Spartans Battle Illini In Final Weekend Of Regular-Season; Spartan Senior Day Saturday

MICHIGAN STATE (19-32, 7-13 B1G) vs No. 23/24 ILLINOIS (34-16, 13-8 B1G) \| TICKETS
Location	McLANE STADIUM at KOBS FIELD \|\| East Lansing, Mich.
Weather	Thur - Hi / Low: 75^°/ 53^° \|\| Fri - Hi / Low: 68^°/ 48^° \|\| Sat - Hi / Low: 72^°/ 58^°
Game Notes	Michigan State \| I llinois
Social Media	@statebaseball \| MichiganStateBaseball \| @statebaseballgogreen
Game 1	Thursday, May 16 - 5:30 p.m. ET {BTN}
Probable Pitching Matchup	MSU: #30 RHP Mason Erla (SO) (2-9, 5.40 ERA) vs. ILL: #38 LHP Andy Fisher (SR) (6-1, 2.53 ERA)
Coverage	Live Stats \| Listen Live \| Watch Live
Game 2	Friday, May 17 - 6:35 p.m. ET \| MSU Military Appreciation Night
Probable Pitching Matchup	MSU: #36 LHP Mitchell Tyranski (JR) (3-7, 4.04 ERA) vs. ILL: #7 RHP Ty Weber (JR) (4-1, 2.48 ERA)
Coverage	Live Stats \| Listen Live \| Watch Live
Game 3	Saturday May 18 - 1 p.m. ET \| MSU Senior Day
Probable Pitching Matchup	MSU: MSU: #38 RHP Caleb Sleeman (2-3, 4.68 ERA) vs. ILL: #22 RHP Cyrillo Watson (JR) (4-2, 3.82 ERA)
Coverage	Big Ten Network \| Live Stats \| Listen Live \| Watch Live

Leading Off...
• Michigan State hosts Illinois in a three-game Big Ten Conference weekend series to close out regular-season action, Thursday-Saturday, May 16-18 at McLane Stadium at Kobs Field ... Thursday's series opener is slated for a 5:30 p.m. start time and will be nationally televised on Big Ten Network ... The second game is the series is on Friday with a 6:35 p.m. first pitch, followed by Saturday's series and regular-season finale with a 1:05 p.m. start time ... Friday is Military Appreciation Night, while Saturday is MSU Senior Day ... Illinois comes into the weekend ranked No. 23 in the D1Baseball Top 25 Poll, while ranked No. 24 in the USA Today Coaches Poll ... Note: any schedule updates for Tuesday's game will be posted on MSUSpartans.com and on twitter @statebaseball.

• Michigan State enters the final weekend of the regular-season still fighting for postseason play, as the Spartans have to sweep Illinois and need the right combination of wins and losses from other teams around the league in order to qualify.

• Fans can follow this week's MSU action through "Live Stats," "Listen Live" and "Watch Live" links found at MSUSpartans.com ... The games will be video streamed on BTN2Go, and also carried on the Spartan Sports Network live audio stream, available exclusively at SpartanSportsNetwork.com and on the network's 24/7 app for mobile devices ... Broadcast veteran Scott Moore calls the action alongside former MSU manager/bullpen catcher David Greenberg.

• Thursday's series opener will be nationally televised on the Big Ten Network ... Chris Vosters will handled play-by-play duties while Danan Hughes will provide analysis.

• Friday is MSU's Military Appreciation Night at the ballpark, with a military representative throwing out the ceremonial first pitch and all of the military branches being recognized throughout the game. Friday is the make-up date, after the original game scheduled for April 20 was postponed due to inclement weather. Numerous military families will be in attendance with complimentary admission, and are invited to a post-game meet and greet with the MSU team. The Spartans will be wearing special Military Appreciation Night uniforms, featuring a military camo pattern, designed by Nike.

• Saturday will also be MSU's Senior Day, as the Spartans will honor their five senior players: Royce Ando, Marty Bechina, Dan Chmielewski, Evan Flohr and Nic Lacayo, as well as three senior managers Atticus Bohr, Eric Behan and Joseph "Rocco" Spizziri, in a pre-game ceremony.

• This weekend series involves a pair of teams who have been on winning spurts of late ... MSU has won its last three weekend series, including the last two on the road, while Illinois has won its last five weekend series ... The Spartans have won seven of their last 11 B1G games after starting league play 0-9 ... The Illini opened conference competition with a 1-5 mark but have won 12 of their last 15 B1G contests.

• The Spartans are hosting the Illini for the first time since 2015 ... MSU has won four of the last five meetings with Illinois, splitting the two non-conference games played last year after sweeping the three-game B1G series in 2017.

• MSU and Illinois are playing a regular-season series for the first time since 2017 and the first series in East Lansing since 2015 ... The Spartans and Illini played two games last season on a neutral field, meeting in Greenville, S.C. at Fluor Field in the First Pitch Invitational, splitting the weather-altered schedule, with Illinois winning the first meeting of the weekend, 15-4, on March 9, before MSU bounced back the next day to stymie Illinois, 4-2 ... Overall, the Spartans and Illini come into this weekend having met 147 times before, while Illinois holding a slight, 78-69 all-time series advantage, first meeting in 1952, playing at least once a season from 1952-1980, then going on an eight-year hiatus in the series, before resuming in 1988, playing in 1988 and 1989, before another layoff, then meeting in the 1992 B1G Tournament, then in the 1994 regular season, meeting every year from 1994-2018 with the exception of 1998 and 2016 ... MSU has a 34-28 edge in games played in East Lansing ... The Spartans have won four of the last five meetings, as before splitting last year's two-game weekend, MSU swept a three-game series at Illinois in 2017 ... This is the first regular-season meeting in May since 2014, and matching the latest regular-season meetings in the series since 2007, when the teams met May 18-20, 2007.

• The Illini are the second of two opponents the Spartans have faced this season from the state of Illinois, joining Northwestern ... MSU has now played teams from 12 different states, as Illinois joins Arizona, Connecticut, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Michigan, Nebraska, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio and South Carolina.

• The Spartans have 19 players on its 2019 roster from the state of Michigan, while the Illini have 24 Illinois natives on their roster ... Michigan State has six players from Illinois on its roster, while the Illini do not have any Michiganders on their roster.

• Michigan State has six players from Illinois and all from in or within an hour-and-a-half of the Chicago area in junior outfielder Danny Gleaves (Homer Glen/St. Rita HS), senior infielder Marty Bechina (Chicago/St. Rita HS), freshman outfielder Zaid Walker (Homewood/Homewood-Flossmoor HS), sophomore infielder Ryan King (Munster/Brother Rice HS), junior pitcher Jarret Olson (La Salle/Galesburg HS/Parkland CC) and sophomore pitcher Zac Bianucci (Naperville/Naperville Central HS).

