Spartan Baseball Opens 2020 Season In All-MSU Match-Up With Morehead State

Team line up Crosstown Showdown, MSU, Lugnuts

Photo by: Rey Del Rio/MSU Athletic Communications

Spartan Baseball Opens 2020 Season In All-MSU Match-Up With Morehead State

2/13/2020 11:50:00 AM | Baseball

Michigan State commences 136th year of baseball in Charleston at Shipyard Park.

MICHIGAN STATE (0-0, 0-0 B1G) vs. MOREHEAD STATE (0-0, 0-0 OVC)
Location	Shipyard Park \|\| Charleston, S.C.
Tickets	Shipyard Park Tickets
Weather	High/Low - Fri: 60/38 \| Sat: 56/42 \| Sun: 61/46
Game Notes	Michigan State \| Morehead State
Social Media	@statebaseball \| MichiganStateBaseball @statebaseballgogreen
Game 1	Friday, Feb. 14 - 4 p.m. ET
Probable Pitching Matchup	MOR: #13 RHP Jason Goe (R-SR) (7-2, 4.48 ERA)* MSU: #30 RHP Mason Erla (JR) (2-10, 5.49 ERA)*
Television	None
Coverage	Live Stats \| Listen Live
Game 2	Saturday, Feb. 15 - 1 p.m. ET
Probable Pitching Matchup	MOR: #23 RHP Alex Garbrick (R-JR) (3-4, 4.32 ERA)* MSU: #12 LHP Jarret Olson (SR) (0-4, 4.96 ERA)*
Coverage	Live Stats \| Listen Live
Game 3	Saturday, Feb. 15 - 4 p.m. ET
Probable Pitching Matchup	MOR: #27 LHP Cory Conway (R-JR) (1-1, 3.68 ERA)* MSU: #8 RHP Sam Benschoter (SR) (0-1, 9.42 ERA)*
Coverage	Live Stats \| Listen Live
Game 4	Sunday, Feb. 17 - 1 p.m. ET / 12 p.m. CT
Probable Pitching Matchup	MOR: TBA (0-0, 0.00 ERA) MSU: #38 RHP Caleb Sleeman (SR) (2-4, 4.82 ERA)*
Coverage	Live Stats \| Listen Live
	* = 2019 stats

• Michigan State baseball will leadoff its 136th season of baseball with the first pitch of the 2020 ledger when the Spartans take on Morehead State in an all-MSU match-up, playing at Shipyard Park in Charleston, S.C., Friday-Sunday, Feb. 14-16 ... The Spartans open their 56-game slate with a four-game series against the Eagles, starting with a Valentine's Day baseball sweet treat on Friday, Feb. 14 with a 4 p.m. ET first pitch ... The two MSUs will square off with a doubleheader on Saturday, Feb. 15, starting at 1 p.m. ET, followed by the series finale on Sunday, Feb. 16 at 12 p.m. ET.

• All three games will have live stats along with audio streaming through respective "Live Stats" and "Listen Live" links found at MSUSpartans.com ... There will be no video stream.

• Michigan State and Morehead State are meeting on the diamond for the first time in the 136 years of Spartan baseball history.

• While it is the first meeting between Michigan State and Morehead State, the Eagles are the Spartans' sixth fellow MSU opponent, joining McNeese State (1-0), Mississippi State (1-4), Montana State (1-0), Montclair State (2-4) and Murray State (0-1) ... Michigan State is a combined 5-9 against fellow MSU opponents.

Limited Series History Between Spartans And Eagles Across The Board
• The limited competition between the two MSUs of Michigan State and Morehead State isn't confined to just the baseball diamond.

• The Spartans and Eagles' athletics teams have a small series history across the board, playing only seven times in six other sports, as recently as this season with women's basketball, won by the Spartans, 93-48, on Dec. 15, 2019.

• Men's tennis leads the way with the most meetings at two, both won by Michigan State, while also meeting in the aforementioned women's basketball (Spartans, 1-0), along with men's basketball (Spartans, 1-0), softball (Spartans, 1-0), women's tennis (Spartans 1-0) and volleyball (Eagles, 1-0), for an overall series record of 5-1 for the Spartans:

Sport   Series   First Met   Last Met
Baseball   0-0   Feb. 14, 2020   --
Men's Basketball   Spartans, 1-0   Dec. 1, 1992   Dec. 1, 1992
Women's Basketball   Spartans, 1-0   Dec. 15, 2019   Dec. 15, 2019
Softball   Spartans, 1-0   Feb. 7, 2015   Feb. 7, 2015
Men's Tennis   Spartans, 2-0   Jan. 14, 2012   Feb. 6, 2016
Women's Tennis   Spartans, 1-0   Jan. 26, 2008
Volleyball   Eagles, 1-0   Sept. 16, 1978   Sept. 16, 1978
Total   Spartans, 5-1

Carolina In My Mind And Travel Itinerary
• Michigan State is cuing up the James Taylor tune again this season, as this weekend's trip to Charleston is the first of three trips to the Palmetto State for the Spartans this season.

