MSU Concludes Regular-Season With Non-Conference Clash At Michigan Tuesday Before Weekend B1G Series At Nebraska

MICHIGAN STATE (23-27, 7-14 B1G) at MICHIGAN (25-24, 10-11 B1G)
Location	Wilpon Complex, home of Ray Fisher Stadium \|\| Ann Arbor, Mich.
Tickets	Michigan Ticket Office
Weather	High/Low - Tue: 67^° / 45^°
Game Notes	MICHIGAN STATE \| MICHIGAN
Social Media	@MSUbaseball \| MichiganStateBaseball @msu_baseball
Television	None
Game 1	Tuesday, May 17 - 6 p.m. ET
Probable Pitching Matchup	UM: #30 SR LHP Jack White (0-0, 33.75 ERA) MSU: #12 FR LHP Aidan Arbaugh (1-0, 6.27 ERA)
Coverage	Live Stats \| Watch Live Through Big Ten Network+ \| Listen Live through Spartan Media Network

Leading Off... MSU Concludes Regular-Season With Non-Conference Clash At Michigan Tuesday Before Weekend B1G Series At Nebraska

• Michigan State baseball wraps up regular-season action this week, opening Tuesday, May 17 in MSU's final midweek action with a non-conference clash at Michigan before a three-game Big Ten Conference series at Nebraska Thursday-Saturday, May 19-21 ... First pitch Tuesday from UM's Wilpon Complex, home of Ray Fisher Stadium, is slated for 6 p.m. and will be streamed on B1G+ ... This weekend's ledger at Nebraska's Hawks Field at Haymarket Park gets underway with Thursday and Friday's games starting at 7:35 p.m., before Saturday's regular-season finale at 1:05 p.m.

• Friday's game will regionally televised on Nebraska Public Media, formerly known as NET.

•Fans can follow this week's action with "Watch Live," "Listen Live" and "Live Stats" links at MSUSpartans.com, with video streaming available for all four games this week through Big Ten Network+ with a subscription fee.

• For the sixth straight year, the Spartan Media Network will carry a live audio stream for all home and select road Spartan baseball games this season, including Tuesday's game at Michigan, but this weekend's game at Nebraska will not be carried ... The broadcast will be available exclusively at MSUSpartans.com by clicking on "Listen Live" on the baseball schedule ... Broadcast veteran Scott Moore calls the action, with Spartan baseball alum Jim Cotter providing analysis.

• Last weekend's three-game home weekend series vs. Iowa came on the heels of MSU finishing up a stretch of playing five games in four days in three different states ... The Spartans played three games in just over 24 hours after the weekend schedule at Penn State was altered to a doubleheader on Sunday, May 8 starting at 1 p.m. and a single game on Monday, May 9 with an 11 a.m. start time to accommodate MSU's travel schedule ... Michigan State arrived home in East Lansing late Monday night, then had a quick turnaround heading to South Bend via bus on Tuesday, May 11 to play at Notre Dame on Tuesday night, then returned home afterwards, before bussing to Kalamazoo on the afternoon of Wednesday, May 12 to play Western Michigan, returning home Wednesday night.

• Michigan State has four games left on its regular-season slate, with Tuesday's road game at Michigan and this weekend at Nebraska, Thursday-Saturday ... Last weekend's home games against Iowa were the only three home games in a stretch of the final 12 games of the regular season for the Spartans..

PROFESSIONAL STADIUM EXPERIENCE
• This weekend's games against Nebraska at Hawks Field at Haymarket Park in Lincoln marks MSU's fifth different professional stadium, and playing in the 13th, 14th and 15th official games, along with one exhibition contest.

The Spartans have played at US Bank Stadium, home of the Minnesota Vikings, for the Minnesota Cambria Classic, for the first meeting with Notre Dame on March 5, along with Kansas (March 4) and West Virginia (March 6), going 2-1 ... MSU also played at its home-away-from-home, Fluor Field, in Greenville, S.C., home of the Greenville Drive, March 9 & 10-13, going 2-2 ... The Spartans played the Lansing Lugnuts in the Crosstown Showdown on April 6 at Jackson Field (L, 3-2 in exhibition), and then Michigan State returned to Jackson Field on April 15 to take on Michigan in the Capital Clash, losing the in-state battle ... MSU also played No. 12 Notre Dame at Comeria Park, home of the Detroit Tigers on April 26, winning 6-2 ... MSU played Penn State at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park, home of the State College Spikes minor league team, losing all three ballgames with the Nittany Lions.