• Michigan State head coach Jake Boss Jr. earned his 350th career victory on April 24 with the 4-2 Victory for MSU over Toledo ... Boss has a career ledger of 357-301 as a collegiate head coach ... Boss also has a 332-267 mark at MSU, and will be coaching his 600th game for the Green & White on Thursday night.

• The Spartan trio of junior outfielder Bryce Kelley, junior outfielder Danny Gleaves and senior infielder Marty Bechina is the only the active threesome in the country to have three players on the respective school stolen base list, as Kelley is No. 2 with 64 stolen bases, Gleaves and Bechina are tied at No. 9 with 34 each ... Senior outfielder Dan Chmielewski is close behind with 27 ... Chmielewski had two swipes in the Purdue series, while Bechina swiped one and then had two stolen bases in Tuesday's game at Central Michigan.

• Senior outfielder Dan Chmielewski was named to the 2019 Google Cloud Academic First-Team All-District® Baseball Team as selected by College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) ... This marks the third-straight year that Chmielewski has collected the accolade ... Chmielewski will now advance to the national ballot ... The CoSIDA Academic All-District honor is the most current to Chmielewski's collection of academic accolades, as he was also recently named the Michigan State recipient of the Big Ten Post-Graduate Scholarship.

• Senior infielder Royce Ando was tabbed the Big Ten Player of the Week on Monday, following his performance for the week of May 6-12 ... Ando hit .556 (10-for-18) for the week with at least one hit in all five of MSU's games last week, including multiple hits in three of the five games. He posted a .667 slugging percentage with eight singles and two doubles, along with a .636 on-base percentage and added five RBI.

• Along with hitting .556 (10-for-18) in last five games, Ando is hitting .405 (17-for-42) over last 11 games with four doubles, along with 10 RBI and four walks in that span ... Ando totes a seven-game hitting streak into the weekend.

• Senior infielder Marty Bechina now has 43 career doubles, moving up to tie for No. 6 on MSU's career doubles list, joining Jeff Holm (2008-11) and Joel Fisher (2011-14) ... Bechina leads MSU and ranks tied for fifth in the B1G with 15 doubles.

• Junior reliever Indigo Diaz picked up his seventh save of the season in Sunday's 7-5 Victory for MSU at No. 24 Iowa, moving up to tie for No. 10 on MSU's single season saves list and ranking tied for eighth in the B1G.

• Freshman outfielder Zaid Walker is hitting .411 (23-for-56) in his last 14 games, with six RBI, 12 runs scored and two walks in that 14-game stretch, raising his average from .227 to current .289 ... Walker had two or more hits in a stretch of four games as part of an eight-game hit streak.

• With eight home runs out of his 15 hits, sophomore catcher Adam Proctor is one of only two players in the country with five or more round-trippers to have half of their hits be home runs ... Proctor is joined by Florida State's Cooper Swanson, who has seven home runs on 14 hits.

• In addition to winning their last three series, the Spartans posted four season-highs for a three-game series in the Northwestern series, then were just shy of a couple other marks in the series at Purdue, before tallying three new season-highs at Iowa ... MSU scored a season-high for runs in a series and runs per game with 21 runs and 7.0 runs per game at Iowa, while defensively, the Spartan pitching staff yielded a season-low for a series seven walks ... Against Northwestern, MSU tallied season-highs in hitting .346 for the weekend, scored 18 runs, rapped out 37 hits and averaged 6.0 runs per game ... At Purdue, the Spartans had their highest runs/game average in a road B1G series and second-highest in a league series with 4.0 rpg, just below the 6.0 vs. Northwestern ... Defensively, the MSU pitching staff didn't have a season-best in Northwestern series, but they had four second-best marks as the Spartans hurlers had a 1.61 ERA, yielded eight runs, five earned runs and limited Northwestern to just a .216 average for the weekend - all second-best for a three-game series at the time behind the Indiana State series April 5-7, when MSU has a 0.64 ERA, two runs, both earns, and held ISU to a .122 average ... At Purdue, the Spartan pitchers bettered the previous weekend's marks with just seven runs allowed and a .189 batting average against {see series breakdown on the left}.

• With 16 strikeouts over the weekend at Iowa and seven at Central Michigan, the Spartan pitchers have now rung up 426 strikeouts so far this season, marking the fifth-straight season of reaching the 400 K plateau ... The 426 Ks is currently No. 2 on the MSU single-season team strikeout list, while the top spot is 466 Ks in 2016.

• Thursday and Friday night against Illinois will be MSU's 21st and 22nd night game this season, as the Spartans are 12-8 overall in night games ... The Spartans have more night games this season, as it is Michigan State's first with lights at McLane Stadium at Kobs Field, after their installation project was completed in March ... The Spartans are 6-1 in home night games under the lights at McLane Stadium at Kobs Field.

• Michigan State baseball celebrated the first-ever night baseball game at McLane Stadium at Kobs Field in grand fashion with a suicide squeeze bunt 1-0 walk-off win over Indiana State in 10 innings ... Senior catcher Nic Lacayo perfectly executed a suicide squeeze bunt to drive in fellow senior, infielder Royce Ando with the winning run, sparking off a jubilant celebration as the Spartans stormed the field and dogpiled on the infield, and the newly installed lights flickered in celebration ... The MSU lights project was completed in early March and Friday was the Spartans' first game played under the lights in 135 years of Michigan State baseball, and MSU made it a memorable one with the thrilling victory.

• MSU head coach Jake Boss Jr. has now been involved in all three Division I schools in the state of Michigan first night games, as he was an assistant at Eastern Michigan for their first night game in 2000 and an assistant at Michigan for their first night game in 2005, and now as head coach of Michigan State ... With the April 5 victory for MSU over Indiana State, Boss is now 3-0 in those first night games at a Michigan school.

So Light 'em Up
Thanks in large part to an anonymous contribution of near $1.4 million from a Spartan alum, Michigan State University announced in January that lights were to be installed at McLane Stadium at Kobs Field and Secchia Stadium, the respective homes of Spartan baseball and softball, in preparation for the upcoming 2019 season. The lights project was completed in early March and the Spartans played their first game played under the lights in 135 years of MSU baseball on Friday, April 5.

The LED lights are 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 is slated to host a total of host nine games starting at 5 p.m. or later in 2019.

Under The Lights
The Spartans' success at night is nearly twice as good so far this season, as MSU is 12-8 this season in night games ... MSU is 6-1 under the lights at McLane Stadium at Kobs Field, winning the inaugural night game in the program's 135 years of baseball.

