Spartans To Tangle With Nittany Lions In Weekend Series In University Park

MICHIGAN STATE (21-21, 6-9 B1G) at PENN STATE (20-21, 7-8 B1G)
Location	Medlar Field At Lubrano Park \|\| University Park, Pa.
Tickets	PSU Ticket Office
Weather	High/Low - Sat: 50^° / 39^° \| Sun: 56^° / 39^° \| Mon: 64^° / 40^°
Game Notes	MICHIGAN STATE \| PENN STATE
Social Media	@MSUbaseball \| MichiganStateBaseball @msu_baseball
Television	None
Game 1	DH G1 Sunday, May 8 - 1 p.m. ET * NOTE Schedule Update *
Probable Pitching Matchup	PSU: #24 SO RHP Jaden Henline (1-2, 4.61 ERA) MSU: #31 JR RHP Conner Tomasic (3-2, 4.47 ERA)
Coverage	Live Stats \| Watch Live Through Big Ten Network+ \| Listen Live to PSU Radio
Game 2	DH G2 Sunday, May 8 - Approx 4:30 p.m. ET * NOTE Schedule Update *
Probable Pitching Matchup	PSU: TBA (0-0, 0.00 ERA) MSU: TBA (0-0, 0.00 ERA)
Coverage	Live Stats \| Watch Live Through Big Ten Network+ \| Listen Live to PSU Radio
Game 3	Monday, May 9 - 11 a.m. ET
Probable Pitching Matchup	PSU: TBA (0-0, 0.00 ERA) MSU: TBA (0-0, 0.00 ERA)
Coverage	Live Stats \| Watch Live Through Big Ten Network+ \| Listen Live to PSU Radio

Leading Off... Spartans To Tangle With Nittany Lions In Weekend Series In University Park

• After a week without any midweek action this week due to Finals Week at Michigan State, the Spartans will take their six-game win streak on the road, hitting the road for University Park, Pa., for a three-game weekend series against Big Ten Conference foe Penn State, at PSU's Medlar Field at Lubrano Park ... Due to inclement weather in Friday and Saturday's forecast, the series is shifting to a doubleheader on Sunday starting at 1 p.m., before the series finale on Monday at 11 a.m. (*** NOTE Schedule Update ***) ... The weekend schedule is subject to further change based on weather ... MSU and PSU are two of the hottest teams in the B1G, as the Spartans enter the weekend with the longest active win streak at six-straight, while the Nittany Lions have won three in a row.

• Fans can follow the weekend action from University Park, Pa. with "Watch Live," "Listen Live" and "Live Stats" links at MSUSpartans.com, with video streaming available through Big Ten Network+, with a subscription fee.

• MSU has 12 games left on its regular-season slate, and this weekend's games are the first three of five-straight on the road as part of nine road games overall in the final 12 games.

• After this weekend, MSU plays at Notre Dame on Tuesday, May 10 at 6 p.m. and at Western Michigan on Wednesday, May 11 at 4 p.m., before hosting Iowa, May 13-15 in the final home games and Sunday, May 15 will be MSU's Senior Day ... The Spartans close out regular-season action with a three-game set at Nebraska, May 19-21.

PROFESSIONAL STADIUM EXPERIENCE
• This weekend's games at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park, home of the State College Spikes minor league team, will be the Spartans' 10th, 11th and 12th official games plus one exhibition, in playing in their fifth professional stadium ... 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 ... The Spartans are 5-4 in their previous nine games in professional stadiums.

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 405 career wins, with 380 wins in his 14th season at MSU (2009-pres.), and 25 wins in his lone season at Eastern Michigan (2008)).

QUICK HITTERS
• Michigan State's six-game win streak is not only the longest current active streak in the Big Ten Conference, but it also matches MSU's longest since a six-game win spurt April 18-27, 2018 ... The Spartans have won eight of their last 10 after a five-game losing skien, and losing nine of their previous 10 ... The six-game win streak by MSU is the hottest in the B1G this season, while this weekend's opposition, Penn State, has the next-longest win streak at three in a row.

• MSU also registered its second series sweeping of the season, also sweeping Houston Baptist March 18-20 ... Last weekend's sweep of the Gophers was MSU's first Big Ten Conference sweep April 20-22, 2018 at Northwestern and was the Spartans' first home B1G sweep since March 26-27, 2016 vs. Rutgers.

• Sunday's win also leveled Michigan State's record at 21-21, back to .500 for the first time since April 2 when the Spartans were 12-12.

• The current six-game win streak has come 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, the 7-4 win over Purdue Fort Wayne on April 27, then a three-game sweep (8-4, 2-1, 9-7) over Minnesota last weekend.