The Spartans are 5-7 in their 12 games in professional stadiums so far.

400 FOR BOSS
• MSU head coach Jake Boss Jr. collected career win No. 400 on April 24 in the Spartans' 11-7 Victory for MSU at Northwestern ... Boss now has 407 career wins, with 381 wins in his 14th season at MSU (2009-pres.), and 25 wins in his lone season at Eastern Michigan (2008)).

QUICK HITTERS
• Michigan State had it's season-long six game win streak snapped with the loss at Penn State at May 9 ... MSU's six-game win streak matched the Spartans' longest since a six-game win spurt April 18-27, 2018 ... The loss at Penn State cooled off the Spartans, who had won eight of their previous 10, and MSU is now 6-4 in its last 10 games and have won nine of its last 16, including a 6-2 upset of No. 12 Notre Dame on April 26 at Comerica Park in Detroit, and knocking off Iowa, 11-8, on May 15.

• In the Spartans' 11-8 win over Iowa on Sunday, MSU was boosted by a nine-run second inning Sunday, sending 13 Spartans to the plate ... The nine runs was their most runs in an inning this season and most since a nine-run inning on April 7, 2018 in the seventh inning of a home game vs. Nebraska, part of a 17-5 triumph over the Huskers.

• Michigan State also celebrated Spartan Senior Day on Sunday, honoring its three senior players, Peter Ahn, Kyle Bischoff and Zach Iverson, along with two student managers, Aaron Boise and Tommy Merlo, in a pre-game ceremony ... Following the win, the three Spartan senior players and two student managers went out to centerfield to kiss the painted Spartan head, the Michigan State tradition for Senior Day.

• Graduate senior closer Kyle Bischoff was named to the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Stopper of the Year Award Midseason Watch List ... Bischoff currently shares the B1G lead in saves and ranks tied for 10th in the NCAA with 10 saves.

• Bischoff came on in the eighth inning of Sunday's win over Iowa with one out and one Hawkeye on base, and got out of the jam and finished off the ninth to earn his B1G leading 11th save of the season ... The 11 saves moves Bischoff up to tie for No. 2 on MSU's single-season saves list, tied with Mike Ericson with 11 in 1990, and are the most since 2014 when Jeff Kinley fired a school-record 13 saves.

• Bischoff also picked up two saves and a win in three appearances in the span of a week ... He earned his eighth save of the season on April 20, earning back-to-back saves in MSU's wins over Oakland on April 19 and over Eastern Michigan a night later ... Bischoff then collected the save in MSU's win over Purdue Fort Wayne on April 27 for his ninth of the season ... He then came on in early relief in MSU's win at Northwestern on April 24, coming on in the first inning with the bases loaded and pitched a career-high 6.1 IP of relief to earn the win.

• MSU's recent six-game win streak came against four different teams with the 11-7 win at Northwestern on April 24, a 6-2 victory over No. 12 Notre Dame at Comerica Park in Detroit on April 26, a 7-4 win over Purdue Fort Wayne on April 27, then a three-game sweep (8-4, 2-1, 9-7) over Minnesota on April 29-May 1.

• The 2-1 win over Minnesota on April 30 was the Spartans' sixth one-run win of the year, and Monday's 10-9 loss in 11 innings at Penn State was Michigan State's 10th one-run game ... MSU is now 6-4 in one-run games ... Michigan State won three one-run games in all of 2021 in 44 games, and already posted three one-runs wins in first 17 games this season.

• MSU came from behind in the 9-7 win over Minnesota on May 1, marking the Spartans' fourth comeback win in the last two weeks, along with the 11-7 win at Northwestern on April 24, as well as both of the previous week's wins in the 8-7 win over Oakland on April 19 and the 7-6 victory over Eastern Michigan a night later ... The Spartans now have nine come-from-behind wins on the season, after rallying from an early 1-0 deficit on Sunday vs. Iowa, before winning 11-8.

• Michigan State's 11 runs in Sunday's win over Iowa matched the 11 runs hung on the board in the April 24 win at Northwestern ... With Sunday's 11 runs, the Spartans improved to 9-0 when posting double-digit runs this season ... The 11 runs on April 24 was MSU's first 10+ outing since plating 10 runs in its last B1G come-from-behind win on April 10 at Ohio State ... MSU's last three double-digit runs outings have come on Sundays, as part of four on the season, half of the Spartans' total, along with twice each on Fridays and Saturdays and once on a Wednesday.