350 For 23
MSU head coach Jake Boss Jr., who wears jersey No. 23, earned his 350th career victory on April 24 with the 4-2 Victory for MSU over Toledo ... Boss has a career ledger of 357-300 as a collegiate head coach ... Last season Boss earned his 300th victory at the helm of the Spartans with MSU's 6-0 blanking of Rutgers on April 30, 2018 ... In 2017, Boss won his 300th career game as a collegiate head coach with the Spartans' 13-4 route at Richmond on March 18, 2017 .... Now in his 11th season as the MSU head coach, Boss has 332-267 mark with the Green & White, and is nearing his 600th game at Michigan State, as Tuesday will be No. 599 and Thursday vs. Illinois will be game number 600.

Home Staters
The Spartans have 19 players on its 2019 roster from the state of Michigan, while the Illini have 24 Illinois natives on their roster. Michigan State has six players from Illinois on its roster, while the Illini do not have any Michiganders on their roster.

Spartans From The Land Of Lincoln
Michigan State has six players from Illinois and all from in or within an hour-and-a-half of the Chicago area in junior outfielder Danny Gleaves (Homer Glen/St. Rita HS), senior infielder Marty Bechina (Chicago/St. Rita HS), freshman outfielder Zaid Walker (Homewood/Homewood-Flossmoor HS), sophomore infielder Ryan King (Munster/Brother Rice HS), junior pitcher Jarret Olson (La Salle/Galesburg HS/Parkland CC) and sophomore pitcher Zac Bianucci (Naperville/Naperville Central HS).

Michigan State vs. Illinois Series Breakdown
All-Time Series: ILL leads, 78-69 / Home 34-28 / Away 29-44 / Neutral 4-6 / Streak MSU W1, MSU W4-of-5
First Met: April 26, 1952 - East Lansing, Mich. - Illinois W, 10-8
Last Meeting: March 10, 2018 - Greenville, S.C. - MSU W, 4-2
Last Meeting In East Lansing: March 30, 2015 - East Lansing, Mich. - Illinois W, 13-9

Series Notes: The Spartans are hosting the Illini for the first time since 2015 ... MSU and Illinois are playing a regular-season series for the first time since 2017 and the first series in East Lansing since 2015 ... The Spartans and Illini played two games last season on a neutral field, meeting in Greenville, S.C. at Fluor Field in the First Pitch Invitational, splitting the weather-altered schedule, with Illinois winning the first meeting of the weekend, 15-4, on March 9, before MSU bounced back the next day to stymie Illinois, 4-2 ... Illinois holds a slight, 78-69 all-time series advantage, first meeting in 1952, playing at least once a season from 1952-1980, then going on an eight-year hiatus in the series, before resuming in 1988, playing in 1988 and 1989, before another layoff, then meeting in the 1992 B1G Tournament, then in the 1994 regular season, meeting every year from 1994-2018 with the exception of 1998 and 2016 ... MSU has a 34-28 edge in games played in East Lansing ... The Spartans have won four of the last five meetings, as before splitting last year's two-game weekend, MSU swept a three-game series at Illinois in 2017 ... This is the first regular-season meeting in May since 2014, and matching the latest regular-season meetings in the series since 2007, when the teams met May 18-20, 2007.

Last Meeting - MSU 4, Illinois 2 - Greenville, S.C. - March 10, 2018
Mason Erla and the Michigan State stymied Illinois, 4-2, on March 10, 2018, snapping the Illini's seven-game win streak, in the final game of the First Pitch Invitational, played at Fluor Field, home of the Greenville Drive, in Greenville, S.C.

Erla got help from the defense behind him, making several great plays in the field, as well as at the plate, as eight of the nine players in the lineup had at least one hit. The Spartan hurler limited a high-powered Illinois offense to just one hit over 6.1 IP, striking out five, to improve to 2-0 on the season and his third-straight solid outing.

Illinois came into Saturday evening's game against MSU on a seven-game win streak and hitting .261, including four players hitting over .300. In their first two games of the First Pitch Invitational, the Illini had scored a combined 29 runs on 29 hits. The Illini beat the Spartans, 15-4, Friday afternoon and topped Furman, 14-5, Saturday afternoon before facing MSU.

On the season entering the game vs. MSU, Illinois was averaging 8.8 hits per game and hitting .261 on the season, but Erla, along with sophomore relievers Mike Mokma and Mitchell Tyranski kept the Illini in check. Erla retired the first four Illini batters he faced and at one point from the fourth to the seventh frames, he retired 10 in a row.

Mokma went 1.1 innings, while Tyranksi also went 1.1 innings, getting a key groundout to end the eighth, then working around a leadoff single in the ninth, getting a flyout to end the game and collect the first save of his career.

Offensively, freshman first baseman Zach Iverson was 2-for-4 with two runs scored, while the keystone corner combo of junior second baseman Royce Ando and freshman shortstop Ryan King were also both 2-for-4. Ando had an RBI and a run scored. Sophomore left fielder Bryce Kelley was 2-for-5, as the Spartans rapped out 12 hits. Sophomore center fielder Danny Gleaves had one hit and swiped two bases.

Quick Look At Illinois
The Illini bring a 34-16 overall and 13-8 B1G ledger into the weekend, and Illinois is ranked No. 23 in the D1Baseball Top 25 Poll, while ranked No. 24 in the USA Today Coaches Poll. Illinois has won its last five weekend series. The Illini opened conference competition with a 1-5 mark but have won 12 of their last 15 B1G contests. Last time out, Illinois swept a weekend series with Purdue, winning 5-2 in 12 innings Friday night, then winning Saturday's contest, 5-4, to take the series before completing the sweep with a 6-4 victory on Sunday.

The Illinois defense is second in the nation in fewest errors per game (0.66), and Illinois is tied for second in the nation in fielding percentage at .982, slightly ahead of last year's single-season program record of .979. Only Xavier at .984 is ahead of the Illini. Nebraska set the Big Ten record of .981 in 2013.

Illinois is hitting .281 as a team and has three players hitting over .300, led by senior infielder Grant Van Scoy's .351 average, while senior outfielder Zac Taylor is hitting .338 and junior infielder/designated hitter Michael Massey has a .328 average. Taylor and Massey have 25 RBI apiece, while Van Scoy has 20, trailing team leader Cam McDonald's 32 RBI. Taylor leads the team with eight HR. Taylor also has 19 stolen bases, which shares the B1G lead with Jordan Brewer of Michigan and one ahead of Bryce Kelley of Michigan State.