• The Green & White will be in Charleston for four games this weekend, then return to South Carolina next weekend for four games in Greenville at Fluor Field, before making a return trek to Greenville to host its annual First Pitch Invitational at Fluor Field on Feb. 28-March 1 ... Michigan State will stay in Greenville to take on South Carolina-Upstate on Wednesday, March 4 in the first half of the Spartans' Spring Break trip, before finishing the week in Pensacola, Fla.

• Last season, Michigan State also played in South Carolina in three weekends, playing in Conway, S.C. for the Coastal Carolina-hosted Brittain Resorts Baseball at the Beach ... The Spartans then were in Greenville on the second half of Spring Break trip, hosting the First Pitch Invitational at Fluor Field, facing Western Carolina, Ohio State and Appalachian State ... MSU traveled home to East Lansing, before returning to Greenville for a weekend series vs. UConn.

Guns And Ships... And Shipyard Park
• 20 acre facility surrounded by the beautiful Wando River
• Including three youth-size fields and two collegiate-size fields
• Riverfront walking path with pavilions throughout the park
• Nautical themed playground for children
• State-of-the-art indoor training facility, press boxes, scoreboards, field surfaces and covered stands
• Fantastic concessions area run by local restauranteurs

Spartans in Charleston
Michigan State is making its third-ever trip to Charleston, S.C., and will be playing its eighth through 11th games there.

• The Spartans will be playing their first neutral site games in Charleston, as the previous seven games were at Charleston Southern, posting a 4-3 overall:
   at Charleston Southern - March 14-16, 1997 - 1-3
   at Charleston Southern - March 8-9, 2002 - 3-0

North Carolinian Iverson Close To Home
• MSU junior infielder/pitcher Zach Iverson is from Charlotte, North Carolina, which is where the Spartans have flown into on their trips to Greenville ... Last season, Iverson played in 48 games, making 44 starts, with all but two starts at third base, while making two starts at first base ... He logged a .178 average with seven doubles, one triple and one home run, posting a .287 on-base percentage and a .267 slugging percentage.

• In 2018, Iverson was named to Big Ten All-Freshman Team at both third base and utility player ... He started in 42 of 44 games played in 2018, including playing and starting in 27 games at third base; playing in 11 games at second, starting nine; playing in seven games at first base, starting six; and making two pitching appearances ... At the plate, Iverson hit .252 for the season with 14 RBI, tallying a .319 slugging percentage and a .333 on-base percentage

• Iverson attended Providence Day High School, where he earned first-team USA TODAY High School Sports all-state honors as an outfielder. Iverson also earned all-conference accolades after hitting .506 with 48 RBI, eight doubles and six HR, while posting a 0.93 ERA with two wins and five saves in 13 appearances on the mound ... He broke school records for single-season RBI (48) as well as single-season saves and career saves (11) ... Prior to the 2018 season, Iverson was named one of the Top 30 Impact Freshmen in the Big Ten by TenInnings.com.

Season-Openers
• The Spartans have won five of their last six season-openers, with the only blemish in that span coming in a 5-4 loss in the 2018 season lid lifter at Fresno State that halted a four-game season-opening win streak for MSU.

• Last season, Michigan State doubled up the Privateers of New Orleans, 8-4, at New Orleans, on Feb. 15, 2019.

• Michigan State is 9-2 in season-openers under head coach Jake Boss Jr.

• Since 2000, the Spartans are 14-6 in the first game of the season ... Overall, MSU is 81-53 all-time in known season-openers, as the Spartans are opening their 136th season of baseball.

Returning From '19
• The Spartans return five position starters and three returning starting pitchers from last season, as the Green & White finished the 2019 season winning three of its last four B1G series, including two on the road.

• The Spartans also had three wins over Top 25 teams down the stretch, with a pair of wins at No. 24 Iowa on May 11 and 12, and a win over No. 23 Illinois on May 17.

• MSU celebrated not only its 135th year of baseball in 2019, including honoring the 65th anniversary of the 1954 College World Series team and also the 40th anniversary of the 1979 Big Ten Champion and NCAA Regional team, but also its first with lights at McLane Stadium at Kobs Field, going 7-2 at home under the lights.