• The Spartans are also 17-3 when leading after seven innings and 20-1 when leading after eight innings, suffering the first loss when doing so last Monday at Penn State, as the Spartans had an 8-6 lead heading into the ninth ... MSU has out-scored its opponents, 25-23 in the ninth inning, the only inning that MSU has more runs than the opposition.

• Junior outfielder Casey Mayes rejoined teammates sophomore outfielder Jack Frank and junior outfielder Zaid Walker for the active player HR lead after Mayes mashed his eighth HR of his career on May 9 at Penn State ... Frank bashed his seventh HR of his career in the April 19 win over Oakland and added his eighth in the April 29 win over Minnesota ... Frank leads the team with seven HR this season ... Walked also belted his eighth career HR in the April 29 win over Minnesota for his third round-tripper of the season ... Mayes now has four homers on the season after the shot at Penn State, as he also knocked two HRs in consecutive days in the weekend at Northwestern on April 23-24.

• Sophomore infielder Mitch Jebb leads the Big Ten and ranks 22nd in the NCAA in toughest to strikeout - with just one K every 12.8 ABs - on just 16 Ks in 205 ABs ... Jebb also has 33 walks, for a 2.1 walks-strikeout ratio, as well as drawing a free pass in 16.1 percent of his at bats, with one walk every 6.2 ABs.

• Jebb is slashing team-bests of .432/.545/479 over the last 10 games, going 19-for-44 over that span, also leading the team in hits (19), RBI (9), total bases (24) and stolen bases (4) ... Boosted by going 3-for-5 on Saturday vs. Iowa, along with 4-for-5 on Monday at Penn State, Jebb has had multiple hits in five of the last six games, as he had a 10-game hitting streak halted by going hitless in Friday's loss ... He has a team-leading 21 multi-hit games this season, with the four hits tying a season-high from a 4-for-5 outing vs. West Virginia (March 6) ... Jebb also tops the squad with 12 multiple RBI outings, including three during his recent 10-game hit streak, led by three ribbies at Penn State on May 9 ... Jebb has a team-best 14 RBI over the last 15 games.

• Graduate-senior outfielder/infielder Peter Ahn is hitting a team-best .556 (5-for-9) over the last five games, having played in four of the five contests last week, getting a day off in the Notre Dame game ... Ahn posted a .667 on-base percentage and .778 slugging percentage in four games ... He knocked at least one hit in each of the four games, boosted by going 2-for-2 with three RBI in Sunday's win over Iowa, with both hits coming as part of MSU's 9-run second inning, including a bases-clearing three-RBI triple down the right field line and into the corner, and the runs he drove in proved to be the difference in Spartans' 11-8 win,adding single in first at bat of second inning, adding one walk and one HBP, adding on to his team-leading 11th HBP.

• Junior outfielder Casey Mayes also had a seven-game hit streak halted, as part of multiple hits in seven of the last 15 games ... Mayes is hitting .339, going 21-for-62 over the last 15 games ... Mayes has hit for the double cycle over the last 18 games, with a team-leading seven extra base hits with two doubles, two triples and three HRs in those 18 games.

• Sophomore infielder Brock Vradenburg enters the week with the Spartans' longest active reached base streak at 14 games, while redshirt-freshman catcher Bryan Broecker has reached in each of the last 10 games.

• Vradenburg is hitting .367 (18-for-49) over the last 15 games, ranking second on the team during that span, including 12 RBI, three doubles and adding nine walks, all also ranking second on the squad, in addition to sharing the team-lead with a .458 on-base percentage over the last 15-game stretch.

• Vradenburg was as hot as the Spartans were during their six game win streak, as he hit a scorching .571 (12-for-21) in the six games, along with a .654 on-base percentage and a .667 slugging percentage ... Vradenburg posted multiple hits in five of the six games, highlighted by a season-best and a career-high tying three hits vs. Minnesota on April 29 ... Additionally, Vradenburg had eight RBI over the six games, including three-straight multi-RBI outings, paced by three vs. Purdue Fort Wayne (Apr. 27), after two each vs. Notre Dame (Apr. 26) and Northwestern (Apr. 24), adding one vs. Minnesota (Apr. 29) ... Despite limited to 3-for-12 over the weekend at Penn State, Vradenburg is still hitting a team-best .417 (15-for-36) over the last 10 games, with eight RBI, along with .472 slugging percentage.

• Broecker has reached base in the last 10 games on eight hits and a team-lead tying six walks over the last 10 games for a .410 on-base percentage, ranking second on the team over that stretch.