The Illini have a 3.55 team ERA, with 414 strikeouts (8.3 pg) and 240 walks (4.8 pg), with a .214 batting average by the opposition. Thursday's starter is senior southpaw Andy Fisher, who has a 6-1 record and a 2.53 ERA, ranked tied for sixth in the B1G in wins and 10th in ERA. Fisher is also fourth with 81.2 IP, along with tied for sixth in strikeouts with 82, matching MSU's Friday starter, Mitchell Tyranski. Fisher also shares the B1G lead with 13 starts with his counterpart Thursday, MSU starter Mason Erla. Fisher has a .200 batting average against, with one split shutout. Friday's starter is junior righty Ty Weber, who is 4-1 with 2.48 ERA, which ranks tied for eighth in the B1G. Weber is also 10th in the league with a .218 opposition batting average, along with 37 strikeouts and 24 walks in 65.1 IP in 13 appearances with 11 starts. Saturday's series finale starter is junior righty Cyrillo Watson, who has a 4-2 record and a 3.82 ERA. Watson has 47 Ks and 38 BB in 63.2 IP with a .252 opposition average against. Junior right-handed closer Garrett Acton leads not only the B1G but shares the NCAA lead with 17 saves, with a paltry 1.92 ERA in 26 appearances, tallying 32 strikeouts and 17 walks in 29.2 IP and quieting the opponent bats to the tune of .110.

Illinois head coach Dan Hartleb is in his 14th season at the helm of the Illini, amassing a 444-317-1 ledger, winning two B1G titles and making three NCAA appearances.

About Michigan State
The Spartans are 19-32 overall and have a 7-13 B1G record, and still alive for the B1G Tournament, but must sweep Illinois and need the right combination of wins and losses from other teams around the league in order to qualify. MSU has won its last three weekend series, including the last two on the road, while Illinois has won its last five weekend series. The Spartans have won seven of their last 11 B1G games after starting league play 0-9. MSU has won has five of its last eighth, nine of its last 14 and 10 of its last 16.

MSU is coming off winning its second-straight road series as part of its third series win in a row. The Spartans have won four series in the last six weekends, taking two of three at No. 24 Iowa last weekend, which came on the heels of winning two of the three games at Purdue May 3-5.

The Spartans bounced back from falling in Friday's series opener at No. 24 Iowa, 7-5, rallying from down 4-0 in the first inning to tie it, before the Hawkeyes pulled away. On Saturday, it was MSU's turn to jump out to a 4-0 lead, and Michigan State went on to win 9-4. In Sunday's rubber match, MSU rallied from a 4-1 deficit after six innings with a five-run seventh inning, and went on to win 7-5. Michigan State was defeated in its final midweek contest of the regular-season, falling at Central Michigan, 10-2, on Tuesday.

MSU is hitting .238 as a team, led by senior infielder Royce Ando, who is hitting .310. Junior outfielder Bryce Kelley is the only other Spartan hitting over .300 at .302. Kelley also leads the Spartans and is second in the Big Ten with 18 stolen bases. Freshman outfielder Zaid Walker is hitting .289, senior infielder Marty Bechina is hitting .250 and senior catcher Nic Lacayo has a .247 average.

The Spartans' keystone connection of Bechina (SS) and Ando (2B) lead MSU in RBI, as Bechina has 30 and Ando had 26. Bechina has a team-leading 15 doubles to go with four HRs. Bechina ranks tied for fifth in the B1G in doubles. Bechina is second on the team with 12 stolen bases.

Sophomore catcher Adam Proctor has smacked eight home runs, ranking tied for 11th in the B1G. Bechina and freshman outfielder Casey Mayes are tied for second on the team with four HRs each.

On the mound, sophomore right-hander Mason Erla is the probable starter for Thursday's series opener. Erla has a 2-9 record with a 5.40 ERA. One of Erla's best starts was against Indiana State. Erla went 9.0 innings and stymied the Sycamore bats to just two hits, as ISU entered the game hitting .282 as a team and had four players hitting over .300. Erla limited the Sycamores to just two hits while striking out six and walking just three, in firing a career-long outing as well as his second-fewest hits in his career. Overall, Erla has 59 strikeouts with 27 walks in a team-leading 76.2 IP, ranking eighth in the B1G, while also sharing the league lead with 13 games started.

Junior lefty Mitchell Tyranski is slated to get the nod for Friday's contest. Tyranski has a deceiving 3-7 mark with a 4.04 ERA, but has his last three outings and has been solid his last six times out, setting a then-career-long with 7.0 IP against Indiana State on April 6 and then matching it at Rutgers on April 13 to go with a career-high 10 strikeouts. He followed that up with nine strikeouts in 6.2 IP against Indiana on April 21. Last weekend against Northwestern on April 27, Tyranski went a new career-long going 8.0 IP with another nine K outing in earning his first win of the season. in his last outing, against Purdue last Saturday, Tyranski tied a career high with 10 strikeouts, in 7.2 innings, scattering just six hits with only one walk without allowing a run. Tyranski didn't allow a Boilermaker baserunner past first until the sixth, and only two Purdue runners reached third against him. Tyranski has fired at least nine strikeouts in four of his last five outings, giving him 44 Ks over that five-game stretch as part of 66 strikeouts in his last nine outings.

In the match-up with the Sycamores, Tyranski chalked up six strikeouts, one shy of his season-high, while scattering just three hits, including none after the third inning. At one stretch, Tyranski had a streak of 15 batters set down in conventional and non-conventional order, working around a single in the third with a double play. The Sycamores scored their two runs in the first inning, before Tyranski settled in and was rolling. On April 13 at Rutgers, Tyranski struck out a career-high 10 in throwing a career-high 7.0 IP, while scattering nine hits and yielding two earned runs. Tyranski's 10 Ks is the second double-digit strikeout total this season for a Spartan pitcher, joining junior Mike Mokma's 11 Ks vs. Ohio State on March 9 in Greenville, S.C. On April 21 against Indiana, Tyranski chalked up nine Ks in 6.2 IP, yielding three runs. In the outing against Northwestern on April 27, Tyranski went a career-long 8.0, firing nine strikeouts while scattering five hits, yielding just two runs, one earned, and walking two in earning his first victory of the season.

Tyranski has registered nine or more punchouts in four games this season, as part of six of more in his last seven-straight outings and eight total times. The junior southpaw has a team-leading 82 strikeouts, which is tied for sixth in the B1G, matching Illinois' Thursday night starter Andy Fisher. Tyranski has yielded just 18 walks in 69.0 IP. Tyranski also has a 10.70 strikeouts per nine innings average, ranking sixth in the B1G. In Big Ten play, Tyranski is fifth in strikeouts with 54 in league games, as well as tied for fifth in innings pitched with 44.2.

Junior right-hander Caleb Sleeman is the Spartans' probable starter for Sunday's series finale, bringing a 2-3 record and a 4.68 ERA into the weekend. After a short outing at Rutgers, going less than two innings, before bouncing back with 2.0 IP of work vs. Eastern Michigan, striking out two, Sleeman then went 4.0 IP against Indiana on April 21, chalking up four Ks but allowing four runs. He had a scheduled short outing against Toledo on April 24, going 2.0 IP while tallying three punchouts. Sleeman went 4.0 IP with four Ks against Northwestern on April 27, then tallied six Ks in 3.2 IP at Purdue on May 5. Sleeman made two appearances in the Iowa series, coming on as a reliever in Friday night's game, pitching 1.0 IP with two strikeouts, then starting Sunday's game, going 4.0 IP with two more Ks.