Young, Scrappy and Hungry
• Michigan State has six newcomers on the 2020 roster:
   • Junior pitcher Wyatt Rush
   • Sophomore infielder Trevor Hopman
   • Freshman infielder Dillon Kark
   • Freshman outfielder/pitcher Zach Hopman
   • Freshman outfielder Jack Frank
   • Freshman pitcher Adam Berghorst

Not Throwing Away Their Shot
• Michigan State traveled to Charleston on Wednesday with 10 Spartans making their first official road trip, including the aforementioned six newcomers:
   • Junior pitcher Wyatt Rush
   • Sophomore infielder Trevor Hopman
   • Freshman infielder Dillon Kark
   • Freshman outfielder/pitcher Zach Hopman
   • Freshman outfielder Jack Frank
   • Freshman pitcher Adam Berghorst
• Plus four other players who either redshirted or didn't travel last season:
   • Senior pitcher Danny Gielselman
   • Redshirt-freshman catcher Gabe Sotres
   • Redshirt-freshman pitchers William Christophersen
   • Redshirt-freshman pitcher Brian Martin.

One Last Time
Michigan State has eight seniors on the 2020 roster:
   • Infielder Justin Antoncic
   • Pitcher Sam Benschoter
   • Pitcher Danny Gieselman
   • Outfielder Bryce Kelley
   • Infielder/Outfielder Andrew Morrow
   • Pitcher Jarret Olson
   • Infielder/Outfielder Bailey Peterson
   • Pitcher Caleb Sleeman

Trio Of Michigan State Baseball Players Earn Big Ten Preseason Honors
Erla, Olson and Walker collect accolades from conference

Three Michigan State baseball players were tabbed to the Big Ten Conference Preseason Honors list, as the league announced its preseason honors list and preseason poll on Wednesday, Feb. 12, prior to the start of the 2020 season, which gets underway Friday.

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 redshirt-junior pitcher Mason Erla, senior pitcher Jarret Olson and sophomore outfielder Zaid Walker.

Erla, a Cass City, Michigan native, earns Preseason All-Big Ten accolades for the second-straight year. Last season, the right hander made a team-leading 14 starts, topping the Spartan pitching staff for the season-consecutive year after 15 starts in 2018. Erla tallied 61 strikeouts in 82.0 IP, with a 5.49 ERA, yielding 29 walks. The 82.0 IP also topped the team for the second-year in a row. Erla went at least 5.0 IP in 12 of 14 starts, highlighted by a career-high 9.0 innings in a no-decision vs. Indiana State on April 5, getting the start of MSU's historic first-ever night home game at McLane Stadium at Kobs Field. He also went 7.0 IP in back-to-back outings vs. Northwestern (April 26) and at Purdue (May 3). Erla struck out season-high seven in two different outings, first in season-opener at New Orleans (Feb. 15) and vs. Western Carolina (March 9), including firing five or more Ks in six-straight outings (April 5-May 3), as part of eight total outings on the season. The Spartan hurler yielded two or fewer runs in four starts, including the aforementioned 9.0 innings without a run vs. Indiana State (April 5), while allowing one run in 5.1 IP vs. Western Carolina (March 9), with two outings with two runs, at New Orleans (Feb. 15) and at Purdue (May 3). Erla also fielded his position with six putouts and eight assists.

Olson, a second-year Spartan from La Salle, Illinois, coming to MSU after two seasons Parkland CC, was a versatile option on the mound last season for the Green & White, making 13 appearances, with six starts and seven calls to the bullpen. Olson is the nephew of MSU volleyball head coach Cathy George and cousin of MSU men's basketball player Connor George. Last season, Olson tallied 27 strikeouts in 32.2 IP with a 4.96 ERA, allowing 31 walks. He went a career-high 5.0 IP in three outings, firing four strikeouts in two of those three outings, both of which were starts, at Notre Dame (April 9) and at Central Michigan (May 14). Olson also went 5.0 IP in start at Michigan (May 7), while also chalking up five punchouts in first start of career, vs. UConn (March 16 in Greenville). He rang up three or more strikeouts in six of 13 appearances, including four of six starts, along with two appearances without allowing a hit, including in Spartan debut, at New Orleans (Feb. 17). Olson fielded his position by making two assists at Notre Dame (April 9) to go with one putout in games at Notre Dame and Rutgers (April 14).