• On the mound, sophomore Harrison Cook has a team-leading 11 strikeouts in three appearances over the last 10 games ... Bischoff along with juniors Wyatt Rush and Andrew Carson have all made five appearances in the last 10 games, with Carson chalking up nine Ks in that span, while Bischoff has seven punchouts ... Bischoff has logged two saves in the last 10 games, while Rush and Carson have each registered a save apiece in that stretch ... Freshman Ryan Szczepaniak has yielding a pitching-staff best .200 BAA over the last 10 games.

BISCHOFF NAMED TO NCBWA STOPPER OF THE YEAR MIDSEASON WATCH LIST
Michigan State reliever Kyle Bischoff was named to the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Stopper of the Year Award Midseason Watch List.

Bischoff is a graduate senior transfer from Toledo and a native of Macomb, Michigan (Eisenhower HS) ... At the time of he announcement, he shared the lead in the Big Ten Conference and ranked tied for eighth in the NCAA with nine saves

The Spartan closer currently leads the B1G outright in saves with 11, after collecting the 11th save of the season on Sunday vs. Iowa ... Bischoff collected save number 10 on April 30 vs. Minnesota, his second save of the week after picking up his ninth save on April 27 vs Purdue Fort Wayne, ringing up his second strikeout of the ninth inning to end the game and seal the Victory for MSU.

For the season, Bischoff has a 2-1 record with a 3.44 ERA in 21 appearances, registering 33 strikeouts and 17 walks in 36.2 IP.

Bischoff recently picked up a pair of saves and a win in three appearances during less than a week of action ... He collected two saves in as many days, against Eastern Michigan on April 19 and Oakland the next night on April 20 ... He then came on in relief in the first inning of the April 24 game at Northwestern and went on to throw a career-high 6.1 IP and earned the win ... The 6.1 IP was more than three times longer than his season-high of 2.0 IP and nearly double of his previous career-long outing of 3.1 IP during his time at Toledo.

BISCH-SAVE, BISCH-WIN
• MSU graduate-senior reliever Kyle Bischoff posted back-to-back saves in MSU's wins on April 19 and 20, registering his seventh and eighth saves of the season at the time ... Bischoff then earned the save in Michigan State's 7-4 win over Purdue Fort Wayne on Wednesday night for his ninth save ... The nine saves are the most by a Spartan reliever since Riley McCauley had nine in 2017 ... Bischoff is also now tied for No. 3 on MSU's single-season saves list ... With the nine saves, Bischoff shares the B1G lead and is also tied for 10th in the NCAA.

The saves on April 19 and 20 marked Bischoff's first saves in back-to-back games, while he picked up a save and a win in back-to-back games with both coming in the same day, in a doubleheader vs. Houston Baptist on March 20, picking up the save in the opener and earned the win in the second game.

Bischoff then came on early in MSU's game at Northwestern on April 24, entering game in the first inning with no outs and the bases loaded ... Bischoff went on to pitch a career-high 6.1 IP, more than three times longer than his previous season-high outing of 2.0 IP and nearly double of previous collegiate career-high of 3.1 IP during his time at Toledo.

Bischoff did not yield a run until his 10th appearance of the season, now with 19 appearances, ringing up 31 strikeouts in 33.2 IP (8.29 K/9).

THIS IS SPARTA... 300 Ks FOR SPARTANS
• The Spartan pitching staff topped the 300 strikeouts mark with six punchouts in the April 27 win over Purdue Fort Wayne, now with 359 strikeouts this season after the Iowa weekend series, marking the 19th time in program history to reach the 300-K plateau and moving up into the Top 10 on MSU's single-season strikeouts list.

SINGLE-SEASON STRIKEOUTS
            1.         2016    466
            2.         2019    445
            3.         2017    420
            4.         2015    409
            5.         2018    407
            6.         2002    390
            7.         2012    389
            8.         1998    380
            9.         2004    378
            10.       2022    359
            11.       2014    355
            12.       2021    346
            13.       2010    335
            14.       2011    332
            15.       1987    324
            16.       1971    322
            17.      1993    315
           18.       2001    312
           19.       1988    306

400 FOR BOSS
• MSU head coach Jake Boss picked up career win No. 400 on April 24 with the Spartans' 11-7 Victory for MSU at Northwestern ... Boss now has 407 career wins with 382 in his 14th year at MSU (2009-pres.) after 25 wins in his lone season at Eastern Michigan (2008) ... Boss became the seventh active Big Ten head coach to reach 400 career wins, as well as the second NCAA Division I head coach in the state of Michigan, joining close friend and former assistant coach Billy Gernon at Western Michigan, now with 407 (248 in 12 seasons at WMU (2011-pres.) and 157 in nine seasons at Purdue Fort Wayne (2000-08) ... Boss also became the 103rd active Division I head coach to reach 400 career wins.