Sleeman earned two wins on the week of April 2-7 in both a reliever role and a starter role, ending the week with 9.2 IP with 0 ER and nine strikeouts and just four hits. He threw 3.0 IP of relief on April 2 vs. Western Michigan at Comerica Park in Detroit, leading MSU to a 5-2 victory, limiting WMU to just one hit while striking out four. Against Indiana State on April 7, Sleeman made his first start of the season and his first since freshman season of 2017 and went a career-long 6.2 IP, tying career-high with five Ks and stymieing Indiana State to just three hits in a combined shutout. For the season, Sleeman has 45 Ks and 27 BB.

Out of the bullpen, senior southpaw Evan Flohr has a team-high 28 appearances, which is tied for the most in the B1G and tied for sixth in MSU single-season history. He has a 3-0 record with a 4.43 ERA, logging 34 strikeouts and 33 walks. Flohr earned his first win for the Green & White against Western Michigan on March 27.

Junior righty Indigo Diaz has 49 Ks in 42.1 IP, now with a 2-4 record and seven saves on the season. Diaz is tied for eighth in the B1G with the seven saves, and tied for No. 10 on MSU's single-season saves list. He is also tied for 11th in the B1G with 20 strikeouts looking, and also ranked tied for 11th in the B1G with 23 appearances. Diaz earned his first save of his MSU career against Western Michigan on March 27, after recently shifting from the starting rotation to the bullpen. Diaz also picked up the save in the win over WMU on April 2 at Comerica and at Notre Dame on April 9, ending both contests with strikeouts. He also collected the save against Toledo on April 24, also ringing up a strikeout to end it.

Freshman reliever Colten Panaranto has 22 appearances with two starts, logging a 3-0 record with a 4.66 ERA, firing 38 Ks and 24 BB in 46.1 IP.

Chmielewski Named CoSIDA Academic All-District
Michigan State baseball senior outfielder Dan Chmielewski was named to the 2019 Google Cloud Academic First-Team All-District® Baseball Team as selected by College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). This marks the third-straight year that Chmielewski has collected the accolade.

Chmielewski will now advance to the national ballot.

The CoSIDA Academic All-District honor is the most current to Chmielewski's collection of academic accolades, as he was also recently named the Michigan State recipient of the Big Ten Post-Graduate Scholarship, awarded to one male and one female student-athlete from each of the 14 Big Ten institutions who plan to continue their education at a graduate degree program were each awarded a $7,500 scholarship, based on primarily academic achievements. Chmielewski was joined by Ellie Roche of the MSU Women's Swimming & Diving team.

This is the third-straight season that Chmielewski has earned CoSIDA First-Team All-District honors. He was also recognized as the recipient of the Michigan State President's Award during Michigan State's Student-Athlete Support Services (SASS) 22nd annual Spartan Academic Excellence Gala last month.

Chmielewski also was presented with the Scholar-Athlete Award for the baseball team at the event. The Scholar-Athlete Award is presented to the individual from each team who has reached at least junior academic status, has received a minimum of one Varsity Letter, has competed during the 2018-19 season and while meeting these requirements, maintains the highest cumulative grade point average on their team.

As a top student-athlete, Chmielewski, a native of Shelby Township, Michigan, has experienced tremendous success at Michigan State University. He currently maintains a 3.986 cumulative GPA in psychology, is a team captain, and has served on the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee for the past three years. In addition, this four-time Big Ten Distinguished Scholar and Academic All-Big Ten honoree has made a profound impact in the community during his time at MSU. He has been an active participant in the McLaren Hospital Maternity Ward, Miracle League of Mid-Michigan, Ronald McDonald House and the Muscular Dystrophy Baseball Clinic. Upon graduation, Chmielewski will begin his journey toward his goal of becoming a physician when he starts medical school at MSU's College of Osteopathic Medicine in the fall.

On the field, Chmielewski is currently hitting .213 with 10 RBI, adding five stolen bases. Chmielewski has played in 48 of MSU's 50 games, making 46 starts, mostly in center field. He also leads the team with eight sacrifice hits, while adding two sacrifice flies, also topping the team in total sacrifices.

Ando Tabbed Big Ten Player of the Week
Michigan State baseball senior infielder Royce Ando was named the Big Ten Conference Player of the Week for his performance the week of May 6-12, announced by the conference office on May 13.

Ando, a native of Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, hit .556 (10-for-18) for the week with at least one hit in all five of MSU's games last week, including multiple hits in three of the five games. He posted a .667 slugging percentage with eight singles and two doubles, along with a .636 on-base percentage and added five RBI.

This is Ando's first Big Ten Player of the Week accolade to go with earning Academic All-Big Ten honors twice. Ando is the first Spartan to earn Big Ten Player of the Week award since former teammate, Dan Durkin earned the award on Feb. 20, 2017.

Ohio State's Seth Lonsway was the B1G Pitcher of the Week, while Indiana pitcher Gabe Bierman was the B1G Freshman of the Week.

In the Spartans' three games at No. 24 Iowa, Ando was 7-for-11 (.636), as MSU snapped Iowa's six-series win streak, dealing the Hawkeyes their first home series loss of the season, spoiling their Senior Day and graduation weekend, as well as helping the Spartans to their first two wins over a ranked team this season. In Sunday's series-clinching win, Ando had a two-out RBI in the seventh as MSU rallied from a 4-1 deficit after six innings with a five-run seventh inning, scoring all five runs with two outs. He added another RBI single in the ninth to cap the Spartans' comeback and seal the Victory for MSU.

Last week's performance boosted Ando's average up to .312, which leads MSU and is tied for 11th in the B1G. Ando is also second on the team with 53 hits and 26 RBI and third on the team with nine doubles. He also tops the team with a .397 on-base percentage, sharing the team lead with 22 walks drawn. Sunday's two-RBI outing was his team-leading eighth multi-RBI game this season.

Weather With The Win
MSU has now had seven games so far either postponed or cancelled, as well as adjusting the start time on several others due to Mother Nature.

Comeback Spartans
Three of Michigan State's recent wins were all of the come-from-behind variety, as MSU rallied from a 3-0 deficit in game one vs. Indiana to win 5-3 on April 21. The Spartans were down 2-0 early against Oakland on April 23, before storming back with 12 unanswered runs to win 12-2. In the April 24 game against Toledo, the Spartans were down 1-0 before they had even come to the plate, as the visiting Rockets scored a run in the top of the first, before MSU rallied to win 4-2.

