranski (1).
Let There Be Lights
Thanks in large part to an anonymous contribution of near $1.4 million from a Spartan alum, Michigan State University announced that lights will be installed at McLane Stadium at Kobs Field, the home of MSU baseball and Secchia Stadium, the home of MSU softball, in preparation for the upcoming 2019 season.
The LED lights will be identical to the lighting system currently at Spartan Stadium, home of Spartan football, and DeMartin Stadium, home of Spartan men and women's soccer, as well the Breslin Center, home of MSU men and women's basketball, Munn Ice Arena, home of Spartan hockey, and the Duffy Daugherty Indoor Practice Facility, utilized by MSU football and a majority of MSU athletics teams. Michigan State will be the first baseball and softball teams in the Big Ten Conference with this type of lighting system by Musco Lighting.
MSU baseball will host nine games starting at 5 p.m. or later in 2019.
Road Ready With 19 In '19
Michigan State opens the 2019 season with its first 19 games away from home, including starting with five true road games, followed by two neutral games. After four more true road games, the Spartans have eight neutral games, before their home opener on March 20.Â
Head Coach Jake Boss Jr. Earns 300th Victory For MSU
MSU head coach Jake Boss Jr. earned his 300th victory at the helm of the Spartans with MSU's 6-0 blanking of Rutgers on March 30. In 2017, Boss won his 300th career game as a collegiate head coach. In his 11th season as the MSU head coach, Boss now has a 313-235 (.571) record. He coached his 500th game leading the Spartans in the 2018 opening weekend at Fresno State. Boss is also in his 12th overall season as a collegiate head coach and has a 338-269 (.557) ledger, coaching his 600th career game at Minnesota in 2018. Â
Boss is the fourth head coach in the Spartans' history to reach the 300-win plateau, and reached 300 wins the fastest of the previous coaches, as Boss accomplished the milestone in his 10th season at the helm.
Name   Years   Wins
John H. Kobs   1935-63   576
Daniel W. Litwhiler   1964-82   489
Thomas W. Smith   1983-95   377
Jake Boss Jr.   2009-pres.   313
About New Orleans
The Privateers were picked seventh in the 2019 Southland Conference Preseason Poll. UNO had two players earn Southland Preseason accolades, as junior catcher Beau Bratton was tabbed to the first-team, while sophomore outfielder Pearce Howard was named to the second-team. The Privateers have made the conference tournament all three years under head coach Blake Dean, including advancing to the championship game as the No. 8 seed last season, finishing with a 29-32 record overall and 14-16 in Southland action.
Three Spartan Baseball Players Earn Big Ten Preseason Accolades
Michigan State baseball had three players on the Big Ten Conference Preseason Honors list, as the league announced its preseason honors list and preseason poll on Wednesday, Feb. 13.
The league's coaches voted on the top six teams and also selected three student-athletes from their own squads to a Preseason Honors list.
MSU Preseason honorees included senior infielder Marty Bechina, junior pitcher Indigo Diaz and redshirt-sophomore pitcher Mason Erla.
Bechina, a native of Chicago, Ill., played in 49 games last season, making 47 starts, after recovering from a broken leg in the fall. He led the Spartans with nine doubles and shared the team lead with six home runs on the way to hitting .247 with 25 hits, adding one triple for a total of 16 extra-base hits, which also led the team. Bechina was also third on the team with 23 RBI, as well as leading MSU with a .418 slugging percentage and was third on the team with a .340 on-base percentage. He registered a season-long five game hitting streak (May 5-12), as well as nine multi-hit outings including three games with a career-best tying three hits, two coming in Big Ten action, vs. Nebraska (April 7) and vs. Ohio State (May 17), along with at Western Michigan (April 18). Bechina also posted six multi-RBI games, boosted by career-high tying four RBI vs. Nebraska (April 7).