• The 2-1 win over Minnesota on April 30 was the Spartans' sixth one-run win of the year ... MSU is now 6-3 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 Sunday's 9-7 win over Minnesota, 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 eight come-from-behind wins on the season.

• Michigan State's 11 runs in the April 24 win at Northwestern improve the Spartans to 8-0 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.

• The Spartans are also 15-2 when leading after seven innings and 18-0 when leading after eight innings ... MSU has out-scored its opponents, 35-27 in the eighth inning and 25-18 in the ninth inning, the only two innings that MSU has more runs than the opposition.

• 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 eighth in the NCAA with 10 saves.

• Bischoff collected one save in MSU's win over Minnesota on April 30, for his 10th save of the season, taking over sole possession of No. 3 on the Spartans' single-season saves list, the most since 2014 when Jeff Kinley fired a school-record 13 saves ... Bischoff is just one behind Jeff Ericson with 11 in 1990.

• 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.

• Sophomore outfielder Jack Frank and junior outfielder Zaid Walker have made the active player HR lead a two-player tie, pulling away from a three-way tie with junior outfielder Casey Mayes ... 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 knocked two HRs in consecutive days in the weekend at Northwestern on April 23-24, now with three round-trippers on the season.

• Sophomore infielder Mitch Jebb leads the Big Ten and ranks 22nd in the NCAA in toughest to strikeout - with just one K every 13.0 ABs - on just 13 Ks in 169 ABs ... Jebb also has 30 walks, for a 2.3 walks-strikeout ratio, as well as drawing a free pass in 17.8 percent of his at bats, with a walk every 5.6 ABs.

• Sophomore infielder Brock Vradenburg has been as hot as the Spartans have in the last six games, as he is hitting a scorching .571 (12-for-21) in the last six games, along with a .654 on-base percentage and a .667 slugging percentage ... Vradenburg has 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 has eight RBI over the last 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).

CLOSER LOOK AT SPARTANS DURING SIX-GAME WIN STREAK BY THE NUMBERS
• During MSU's six-game win streak, the Spartans are hitting .274 and averaging 7.2 runs per game ... MSU has hit seven HRs during the last six games (1.2 per game) and also swiped 17 stolen bases (17-of-19), averaging 2.8 stolen bases per game.

• On the mound, the Spartans have yielded 25 runs on 46 hits, an average of 4.2 runs and 7.7 hits per game, with a 3.67 ERA, ringing up 36 strikeouts and 20 walks, averaging 6.0 Ks and 3.3 BB per contest.

• Defensively, Michigan State has committed just four errors (0.7 per game) with a .982 fielding percentage, and also thrown out two potential base stealers and posted one pick off.

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) ... He currently shares the lead in the Big Ten Conference and ranks tied for eighth in the NCAA with nine saves ... The Spartan reliever collected save number 10 on April 30 vs. Minnesota, his second save of the week after picked 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 1.88 ERA in 18 appearances, registering 28 strikeouts and nine walks in 28.2 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.

A GLANCE AT THE NITTANY LIONS
Penn State is 20-21 overall and 7-8 in B1G action ... PSU has won three in a row, after a non-conference weekend series with Omaha, winning a pair of one-run games on April 29 (8-7) and 30 (4-3), before Sunday's series finale was rained out, and Penn State also won at West Virginia, 8-4, on April 27.

In their last B1G series, the Nittany Lions took two of three at Minnesota, dropping the opener, 7-3, on April 22, before bouncing back to win, 5-1, on April 23 and then sealed the series win with a 6-5 victory on April 24 ... PSU has won its last two conference series, taking two of three from Purdue April 14-16, after going 2-1 in its three other B1G series (home vs. Rutgers, March 25-26; at No. 23 Maryland, April 1-3; at Northwestern, April 9-10).

Junior catcher Matt Wood leads not only PSU, but tops the conference and ranks 10th in the NCAA hitting .415, including leading all Division I catchers ... Additionally, Wood shares the league-lead in on-base percentage (.497) and ranking third in the league in slugging percentage (.662) ... Wood also tops the team in both hits (59) and RBI (37), ranking 12th in the B1G in hits and 25th in RBI, in addition to sharing the team-lead in HR (6), along with ranking second on the team with 11 doubles ... Sophomore infielder Jay Harry adds a .313 average with 21 RBI, while junior catcher/first baseman Josh Spiegel is the third Nittany Lion hitting over .300 at .304 with 29 RBI and matches Wood for the team HR lead (6) and tops the team with 13 doubles.