Last weekend against Iowa was the third-straight weekend against fellow active Big Ten head coaches with 400+ career wins, after facing the coach with the most in the Big Ten with 1,346 in Minnesota's John Anderson on April 29-May 1, followed by last weekend at Penn State and Ron Cooper, now at 456 wins, and now last weekend against Iowa's Rich Heller, now with 960 career wins.

Current Big Ten Head Coaches By Career Wins
John Anderson - Minnesota    1,346
Steve Owens - Rutgers            980
Rich Heller - Iowa        960
Greg Beals - Ohio State           587
Dan Hartleb - Illinois   504
Rob Cooper - Penn State         457
Jake Boss Jr. - Michigan State           407

ACTIVE HR LEADERS
• Junior outfielder Casey Mayes rejoined teammates sophomore outfielder Jack Frank and junior outfielder Zaid Walker for the active player HR lead after Mayes mashed his eighth HR of his career on Monday at Penn State ... Frank bashed his seventh HR of his career in the April 19 win over Oakland and added his eighth in the April 29 win over Minnesota ... Frank leads the team with seven HR this season ... Walked also belted his eighth career HR in the April 29 win over Minnesota for his third round-tripper of the season ... Mayes now has four homers on the season after Monday's shot, as he also knocked two HRs in consecutive days in the weekend at Northwestern on April 23-24.

HITS AND RUNS AND HITS AND RUUUUUNNNNNSSSSS
• Michigan State knocked 10+ hits in both midweek games last week with 11 at Notre Dame and 10 at Western Michigan, then knocked 10 hits in Sunday's win over Iowa ... The Spartans posted double-digit hits in three games in a row as part of a span of five times in six games and six in eight outings, part of seven of the last 11.

• MSU now has 25 games with double-digit hits, as the Spartans are now 17-8 when registering 10 or more hits, winning eight of their last 10 contests with double-figures in the hits column.

• The Spartans' 11 runs in Sunday's win over Iowa was MSU's ninth contest this season with 10 or more runs ... Michigan State improved to 9-0 when scoring double-figure runs.

WALK-OFF SPARTANS TIMES THREE
• Michigan State has three walk-off wins, including two walk-off home runs ... The Spartans started their walk-off ways with a 10-8 win over Cincinnati on March 11 in Greenville on sophomore infielder Mitch Jebb's 2-run walk-off home run, then continued it the next Friday, with a solo home run by sophomore infielder Dillon Kark for a 4-3 Victory for MSU over Houston Baptist on March 18, when won the second game of a twinbill with HBU on Sunday, March 20 on an error on the play off the bat of junior outfielder Casey Mayes, scoring redshirt-freshman catcher Christian Williams.

The three Spartan walk-offs in a season is the most since the 2015 season, when MSU beat Western Michigan, 5-4, on April 8; Northwestern, 7-6, on April 11, and Penn State, 5-4, on May 9.

SPARTANS IN THE CLOSE ONES
• Michigan State edged Minnesota, 2-1, on April 30, after winning a pair of midweek games over Oakland and Eastern Michigan, respectively, by one-run each, beating Oakland, 6-5, on April 19 before edging Eastern Michigan, 8-7, on April 20.

With those three recent one-run wins, Michigan State has a total of six one-run wins overall this season, improving to 6-3 in one-run contests this season, before Monday's 10-9, 11-inning loss at Penn State moved MSU to 6-4 in one-run games.

The Spartans also swept the three-game series with Houston Baptist in their home-opening series March 18-20, winning all three games by one run, 4-3, 1-0 and 6-5 ... Those three 1-run wins through the first 17 games of the season already exceeded last season's 1-run wins in 44 games, as MSU only had two 1-run wins, 5-4 over Maryland on March 6 in game three of the season, and 7-6 over Minnesota on April 2 in game 16 ... MSU also has three other 1-run losses, 2-1, vs. No. 3 Notre Dame on March 5 in Minneapolis, and 5-4 in 10 innings at Evansville on April 3 and 8-7 at Ohio State on April 10.

MSU is also 5-3 in 2-run games, most recently a 9-7 come-from-behind win over Minnesota on May 1, and MSU's 3-1 victory at Western Michigan on May 11.