Diaz, a native of Vancouver, B.C., Canada, is in his first year as a Spartan, coming to MSU from Iowa Western Community College. He earned honorable mention NJCAA All-American honors as a sophomore after logging an 11-1 record in 12 starts as part of 16 appearances as a sophomore, with a paltry 1.52 ERA and firing 101 strikeouts (13.98 K/9) in 65.0 IP while yielding just 20 walks. Diaz also earned Northern All-District accolades. He helped the Reivers to a 54-7 record, winning 36 consecutive games and the fourth-highest victory total in program history, advancing to the JUCO World Series as the Northern District D1 Region XI champions. He was also selected to play on the United States NJCAA National team in the National Baseball Congress (NBC) World Series.Â
Erla, a Cass City, Mich., native, was named to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team last season. He ranked second in the B1G in opposing batting average at .216; tied for seventh in games started with 15; tied for 14th in innings pitched with 79.2; and tied for 15th in strikeouts looking with 18. He led MSU and ranked tied for 10th in the B1G with six wins. Erla was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week (March 12) following his performance vs. Illinois (March 10) in Greenville, striking out five while stymieing Illinois with just one hit allowed in 6.1 IP. He was also named 10 Innings Big Ten Freshman of the Week (Feb. 26) for his 5.0 IP, four K, 2 H, 0 BB at Pepperdine (Feb. 25) in earning his first collegiate win. Erla ranked 16th in the B1G in strikeouts with 63 punchouts and was also just outside the top 15 in the conference with a 3.73 ERA. He started and went 6.0+ IP in both of MSU's shutouts last season, first going 5.0 IP with four strikeouts, two hits and no walks in MSU's 1-0 win at Pepperdine (Feb. 25), as well as 7.0 IP with six Ks and three walks in 6-0 win vs. Rutgers (April 1).Â
Mother Nature For The Win
Michigan State battled Mother Nature as much as any other opponent last season, as the Spartans had four games cancelled due to inclement weather, as well as numerous other games rescheduled due to weather. The Spartans had two games scheduled with Eastern Michigan cancelled, including April 4 at East Lansing and April 24 at Comerica Park, home of the Detroit Tigers, as well as one game against Nebraska on April 6 cancelled and one game versus Valparaiso on April 14 cancelled.Â
MSU also rescheduled single-day games to playing doubleheaders vs. Rutgers (April 30), Valparaiso (April 13) and Penn State (May 5), as well as pushing back the start time of the game vs. Nebraska on April 7 and at Michigan on March 25 due to weather.
King Kelley
Among Michigan State's returners is junior outfielder Bryce Kelley, who became MSU's single-season stolen base record holder last season with 33 swipes, topping former teammate's Brandon Hughes' record that lasted all of one season, with 30 stolen bases in 2017.
Kelley led the Big Ten and ranked third in the NCAA with 0.66 stolen bases per game, as well as leading the conference and ranking 10th in the country with the 33 stolen bases. Kelley nearly doubled his season output in the Niagara series, swiping six in the four games, including two each on March 15 and 16 before swiping five in the three games vs. Michigan.
Kelley stole at least one base in 24 total games last season. He had multi stolen bases in seven games, led by a career-high three at Michigan on March 23.Â
The three stolen bases in one game is one of three times in 2018 that a Spartan swiped three in a game, joining Danny Gleaves, who accomplished it twice, with three base swipes vs. Illinois on March 9 in Greenville and at Penn State on May 5.
With Kelley's 33 swipes last season combined with 13 from his freshman season of 2017, he now has 46 career stolen bases and moved up to tie for No. 5 on MSU's career stolen base list ... If Kelley matches last season's total of 33 stolen bases in 2019, he would tie Anthony Cheky (2012-15) for the career school record with 79 stolen bases.
Fellow junior outfielder Danny Gleaves was close behind with 25 stolen bases last season, good for No. 5 spot on the single-season list ... Gleaves is also No. 9 on the career stolen base list with 32 base swipes.
INDIVIDUAL SINGLE SEASON STOLEN BASES
1.   Bryce Kelley   33   2018
2.   Brandon Hughes   30   2017
3.   Anthony Cheky   29   2014
4.   Steve Preston   27   1988
5.   Danny Gleaves   25   2018
6.   Anthony Cheky   23   2013
   Jeff Holm   23   2010
   Steve Money   23   1994
9.   Jimmy Pickens   22   2014
   Brandon Eckerle   22   2011
   Brandon Eckerle   22   2010
INDIVIDUAL CAREER STOLEN BASES
1.   Anthony Cheky   79   2012-15
2.   Jeff Holm   63   2008-11
3.   Brandon Eckerle   61   2008-11
4.   Brandon Hughes   50   2015-17
5.   Steve Money   46   1991-94
   Steve Preston   46   1986-88
   Bryce Kelley   46   2017-pres.