Sophomore right-hander Jaden Henline is Saturday's series opener starter, with a 1-2 record and a 4.61 ERA in 13 appearances with four starts, posting 44 Ks and 13 BB in 41.0 IP, with a .270 average by the opposition ... Game two and three's starters are TBD by the Nittany Lions, as they are by the Spartans ... While Henline also leads the team in saves with three, graduate senior right-hander Mason Mellott has two saves, while six other Nittany Lion pitchers have a save apiece ... Junior southpaw Jordan Morales has a staff-leading 20 appearances, with a 4.40 ERA and a 3-0 record with 44 Ks to just eight BB, with a .270 BAA.

Penn State head coach Rob Cooper is in his ninth season as the leash of the Nittany Lions with a 167-237 record, as part of amassing a 453-467 record in his 17th season.

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 405 career wins with 380 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 406 (247 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.

This weekend is the second of back-to-back weekend's against fellow active Big Ten head coaches with 400+ career wins, after last week facing the coach with the most in the Big Ten with 1,343 in Minnesota's John Anderson, followed by this weekend at Penn State and Ron Cooper with 453 wins.

Current Big Ten Head Coaches By Career Wins
John Anderson - Minnesota    1,343
Steve Owens - Rutgers            977
Rich Heller - Iowa        956
Greg Beals - Ohio State           582
Dan Hartleb - Illinois   499
Rob Cooper - Penn State         453
Jake Boss Jr. - Michigan State           405

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 318 strikeouts this season, marking the 19th time in program history to reach the 300-K plateau.

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.       2014    355
            11.       2021    346
            12.       2010    335
            13.       2011    332
            14.       1987    324
            15.       1971    322
            16.       2022    318
            17.      1993    315
            18.       2001    312
            19.       1988    306

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 16 appearances, ringing up 26 strikeouts in 26.0 IP (9.00 K/9).

ACTIVE HR LEADERS
• Sophomore outfielder Jack Frank and junior outfielder Zaid Walker have made the active player HR lead a two-player tie, pulling away from a three-way tie with junior outfielder Casey Mayes ... 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 knocked two HRs in consecutive days in the weekend at Northwestern on April 23-24, now with three round-trippers on the season.

HITS AND RUNS AND HITS AND RUUUUUNNNNNSSSSS
• Michigan State knocked double-digit hits in two of the three games over the weekend against Minnesota with 11 on April 29 and 10 on May 1 ... The Spartans had also recently posted 12 hits in the April 24 win at Northwestern, after logging 10 hits on April 20 vs. Eastern Michigan and 11 knocks vs. Oakland on April 19 ... MSU also posted 10 hits in the game vs. Michigan on April 17 and also knocked 12 hits in game two of the doubleheader at Ohio State on April 10 ... MSU now has 22 games with double-digit hits, as the Spartans are now 14-8 when registering 10 or more hits, winning their last five contests with double-figures in the hits column.

• The Spartans' 11 runs in the April 24 win at Northwestern was MSU's eighth contest this season with 10 or more runs ... Michigan State improved to 8-0 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 ... 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.

With MSU's 10-8 comeback win at Ohio State on April 10 and the 9-7 come-from-behind win over Minnesota, the Spartans are now also 4-3 in 2-run games.

DOUBLE PLAYS A PLENTY
• Michigan State turned one double play in the win over Purdue Fort Wayne, adding two each in the first two games of the Minnesota series, April 29 and 30, as the Spartans now have 10 double plays in the last 11 games ... MSU has had at least one double play in a total of 21 games, including 11 contests with multiple double plays, highlighted by three a total of three games, on March 20 vs. Houston Baptist, April 9 at Ohio State and April 17 vs Michigan.

MSU leads the Big Ten and ranks 32nd in the NCAA in total double plays with 35, as well as also leading the league and ranking 33rd in the nation in double plays per game (0.83).

THREE-BAGGERS GALORE
• Michigan State has slid to fourth in the Big Ten and ranks 63rd in the NCAA in triples with 12 ... The Spartans also rank fourth in the league and 58th in the nation in triples per game with 0.29.

Individually, junior outfielder Casey Mayes is tied for third in the B1G with three triples, ranking tied for 79th in the NCAA, while junior outfielder Peter Ahn, sophomore infielder Mitch Jebb and redshirt-freshman catcher Christian Williams are 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 as toughest to strike out, with just 13 Ks in 169 ABs (13.0 AB/strikeout).

JEBBIN' ON THE BASEPATHS
• Jebb leads MSU and ranks fourth in the B1G with 17 stolen bases ... Jebb's 17 swipes are the most by a Spartan since 2019 when Bryce Kelley had 18.