DOUBLE PLAYS A PLENTY
• Michigan State turned six double plays in the three games at Penn State, adding one each in the games at Notre Dame and Western Michigan, and three in Saturday's game vs. Iowa, now with 46 total double plays turned on the season.

MSU leads the Big Ten and is tied for 13th in the NCAA with the 46 total double plays, as well as also leading the league and ranking tied for 15th in the nation in double plays per game (0.92).

With the six DPs in the Penn State series plus two in midweek action and three vs. Iowa, the Spartans have turned 21 double plays in the last 19 games ... MSU has had at least one double play in a total of 27 games, including 14 contests with multiple double plays, highlighted by three in a total of five games, on March 20 vs. Houston Baptist, April 9 at Ohio State, April 17 vs Michigan, May 8 at Penn State and May 14 vs. Iowa.

THREE-BAGGERS GALORE
• Michigan State is second in the B1G and ranked 30th in the NCAA in triples with 16 ... The Spartans also rank second in the league and 40th in the nation in triples per game with 0.32.

Individually, junior outfielder Casey Mayes is back atop the B1G stats, now tied for the league lead with five triples, including two last weekend at Penn State ... Mayes is now tied for 15th in the NCAA.

Junior outfielder Peter Ahn, sophomore infielder Mitch Jebb, sophomore outfielder Jack Frank and redshirt-freshman catcher Christian Williams are all tied for seventh in the league with a pair of three-baggers each.

NO Ks IN MITCH JEBB
• Sophomore infielder Mitch Jebb leads the Big Ten and ranks 22nd in the NCAA in toughest to strikeout - with just one K every 12.8 ABs - on just 16 Ks in 205 ABs ... Jebb also has 33 walks, for a 2.1 walks-strikeout ratio, as well as drawing a free pass in 16.1 percent of his at bats, with one walk every 6.2 ABs.

JEBBIN' ON THE BASEPATHS
• Jebb leads MSU and ranks tied for sixth in the B1G with 19 stolen bases ... Jebb's 19 swipes are the most by a Spartan since 2018 when Bryce Kelley posted his school-record 33 swipes and Danny Gleaves had 25.

HOME RUNS UP
• MSU's home runs per game average is almost twice as much as last season's total, as the Spartans have bashed 33 home runs in 50 games, an average of 0.66 home runs per game ... Last season, the Green & White had 21 round-trippers in 44 games, an average of 0.47 HR/game.

A total of nine different Spartans have hit a home run in 2022 Spartans, topping last year's squad of eight different players ... Additionally, this year's Green & White roster has eight different players with multiple home runs, while last year's squad only had five different players hit multi-round trippers.

Ks UP, ERA EVEN
• On the mound, the Spartans' strikeouts per game is also up from last year, currently with 359 Ks in 47 games, an average of 7.2 K/game, compared to 346 strikeouts in the 44 Big Ten games played last season, an average of 7.86 K/game.

MSU's ERA is also nearly even from a season ago, posting a 6.05 ERA through 45 games in 2022, after a 5.84 ERA in 44 games in 2021.

AHN MADE FIRST START AT HOME
• Senior outfielder/infielder Peter Ahn is in his fourth season in a Spartan uniform and has made 32 starts in his career, however, of those 32 starts, none had come at home, until he started last Friday, March 18 vs. Houston Baptist ... Ahn was a reserve in 2019, making 13 appearances off the bench ... In 2020, Ahn started in 14 of the 15 games played, all on the road, as the remainder of the season was cancelled due to COVID-19 before MSU played at home ... Last season, Ahn started the first five games of the season, all played at neutral sites, before suffering an injury and was on limited action the rest of the season.

MSU BASEBALL TO WEAR "JP" UNIFORM PATCH TRIBUTE TO JIM PIGNATARO
Michigan State baseball head coach Jake Boss Jr. announced on Feb. 17 that the Spartans will be wearing a "JP" patch on all of their jerseys during the 2022 season as a tribute to long-time MSU administrator Jim Pignataro, who passed away this past August.

Pignataro served as the Executive Associate Athletic Director for Student-Athlete Services at Michigan State, and he was the sport administrator for Spartan baseball.

"Jim was just a special guy to our program," Boss said. "His leadership was phenomenal, and his passion for Michigan State and our baseball program was second-to-none. He poured his heart and soul into everything that he did with our program. We're proud to honor him and his legacy. His family, his wife Alana, and his kids Alison and Jimmy, will always have a special place in our hearts and in our program. We're proud to carry Jim's spirit with us onto the field."