The Spartans have five wins this season when trailing by at least 2-0 before rallying to win. The 3-0 deficit in the seventh vs. Indiana was MSU's latest rally of the season, as they trailed 4-0 in the second at Arizona on March 5 and won 9-5; trailed 2-0 in the second vs. Western Michigan and won, 3-2, on April 27; were down 2-0 in the fifth at Notre Dame on April 9 and won, 3-2; trailed the Hoosiers, 3-0, in the seventh to win 5-3, on April 21.

Super Sevenths
MSU has plated four or more runs in an inning five times this season and three of the five occasions have now come in the seventh inning after a four-run seventh frame against Valpo on May 8, plating four runs on four hits. Also of the five times, they've been alternating, doing so the first, third and now fifth times, with a second and eighth big inning squeezed in. The Spartans hung eight runs on the board in the seventh inning at Arizona on March 5 to rally and win 9-5. On April 21 vs. Indiana, the Spartans plated five runs in the seventh, to overcome an early 3-0 deficit.

Carolina In My Mind And Travel Itinerary
Michigan State had the James Taylor tune on repeat in the early portion of the season, as the Spartans' trip to Greenville on March 15-17 was the third and final of three trips to the Palmetto State for the Spartans this season ... MSU was in Conway, S.C. Feb. 22-24 playing in the Coastal Carolina-hosted Brittain Resorts Baseball at the Beach ... The Spartans were in Greenville March 8-10 on the second half of Spring Break trip, hosting the First Pitch Invitational at Fluor Field, which was originally scheduled for Friday-Sunday, but inclement weather condensed the schedule to Saturday-Sunday ... MSU traveled home to East Lansing on the night of March 10 for class and practice Monday-Wednesday, returning to Greenville on the evening of Thursday, March 14, then playing UConn in a four-game series at Fluor Field Friday-Sunday, March 15-17.

Striking 'Em Out
With 16 strikeouts over the weekend at Iowa and seven at Central Michigan, the Spartan pitchers have now rung up 426 strikeouts so far this season, marking the fifth-straight season of reaching the 400 K plateau. The 426 Ks is currently No. 2 on the MSU single-season team strikeout list, while the top spot is 466 Ks in 2016.

TEAM STRIKEOUTS
            1.          2016    466
                2.            2019      426
            3.         2017     420
            4.         2015     409
            5.         2018    407
            6.         2002    390
            7.         2012     389
            8.         1998    380
            9.         2004    378
            10.       2014    355

Road Warriors
Michigan State is one of 19 teams in the nation who played 18 or more consecutive games away from home to open the season, and MSU's 21 games is tied for the sixth-most ... After the Spartans' original home opener was postponed due to inclement weather, MSU had played 21 games away from home before Wednesday's home opener vs. Western Michigan ... Ironically, WMU leads the nation currently with 31 games away from home until their first home game on April 12, as the Broncos also had their original home game on March 12 postponed due to weather ... The Spartans are the only Big Ten team on the list, as MSU is the northernmost team in the B1G.

Team   No. of Games
Western Michigan     31
North Dakota State   26
Oakland          24
Eastern Michigan      23
Dartmouth     23
Central Michigan       22
Lafayette        22
Toledo 22
Hofstra           21
Michigan State               21
Milwaukee     21
South Dakota State   21
UConn 21
UMass 21
Canisius          20
Gonzaga         20
Niagara           20
Fairfield          19
Bradley           18

It's Dark, And We're Wearing Sunglasses... Hit It
MSU has posted a season-high 15 hits in three games and they've all come in the last 12 games, doing so in back-to-back games vs. Northwestern on April 26 and 27, as well as vs. Valpo on May 8. MSU's previous season high for hits as 14 in the April 7 win over Indiana State.

With 12 hits at Purdue on May 5, plus the 15 hits vs. Valpo, combined double-digit hits in all three games at Iowa, the Spartans have had double-digit hits in five of the last seven games as part of seven times in the last 12 games. Overall, MSU has double-digit hits in 18 games.

Marty Mashing Doubles
Senior infielder Marty Bechina leads MSU and ranks tied for fifth in the Big Ten with 15 doubles. Bechina now has 43 career doubles, which is tied for No. 6 on MSU's career doubles list with Jeff Holm (2008-11) and Joel Fisher (2011-14).

DOUBLES
1.          Blaise Salter   55        2012-15
2.         Ryan Kril         48        2012-15
            Scott Ayotte   47        1992-95
4.         Ryan Jones     46        2010-12
5.         Bob Malek      ..45      2000-02
6.         Jeff Holm        43        2008-11
            Joel Fisher      .43       2011-14
8.         Matt Riggins 42        1993-96
                Marty Bechina               42           2016-pres.
10.       Torsten Boss 40        2010-12
            Chris McCuiston        40        1999-02

Hurlin' Erla
Sophomore right-hander Mason Erla was dealing against Indiana State on April 5, going 9.0 innings and stymieing the Sycamore bats to just two hits, as ISU entered the game hitting .282 as a team and had four players hitting over .300. Erla limited the Sycamores to just two hits while striking out six and walking just three, in firing a career-long outing as well as his second-fewest hits in his career. Erla is also the Spartans' second 9.0 inning outing of the season, joining junior Mike Mokma's complete game vs. Ohio State in Greenville, S.C. on March 9. Erla's previous career-long outing was 7.0 IP done twice in his career, most recently April 1, 2018 vs. Rutgers.

Tossin' It Tyranski
Junior lefty Mitchell Tyranski has fired at least nine strikeouts in his last four outings, giving him 38 Ks over that stretch as part of 60 strikeouts in his last eight outings. The junior southpaw has a team-leading 76 strikeouts, which is tied for eighth in the B1G, to just 18 walks in 63.0 IP.

Tyranski tied a career high with 10 strikeouts without yielding a run and earning his second-straight win, at Purdue on May 4. The Spartan junior southpaw matched his 10-K outing for the second time in three outings, last striking out 10 at Rutgers on April 13 with 10 strikeouts in 7.2 innings at Purdue, scattering just six hits with only one walk without allowing a run. Tyranski didn't allow a Boilermaker baserunner past first until the sixth, and only two Purdue runners reached third against him.

Tyranski started his banner streak of outings on April 6 vs. Indiana State in 7.0. He chalked up six strikeouts, one shy of his then season-high, while scattering just three hits, including none after the third inning. At one stretch, Tyranski had a streak of 15 batters set down in conventional and non-conventional order, working around a single in the third with a double play. The Sycamores scored their two runs in the first inning, before Tyranski settled in and was rolling.

Tyranski continued his solid pitching in his next outing, at Rutgers, as he struck out a career-high 10 in throwing a career-high tying 7.0 IP, while scattering nine hits and yielding two earned runs. Tyranski's 10 Ks is the second double-digit strikeout total this season for a Spartan pitcher, joining junior Mike Mokma's 11 Ks vs. Ohio State on March 9 in Greenville, S.C.