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 32 home runs in 42 games, an average of 0.76 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 318 Ks in 42 games, an average of 7.6 K/game, compared to 346 strikeouts in 44 games last season, an average of 7.86 K/game.

MSU's ERA is also nearly even from a season ago, posting a 5.59 ERA through 42 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.

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.

Farquhar hit .462 (6-for-13) for the weekend with two RBI and two runs scored, as well as solid play all weekend at second base, featuring a running, somersaulting catch in shallow center field in the second inning of Friday's win over Kansas. He had multiple hits in the Kansas and West Virginia games as Farquhar now has a five-game hitting streak.

Jebb logged a .429 average (6-for-14) in the three games, including a career-high four hits and four RBI in Sunday's 9-3 win over nationally-ranked West Virginia. Jebb was a home run shy of the cycle Sunday, finishing with two triples and a double for the weekend, with 11 total bases and six RBI, adding one stolen base. Jebb joined his keystone corner mate Farquhar in solid defense all weekend as well, including snaring a line drive and stepping on second for a double play to end a bases-loaded threat in Sunday's win over WVU. Jebb has at least one hit in all 10 games this season and a 17-game hitting streak dating back to last season.

Walker posted a .455 average (5-of-11) with one double and a home run, coming on a two-run blast to left field in the second inning Friday vs. Kansas, sparking the Spartan offense on the way to an 11-2 win over the Jayhawks. Walker also had standout defense, highlighted by throwing out a runner in Sunday's win over West Virginia. Walker also had at least one hit in all three games this weekend and has a four-game hitting streak.

MSU BASEBALL TO WEAR "JP" UNIFORM PATCH TRIBUTE TO JIM PIGNATARO
Michigan State baseball head coach Jake Boss Jr. announced Thursday 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.

THREE SPARTANS GARNER BIG TEN PRESEASON PLAYERS TO WATCH RECOGNITION
Farquhar, Jebb, Walker collect kudos ahead of Friday's season-opener.
Three Michigan State baseball players earned Big Ten Preseason Players to Watch honors, as the conference announced its preseason honors list and preseason poll.

The conference coaches voted on the top six teams and also selected three student-athletes from their own squads to a Preseason Honors list.

Sophomore infielders Trent Farquhar and Mitch Jebb were joined by junior outfielder Zaid Walker in earning preseason honors.

Farquhar, a native of Highland, Mich., earned the Danny Litwhiler Defensive Player of the Year MSU team award last season, as he made 38 starts, with 37 coming at second base and one at shortstop, posting 100 assists, 85 putouts. He was a part of 21 double plays, as MSU led the Big Ten with 41 double plays turned, ranking 45th in the NCAA, as well as leading the B1G and ranking 11th in the NCAA with 0.93 double plays per game. He posted a season-high seven assists vs. Penn State on April 9, the most by an individual fielder during the season, including having at least three putouts in 14 games, including a season-high five vs. Nebraska on April 23.

At the plate, Farquhar was the Spartans' leadoff batter in 32 games, hitting .272, including sharing the team-lead and ranking tied for 21st in the B1G in doubles with 10. He also tied for third on the team with total extra base hits with 12 on 10 doubles, one triple, and one home run, belting first collegiate home run in the Purdue game on April 12, blasting a solo shot down the right field line and into the Red Cedar River. Farquhar led MSU with a .381 on-base percentage, ranking second on the team and tied for 14th in the B1G with 24 walks, as well as ranking tied for second on the team with four hit-by-pitch.

Farquhar had a team-high 18-game on-base streak, reaching base in every game that he had an at bat from March 12-April 12, snapping the streak on April 16 by not reaching base at Illinois. He finished the 2021 season logging at least one hit in 12 of the last 16 games, having a five-game hit streak halted without a hit on May 8, but bounced back with three hits on May 9 and two knocks on May 14, then adding three hits on May 21 at Rutgers. For the season, his longest hitting streak was seven games (March 12-21), finishing with at least one hit in 28 of 39 games with an at bat. Farquhar was tied for second on the team with 11 multiple hit games, including a team-best tying nine games with two hits, as well as two games with a season-high three hits, coming on May 9 vs. Michigan, then matching it on May 21 at Rutgers. The sophomore infielder also had three multi-RBI games, which tied for third on the team, with three games with two ribbies each, most recently on April 25 vs. Nebraska.