The JP patch is located on the back collar of all of the Spartans' game jerseys that they will wear throughout the season.

Prior to being elevated to his most recent position, Pignataro served as the Associate Athletic Director for Student-Athlete Services (2008-15) and Director of Student-Athlete Support Services (SASS) from 2002-17. He oversaw the directors of Student-Athlete Engagement, Academic Services, Athletic Training, Strength and Conditioning and Sports Nutrition in addition to serving as a sport administrator for several Spartan programs.

Pignataro served as the Assistant to the Director and Athletics Academic Coordinator at Michigan State from 1996-2000. He left MSU to serve as the Assistant Athletics Director for Academics at Eastern Michigan University from June 2000 to June 2002. Prior to his arrival at MSU he worked in Athletic Academic Services at Florida State University (1995-96) and the University of Tennessee (1994-1995).

SPARTAN LEGEND BOB APISA TALKED TO TEAM PRIOR TO UNLV SERIES
Michigan State football legend Bob Apisa met with and spoke to the MSU baseball team on Thursday, Feb. 17 after the Spartans' practice at UNLV's Earl E. Wilson Stadium, and also posed for several pictures, then met each player.

Recruited by Duffy Daugherty, Apisa was a two-time All-American in 1965 and 1966 during his time at Michigan State. He was the starting fullback on back-to-back Big Ten and National Champion teams in 1965 and 1966, scoring a combined 18 touchdowns over the two seasons, and was a 1966 consensus first-team All-Big Ten selection. Apisa finished his career as MSU's most prolific rushing fullback with 1,343 yards, in addition to being a great blocker for Spartan tailbacks.

Apisa was born in American Samoa as part of eleven children, moving to Hawaii at the age of seven, and went on to earn a football scholarship at MSU, and became the first player of Samoan ancestry to be named All-American. He played in the 1966 "Game of the Century" against Notre Dame, which was also the first-ever live television sports broadcast in Hawaii. Apisa was also part of Daugherty's integration of college football, and will be part of a statue tribute as part of the upcoming renovations to the Duffy Daugherty Building for MSU Athletics in the upcoming.

In 2017, Apisa was inducted into the Michigan State Athletics Hall of Fame. In 2018, he was inducted into the Polynesian Football Hall of Fame.

After football, Apisa went into acting, and was in the Sandlot (home plate umpire), as well as many other roles, including movies (Hard Target and The Nutty Professor), and television (Magnum P.I., Hawaii 5-0 and Airwolf).

Apisa's grandson, Jacob Isaia, was a three-year letterwinner on the Spartan football team, playing offensive line. Apisa resides in Las Vegas.

SPARTANS EARN BACK-TO-BACK B1G AWARDS
• Michigan State players garnered weekly Big Ten Conference honors in consecutive weeks, as sophomore infielder Mitch Jebb was tabbed the Player of the Week on March 16, while freshman pitcher Ryan Szczepaniak was named the Freshman of the Week on March 9.

MITCH JEBB TABBED BIG TEN PLAYER OF THE WEEK
• Michigan State baseball sophomore infielder Mitch Jebb was named the Big Ten Conference Player of the Week, announced by the conference office on March 16.

Jebb, a native of Saginaw, Michigan, earns his first career B1G weekly honor and his third overall B1G accolade, as he was on was this year's Big Ten Preseason Players to Watch list, as well as being named to Big Ten All-Freshman Team last season.

This is MSU's second B1G honor in as many weeks, as pitcher Ryan Szczepaniak was tabbed as the B1G Freshman of the Week on March 9.

Jebb was recognized for his performance during MSU's four games during the week of March 7-13, in Greenville, South Carolina, at Fluor Field, home of the Greenville Drive.

He belted two HR in the same game, including a two-run walk-off HR to cap MSU's comeback in a 10-8 win over Cincinnati on Friday, March 11, as the Spartans rallied from an 8-5 deficit entering the ninth. Jebb bookended the game by also bashing a HR to lead off the Spartan home half of the first inning. He finished 3-for-4 with four RBI and two runs scored.

The walk-off was MSU's first walk-off HR since Feb. 23, 2020, also in Greenville, also by a left-handed hitter, by Peter Ahn, vs. Merrimack, and also over the right field wall of Fluor Field. Jebb's two-home run game was also the first Spartan with two HR in the same game since Bailey Peterson bashed a pair of round-trippers last season on May 23, 2021 at Rutgers.