The southpaw kept his hot streak rolling against Indiana on April 21, going 6.2 IP, ringing up nine strikeouts, scattering six hits and yielding three runs around two walks.

In his outing against Northwestern on April 27, Tyranski went a career-long 8.0 IP, with nine strikeouts, including five through his first five batters of the game. Tyranski scattered five hits while allowing just one earned run with two walks.

Slingin' Sleeman
Junior right-hander Caleb Sleeman earned two wins on the week during April 2-7, in both a reliever role and a starter role, ending the week with 9.2 IP with 0 ER and nine strikeouts and just four hits. He threw 3.0 IP of relief on the night of April 2 vs. Western Michigan at Comerica Park in Detroit, leading MSU to a 5-2 victory, limiting WMU to just one hit while striking out four.

On Sunday, April 7 against Indiana State, Sleeman made his first start of the season and his first since freshman season of 2017 and went a career-long 6.2 IP, tying career-high with five Ks and stymieing Indiana State to just three hits in a combined shutout, for MSU's second shutout win of the weekend, and second in three days after not having a shutout since April 1, 2018, which was also a 6-0 victory. The Sycamores came into the weekend hitting .282 as a team and had four players hitting over .300, but Sleeman kept them quiet on the way to a 6-0 split shutout win. In the top of the sixth inning, Sleeman got a strikeout for the first out, then worked around a walk and hit by pitch by fielding his position on a come-backer, spinning and firing to second to start the Spartans' third double play of the game, their season-high third of the day.

Dealing Diaz
In his last 18 appearances, junior reliever Indigo Diaz has 29 strikeouts, including four that ended games and sealed victories for MSU, highlighted by the third of striking out the side in the ninth on April 9 at Notre Dame. Diaz has yielded just 15 hits with only five total runs, four earned, in 26.1 IP, with a 1.37 ERA in the stretch, while limiting the opposition to a .153 average. In that span, Diaz has earned seven saves and two wins, along with being part of two shutouts.

Diaz has not allowed a run of any kind in 15 of his 19 total relief appearances, including a stretch of 13 in a row, which was snapped on April 27 by yielding a run against Northwestern. The only other relief outings with a run scored against him was March 16 vs. UConn in Greenville, May 4 at Purdue and May 12 at Iowa (unearned).

In a smaller sample size, Dias has 20 strikeouts in his last 12 outings, with a 2-1 record and a 0.92 ERA in 19.2 IP.

Silence Of The Sycamores
MSU's pitching staff limited Indiana State to just 11 hits in the three games, stymieing the Sycamore bats to the tune of a .122 batting average (11-of-90), only yielding two runs for a 0.64 ERA, while ringing up 21 strikeouts. Indiana State entered the weekend with a .282 average as a team and had four players hitting north of .300.

Bull-ish Pen
MSU's bullpen had a standout outing in the win over Western Michigan on March 27, as freshman Colten Panaranto, junior Caleb Sleeman, Flohr and Diaz collectively kept the Broncos at bay. Sleeman registered four strikeouts, while Panaranto posted a pair of punchouts and Flohr rang up one K, while limiting the hot WMU bats to just six hits in the final eight innings, as the Broncos entered the game ranking 24th in the NCAA with a .298 team batting average.

The first WMU match-up was the Spartan pen's season-long outing of the season at 7.1 IP, and was the group's second outing without yielding a run, both coming in the last three games joining March 22 at Nebraska in game two of the twinbill. The second strikeouts was the second-most behind eight Ks in 4.0 IP vs. UConn on March 17.

In the last 34 games since March 22, the Spartan bullpen has 123 Ks (3.6 pg) in 125.2 IP, with a paltry .212 batting average against and a 3.44 ERA. The pen has a 10-2 record with eight saves over that span as well. The MSU relievers have combined to not allow an earned run in 12 of the last 23 games, including four-straight with all three of the Indiana State series and the Notre Dame game, as part of 15 times during that 34-game spurt, while only yielding one earned run in eight other games.

King Kelley
MSU junior outfielder Bryce Kelley has swiped 18 bases so far this season, including a spurt of 12 in the last 23 games. The 18 swipes ranks Kelley one off the B1G lead.

Kelley became the fourth player in MSU baseball history to reach the 60 career stolen bases plateau with his 60th career swipe, that came at Rutgers on April 12. He now has 61 stolen bases, tying Brandon Eckerle (2008-11) for No. 3 on MSU's career stolen base list.

Last season, Kelley 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.

In 2018, Kelley led the Big Ten and ranked third in the NCAA with 0.66 stolen bases per game in 2018, 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.

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, along with his 18 swipes this season, he now has 64 career stolen bases, now No. 2 on MSU's career stolen base list. If Kelley is able to match or top the 33 stolen bases he had in 2018, he would tie Anthony Cheky (2012-15) for the career school record with 79 stolen bases.

Speedy Spartan Trio
The speedy Spartan trio of junior outfielder Bryce Kelley, junior outfielder Danny Gleaves and senior infielder Marty Bechina are all ranked in the top 10 of the career stolen base list and the Spartan trio is the only the active threesome in the country to have three players on the respective school stolen base list. Kelley is No. 2 with 64 stolen bases, Gleaves and Bechina are tied at No. 9 with 34. Senior outfielder Dan Chmielewski is close behind with 27. Bechina swiped two bases Tuesday at CMU.

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, now with 34 base swipes after two stolen bases in the early going of this season.

Bechina has eight swipes in the last 14 games, including a stretch of four in two games on April 23 and 24. Bechina now has 12 stolen bases this season and 34 for his career, moving up to tie for No. 9 on MSU's career stolen base list with teammate Gleaves.

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.            Bryce Kelley     64           2017-pres.
3.         Jeff Holm        63        2008-11
3.         Brandon Eckerle        61        2008-11
5.         Brandon Hughes        50        2015-17
6.         Steve Money 46        1991-94
            Steve Preston 46        1986-88
8.         Cam Gibson    45        2013-15
9.            Danny Gleaves                34           2017-pres.
                Marty Bechina               34           2016-pres.
11.        Jimmy Pickens           30        2012-15
            Joe Gavel        30        1968-69
--             Dan Chmielewski          27           2016-pres.