8.   Cam Gibson   45   2013-15
9.   Danny Gleaves   32   2017-pres.
10.   Jimmy Pickens   30   2012-15
   Joe Gavel   30   1968-69
Swiping Duo Of 20/20Â
Last season, the outfielder duo of Bryce Kelley and Danny Gleaves bid for the modern Hugh Downs and Barbara Walters role, being part of the 20/20 club, as the Spartan duo were not just the only pair in the Big Ten with 20 or more stolen bases, but they were just part of six sets of two or more players in the country with 20+ stolen bases:
Fordham - Jake MacKenzie (34), Billy Godrick (27), Alvin Melendez (26) and Jake Baker (21)
Louisville - Josh Stowers (36), Jake Snider (24) and Tyler Fitzgerald (23)
Michigan State - Bryce Kelley (33) and Danny Gleaves (25)
Southern Illinois - Connor Kopach (33), Alex Lyon (29) and Nikola Vasic (21)
George Washington - Isaiah Pasteur (31) and Robbie Metz (24)
Norfolk State - Justin Hayes (28) and Tony Leite (24)
Swiping Way Into Record Books
Boosted by Bryce Kelley and Danny Gleaves' swipes last season, Michigan Stats amassed 100 stolen bases as a team, setting a new MSU team single-season stolen base record, breaking the record held by 2005 squad with 98 stolen bases ... MSU led the B1G and ranked 14th in the NCAA with the 100 swipes.Â
TEAM STOLEN BASES
   1.   2018   100
   2.   2005   98
   3.   2017   96
   4.   2014   88
   5.   2010   86
      1978   86
   7.   1988   80
   8.   2006   78
      1969   78
   10.   2011   77
Ringing Up The Team Strikeouts
The Spartan pitching staff ended the 2018 season with 407 strikeouts, becoming the fourth-straight squad to reach the 400 K plateau. The 2015 staff had 409, while ringing up 420 strikeouts last season and the 2016 squad has the top mark with 466 Ks.
TEAM STRIKEOUTS
   1.   2016   466
   2.   2017   420
   3.   2015   409
4.   2018   407
   5.   2002    390
   6.   2012   389
   7.   1998   380
   8.   2004   378
9.   2014   355
10.   2010   335
Nail-BitersÂ
For the second time in as many seasons, Spartan fans may have paid for their entire seat, but they have only needed the edge of them, as 30 of MSU's 52 games in the 2018 season were 1-or 2-run games, with the Spartans posting a 6-10 mark in the 15 1-run contests, as well as 14 other 2-run games, which MSU was 6-8.Â
The Spartans' 30 games decided by two runs or less out of 52 games was not only the most in the B1G but is tied for the second-most in the country by number, while leading the country by percentage (57.8 pct.), tying Elon for the most and just behind Gonzaga's 31.
The 16 decided by 1-run was 12th-most in the country by number and percentage, with William & Mary having the most 1-run games in the country with 23. MSU's B1G opponent from the first weekend in May, Penn State, had 18 1-run games, while last season's opening opponent, Fresno State, was in 17 1-run games. Michigan State played Fresno State in the opening weekend of the season and three of the four games of the weekend series were 1-run games. The Spartans also edged Arizona, 3-2, on March 4.
In 2017, Michigan State was involved in a total of 17 1-run games, as well as three 2-run games. MSU was 5-12 in 1-run games and 3-0 in 2-run contests.
1-Run Games
William & Mary   23 of 54 games (42.6%)  Â
Elon   21 of 59 games (35.6%)  Â
Virginia   20 of 54 games (37.0%)  Â
Cincinnati   20 of 56 games (35.7%)  Â
Saint Mary's (Ca.)Â Â Â 19 of 54 games (35.2%)Â Â Â
Fordham   19 of 55 games (34.5%)  Â
Gonzaga   19 of 57 games (33.3%)$  Â
UNCWÂ Â Â 19 of 62 games (30.6%)$Â Â Â
Penn State   18 of 49 games (36.7%)  Â
Arizona   18 of 56 games (32.1%)  Â
Fresno State   17 of 54 games (31.5%)  Â
Santa Clara   16 of 52 games (30.8%)  Â
Michigan State   16 of 52 games (30.8%)  Â
Virginia Tech   16 of 54 games (29.6%)  Â
UMass Lowell   16 of 54 games (29.6%)  Â
Arizona State   15 of 55 games (27.3%)  Â
Loyola Marymount   15 of 55 games (27.3%)  Â
Cal Poly   15 of 57 games (26.3%)  Â
Stetson   13 of 61 games (21.3%)$$  Â
Coastal Carolina   13 of 62 games (21.0%)$  Â
$$ = NCAA Super Regional TeamÂ
$ = NCAA Regional Team
Games Decided by 1-2 Runs
Gonzaga   31 of 57 games (54.4%)$  Â
Michigan State   30 of 52 games (57.8%)  Â
Elon   30 of 59 games (50.8%)  Â
Cincinnati   29 of 56 games (51.8%)  Â
Fordham   29 of 55 games (52.7%)  Â
UNCWÂ Â Â 28 of 62 games (45.2%)$Â Â Â
Santa Clara   27 of 52 games (51.9%)  Â
Saint Mary's (Ca.)Â Â Â 27 of 54 games (50.0%)Â Â Â
William & Mary   26 of 54 games (46.6%)  Â
Virginia   25 of 54 games (46.3%)  Â
Cal Poly   25 of 57 games (43.9%)  Â
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