Walker, a Homewood, Illinois native, played in 49 games in his freshman season as a Spartan, making 47 starts, with 37 coming in right field, eight at DH and two in center field. He was third on the team with a .285 average, while adding a .363 slugging percentage, good for fifth on the team and adding a .309 on-base percentage. Walker was second on the Spartans for doubles (11), RBI (19) and runs scored (23), while tying for third on team with 51 hits. He belted the lone home run of the season in his third game of collegiate career, at New Orleans (Feb. 17). Walker had a hot streak at the end of the season, hitting .340 (18-for-53) in his last 13 games and hit safely in nine of the last 11 games, including a season-long eight-game hitting streak, his second streak of eight games, also doing so Feb. 24-March 16. He finished third on the team with 13 multi hit games, highlighted by a career-high four hits vs. Northwestern (April 26), also tallying four multi RBI outings, last doing so vs. Oakland (April 23). In the field, Walker logged a .940 fielding percentage, with 61 putouts, three assists and was part of one double play.

You'll Be Back
• Michigan State returns two of its top three hitters from last season, as part of six of the top 10 in average ... senior outfielder Bryce Kelley was second on the team with a .300 average, while sophomore outfielder Zaid Walker was third, hitting .285 ... sophomore outfielder Casey Mayes was fifth at .238, followed by senior infielder Bailey Peterson at .235 and senior infielder Justin Antonic at .234, and junior infielder/outfielder Zach Iverson at .178.

• The Spartans also return their top two slugging percentage leaders in Mayes at a team-best .508 and junior catcher Adam Proctor at .451 ... Walker was fifth with a .363 slugging percentage.

• The Green & White also returns two of the top three home run hitters, highlighted by Proctor who led the team with nine Adam-bombs ... Mayes was third with four round-trippers.

• Michigan State returns four of its top six stolen base leaders, including Kelley, who led the team with 18 swipes ... Antoncic was tied for third with five stolen bases, while Walker and Peterson snagged four bags each to tie for fifth.

• On the mound, MSU returns three of its top five leaders in games started, headlined by redshirt-junior right-hander Mason Erla, who led the way with 14 starts ... senior righty Caleb Sleeman made nine starts, good for third on the staff, while fellow senior, lefty Jarret Olson was fourth with six starts.

• The Spartan pitching squad returns two of its top three strikeout leaders in Erla, who was second with 61 strikeouts, while Sleeman was third with 55 punchouts ... Sleeman shared the team-lead in strkeouts looking with 20, while Erla was third with 16 KLs.

Quick Look At Morehead State
• The Eagles are in the first year under head coach Mik Aoki, who has previous stops at Notre Dame, Boston College and Columbia.

• Morehead State is somcing of a 40-21 season in 2019, finishing third in the Ohio Valley Conference with a 19-11 league ledger.

• Redshirt senior right-hander Jason Goe enters the 2020 season as the OVC's leading returning pitching in strikeout to walk ratio (5.91), walks allowed per nine innings (1.45), and fewest walks per nine innings (11).

• Goe enters the 2020 season as Morehead State's lone Preseason All-OVC selection as voted by the league's coaches and sports information directors. His selection marks the 12th straight season with a Preseason All-OVC selection.

• With a start in Friday's season opener, Goe would become the first senior hurler to start opening day for Morehead State since Josh Schneider in 2012, snapping a streak of seven consecutive opening days started by non-seniors.

• Junior righty Will Lozinak is the winningest returning pitcher after leading the OVC with eight victories in 2019. With a 9-1 career record, his .900 career winning percentage ranks as the best in program history (min. 10 decisions).

• Senior right-hander Jake Ziegelmeyer enters the 2020 season with 10 career saves to his credit, including eight last season—a total that ranked fourth in the OVC. Currently, he ranks sixth on Morehead State's alltime career saves list.

• In the official Ohio Valley Conference Preseason Predicted Order of Finish, Morehead State landed fifth as predicted by the league's coaches and sports information directors. Elsewhere, D1 Baseball picked the Eagles to finish fifth while Perfect Game selected the Eagles seventh.

Homer Glen Homies
• Michigan State senior outfielder Danny Gleaves and Morehead State junior infielder Stephen Hill are both natives of Homer Glen, Illinois.

• Gleaves is a product of St. Rita High School

• Hill attended Lockport High school, before going to South Suburban College in South Holland, Ill., prior to Morehead State.

The World Was Wide Enough... It's Quiet Uptown
• Michigan State opens the 2020 season seeing the world outside of East Lansing, as the Spartans' first 18 games of the season are played away from home, as Kobs Field at McLane Stadium will be quiet for awhile.

• The Green & White starts off with 15 neutral site games, followed by three true road games.

• The Spartans are slated to make their home opener on Wednesday, March 18 vs. Toledo.

What Comes Next?
• Michigan State returns to South Carolina next weekend for four games in Greenville at Fluor Field, taking on Merrimack.