Solo Shots
Of the Spartans' 19 home runs so far this season, 11 have been solo shots ... Michigan State hit three home runs in the opening weekend at New Orleans and all three were solo homers ... Senior infielder Royce Ando got things started with his home run in the second inning of the opener, in his smashing return to action after missing most of last season with an injury, belting a HR in his first at bat of 2019 ... Freshman outfielder Zaid Walker smacked the first home run of Spartan career with a solo shot off the scoreboard in left field in the second inning of the game on Feb. 17 ... Sophomore catcher Adam Proctor blasted a solo round-tripper in the ninth inning of that same game on Feb. 17 that concluded the scoring for the Spartans ... Proctor added a solo homer in the second inning against Western Carolina on March 9, while sophomore infielder Zach Iverson hit his first home run as a Spartan with a solo shot to lead off the fourth inning vs. Appalachian State on March 10 ... Bechina struck again with a solo shot in the sixth inning vs. UConn at March 16 ... Proctor added a leadoff solo shot in the third inning of Friday's game one at Nebraska on March 22 ... Freshman outfielder Casey Mayes has the last two round-trippers, with a pinch-hit two-run shot at Nebraska March 24 and a two-run blast on April 7 vs. Indiana State ... Proctor blasted a towering solo home run at Notre Dame on April 9, as well as a solo shot vs. Indiana on April 21, sending the ball into the Red Cedar River beyond the wall in right field ... Bechina had a solo shot against Northwestern on April 27 ... Proctor had a monster shot at Purdue on May 4, a deep home run that cleared not just the right field fence, but the Spartans' bullpen and landed in the Purdue soccer field, a good distance from the edge of the baseball stadium.

Adam Bombs
Sophomore catcher Adam Proctor leads MSU with eight home runs, ranking tied for 10th in the B1G. With eight home runs out of his 15 hits, Proctor is the only player in the country with five or more round-trippers to have half of their hits be home runs. The next closest player is Jason Hinchman of Tennessee Tech, who has 20 home runs of his 47 hits.

On April 23 vs. Oakland, Proctor smashed a three-run home run deep into the Red Cedar River beyond the right field wall as part of a six-run sixth inning for the Green & White. It was Proctor's team-leading seventh HR of the season, including belting three of the Spartans' last four round-trippers. It was his second-straight game with a home run into the Red Cedar, also sending one into the river Sunday vs. Indiana.

The round-tripper against the Hoosiers was a solo shot in the sixth inning of game two. Proctor blasted the first pitch he saw into the Red Cedar River with a shot high into the trees and just inside the right field foul line.

Proctor's previous HR was April 9 at Notre Dame, a pinch-hit towering solo shot to right field in the sixth.

At Purdue on May 4, Proctor's towering deep home run cleared not just the right field fence, but the Spartans' bullpen and landed in the Purdue soccer field, a good distance from the edge of the baseball stadium. Purdue right fielder Cole McKenzie didn't even move, only shuffling his feet to watch the ball sail out of the park.

Over half of Proctor's hits have been extra bases, as along with his eight home runs, he has one double for eight extra-base hits of his 15 total hits.

Bechina Blasts
After their first three home runs of the season were solo shots, the Spartans' next two home runs were of the two-run variety, and both by senior infielder Marty Bechina, with a two-run shot in the eighth inning at No. 19 Coastal Carolina on Feb. 22 and a two-run shot in the first inning at No. 24 Arizona State on March 2 ... Bechina broke out of a homeless stretch with a solo shot on April 27 against Northwestern ... For his career, Bechina has now blasted four two-run home runs as part of 19 total career round-trippers, with 14 solo shots.

Casey At The Bat For Sunday Slams
Freshman outfielder Casey Mayes now has four home runs, with his first two coming on Sundays, before his last two have been launched on a Friday night. He had a three-run round tripper on Friday night, April 19 vs. Indiana, marking the first that didn't come on a Sunday. Mayes then added a two-run HR against Northwestern on Friday night, April 26.

Mayes mashed his first home run as a Spartan with a two-run pinch hit blast in the eighth inning of the game at Nebraska on Sunday, March 24.

He blasted his first home run at home on Sunday, April 7 against Indiana State for MSU's first two runs in a 6-0 victory.

Against Indiana on April 19, Mayes, a left-handed batter, blasted an opposite field shot down the left field line, into the wind, and sending the ball into the trees beyond the left field fence for a three-run round tripper.

Mayes mirrored his home run vs. Northwestern from the shot against Indiana, as the conditions of cold, damp and windy were identical, and it was opposite field down the left field line.

Second Inning Slams
A total of five of MSU's 19 home runs have come in the second inning, while four have come in the sixth and four in the eighth ... Of the three home runs that the Spartans hit in New Orleans, two of them were in the second inning, as senior infielder Royce Ando had a smashing return to action with a solo shot in the season-opener, in his first game back after missing all but 13 games of last season ... Freshman outfielder Zaid Walker cracked his first home run as a Spartan on Feb. 17 in the second inning ... Sophomore catcher Adam Proctor hit a solo home run in the second inning vs. Western Carolina on March 9 ... Freshman outfielder Casey Mayes mashed a two-run home run in the second inning on the 6-0 victory for MSU over Indiana State on April 7 ... Last season, MSU had three home runs in the second inning, tied for the most in a single inning, as the Spartans only had 20 round-trippers last season, spreading them out with three in five different innings: 1st, 2nd, 6th, 7th & 8th.

Big Inning Boosts Spartans To Win At Arizona
In the Spartans' 9-5 win at Arizona on March 5, MSU overcame an early 4-0 deficit after two innings, getting on the board with one run in the sixth on a sacrifice fly by senior infielder Marty Bechina, before hanging eight on the board in the seventh. Michigan State plated eight runs in sending 13 batters to the plate with five hits and capitalizing on four Arizona errors, leaving two runners on base.

The eight-run inning was the first big inning of four or more runs this season, and the most runs scored in a frame since April 7 of last season vs. Nebraska in a nine-run inning, also the seventh frame and also sending 13 batters to the plate, winning 17-5.

{CONT'D IN PDF OF GAME NOTES}

Spartans Battle Illini In Final Weekend Of Regular-Season; Spartan Senior Day Saturday

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Royce Ando

Marty Bechina

Zac Bianucci

Dan Chmielewski

Indigo Diaz

Dan Durkin

Mason Erla

Evan Flohr

Danny Gleaves

Brandon Hughes

Zach Iverson

Bryce Kelley

Ryan King

Nic Lacayo

Casey Mayes

Mike Mokma

Jarret Olson

Colten Panaranto

Adam Proctor

Caleb Sleeman

Mitchell Tyranski

Zaid Walker

Spartans Battle Illini In Final Weekend Of Regular-Season; Spartan Senior Day Saturday

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Royce Ando

Marty Bechina

Zac Bianucci

Dan Chmielewski

Indigo Diaz

Dan Durkin

Mason Erla

Evan Flohr

Danny Gleaves

Brandon Hughes

Zach Iverson

Bryce Kelley

Ryan King

Nic Lacayo

Casey Mayes

Mike Mokma

Jarret Olson

Colten Panaranto

Adam Proctor

Caleb Sleeman

Mitchell Tyranski

Zaid Walker

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