For the week, Jebb registered a .412 average (7-for-17) in the four games, highlighted by going 3-for-4 with four RBI and two runs scored vs. Cincinnati. He added a double as part of 2-for-5 outing vs. Western Carolina. He also notched at least one hit in all four games, as he now has at least one hit in all 14 games this season and a 21-game hitting streak dating back to last season, tied for the third-longest hitting streak by a Spartan in the last 20 years.

RYAN SZCZEPANIAK NAMED BIG TEN FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK
• Michigan State baseball pitcher Ryan Szczepaniak was named the Big Ten Conference Freshman of the Week, for games played Feb. 28-March 6, the conference office announced on Wednesday, March 9.

Szczepaniak, a native of Woodhaven, Michigan, earns not only the first Big Ten accolade of his Spartan career, but also the first B1G honor of the season for Michigan State, for his performance last Sunday, March 6. He earned the win on the mound in the 9-3 Victory for MSU over nationally-ranked West Virginia in Minneapolis at the Cambria Classic played at U.S. Bank Stadium, home of the Minnesota Vikings.

The Spartan right-hander fired 5.0 IP with four strikeouts, yielding three hits and one earned run to improve to 2-0, stymieing WVU bats. After a leadoff single and later a hit batter in the first inning, settled in and retired seven Mountaineers in a row.

Szczepaniak improved to 2-0 with the victory and is the first B1G freshman pitcher to earn two wins this season, and only one of 11 pitchers in the league overall with two or more wins.

THREE SPARTANS TABBED TO CAMBRIA COLLEGE CLASSIC ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
• Three Michigan State baseball players were tabbed to the Cambria College Classic All-Tournament Team, announced late Sunday night following the conclusion of the three-day tournament.

Sophomore infielders Trent Farquhar and Mitch Jebb, along with junior outfielder Zaid Walker were the three Spartan representatives on the 13-player list, as MSU went 2-1 in the Classic, with the lone loss to No. 12 Notre Dame, 2-1, on Saturday. The Fighting Irish finished 3-0 and were the tournament champion.

The three Spartan players tied host Minnesota for the second-most on the All-Tournament Team list, while tournament winner Notre Dame had four players, including pitcher Austin Temple earning MVP honors.

UP NEXT:
• Michigan State's future and postseason schedule is based on how the weekend goes at Nebraska, as the Spartans are in contention for qualifying for the 2022 Big Ten Baseball Tournament, with the top eight teams in the league making it ... The 40th Big Ten Conference Baseball Tournament will be held May 25-29, 2022, at Charles Schwab Field Omaha (formerly TD Ameritrade Park) in Omaha, Neb., site of the NCAA Men's College World Series. After a two-year hiatus, the Big Ten Tournament returns with an eight-team, five-day, double-elimination format. Every tournament game will be televised live on the Big Ten Network (BTN) and streamed via the web, smartphones, tablets and connected devices through the FOX Sports App.

The winner of this year's Big Ten Tournament will earn the conference's automatic berth into the 2022 NCAA Tournament, with the bracket to be revealed at noon (ET) May 30 live on ESPN2.

Ohio State is the reigning Big Ten Tournament champion, winning its conference record-tying 10th title in 2019 (there was no tournament held in 2020 or 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and related schedule adjustments).

The Spartans' schedule is subject to change based on weather.

Along with any further schedule updates, fans can follow the games with links for live stats, live audio (when available) and live streaming of home games from Big Ten Network+ at MSUSpartans.com.

MSU Concludes Regular-Season With Non-Conference Clash At Michigan Tuesday Before Weekend B1G Series At Nebraska

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Peter Ahn

Aidan Arbaugh

Kyle Bischoff

Bryan Broecker

Andrew Carson

Harrison Cook

Trent Farquhar

Jack Frank

Zach Iverson

Mitch Jebb

Dillon Kark

Bryce Kelley

Casey Mayes

Bailey Peterson

Wyatt Rush

Ryan Szczepaniak

Brock Vradenburg

Zaid Walker

Christian Williams

MSU Concludes Regular-Season With Non-Conference Clash At Michigan Tuesday Before Weekend B1G Series At Nebraska

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Peter Ahn

Aidan Arbaugh

Kyle Bischoff

Bryan Broecker

Andrew Carson

Harrison Cook

Trent Farquhar

Jack Frank

Zach Iverson

Mitch Jebb

Dillon Kark

Bryce Kelley

Casey Mayes

Bailey Peterson

Wyatt Rush

Ryan Szczepaniak

Brock Vradenburg

Zaid Walker

Christian Williams

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