Jebb, a native of Saginaw, Mich., was named to Big Ten All-Freshman Team last season after he posted a .276 average, sharing the team lead with two triples as part of ranking second on the team in hits (45). He also ranked third on the team with 44 starts, just one of five Spartans to play in 40+ games, missing just one game in the 2021 season.

Last season, Jebb also shared the team lead in doubles (10), while also ranking third in total bases (59), tied for third in extra-base hits with 12 on 10 doubles and two triples, fourth in runs scored (25), tied for fourth in stolen bases (4) and tied for sixth in RBI (15). He also ranked second on squad with 11 multi-hit outings, logging nine games with two hits apiece to go with season-high three hits in two contests.

With four multiple RBI games, Jebb also ranked third on MSU. He also tied for the second-longest hitting streak of the season at eight, from March 28-April 12, while ranking tied for fifth on the team in reached base streak at eight over the same span. Jebb logged a seven-game hitting streak to close out the season (May 16-30), with four multi-hit outings in that six-game span, going 12-for-28 (.429) with four doubles and two RBI.

In the field, Jebb was the Spartans' primary shortstop all season long, making all 44 of starts at short. He made 62 putouts and had a team-high 125 assists, along with being a part of 33 of MSU's 41 double plays, as the Spartans shared the B1G-lead and were tied for 11th in the NCAA in double plays per game (0.93), with the 41 DPs ranking second in the B1G.

A native of Homewood, Ill., Walker is looking to build off a successful 2021 season that saw him earn Third Team All-Big Ten accolades, as well as selected as the John Kobs Most Valuable Player Award recipient as well as the Kirk Gibson Offensive Player of the Year MSU team awards.

Last season, Walker was one of two Spartans to start and play in all 44 games, along with outfielder Bryce Kelley. He led MSU and ranked 22nd in the B1G with a .308 average, also leading the team and ranking 20th in the B1G with 31 RBI. Additionally, Walker led the team in hits (52), runs scored (29) and total bases (71), while ranking second on the team in stolen bases (7), third in both home runs (3) and on-base percentage (.367), and fifth in slugging percentage (.420). He also tied for third in total extra base hits with 12 on eight doubles, one triple and three home runs. In the 44-game season, Walker had at least one hit in 31 of the 44 games played, and also led the team with 14 multiple hit games.

Walker also led MSU with nine multiple RBI games, logging five games with two RBI and four games with three RBI. He had a stretch of three RBI twice in three games, April 11 vs. Purdue and April 16 at Illinois, also logging three ribbies on March 6 vs. Maryland.

Walker garnered the first Big Ten Player of the Week honors of his career on March 10 for his performance in the opening weekend after hitting a team-leading .462 (6-13), with five RBI and one double, logging a .538 slugging percentage and scoring three runs in helping MSU win three of four games against Maryland in Greenville in the opening weekend of the season. He had at least one hit in all four games, including going 3-for-3 with three RBI and two runs scored in MSU's 7-4 win in game one of the March 6 doubleheader, and also beat out an infield single to keep Michigan State's rally going in the seventh inning of the March 6 nightcap of the twinbill, to drive in what turned out to be the game-winning run, completing the Spartans' comeback after a 4-0 lead by Maryland, in the 5-4 Victory for MSU.

Walker also owned the longest hitting streak of the season, hitting safely in nine-straight games (March 13-27), and also owned the second-longest reached base streak of 14 in a row (March 13-April 9).

UP NEXT:
Michigan State has a super quick turnaround, as this weekend's series at Penn State are the first three of five games in five days ... The Spartans will return from Penn State late Monday night, and then head to South Bend, Ind., to play at Notre Dame on Tuesday, May 10 at 6 at Frank Eck Stadium ... The Spartans then head to Kalamazoo, Mich. to take on Western Michigan on Wednesday, May 11 at 4:05 p.m. at WMU's Robert J. Bobb Stadium at Hyames Field.

MSU then returns home to host Iowa, Friday-Sunday, May 13-15 in the final home games and Sunday will be MSU's Senior Day ... The Spartans and Hawkeyes open the series on Friday evening at 6:35 p.m., before Saturday's 4:05 p.m. first pitch and the series finale on Spartan Senior Day with a 1:05 p.m. start time.

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.

Spartans To Tangle With Nittany Lions In Weekend Series In University Park

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Peter Ahn

Kyle Bischoff

Trent Farquhar

Jack Frank

Mitch Jebb

Dillon Kark

Bryce Kelley

Casey Mayes

Bailey Peterson

Ryan Szczepaniak

Conner Tomasic

Brock Vradenburg

Zaid Walker

Christian Williams

Spartans To Tangle With Nittany Lions In Weekend Series In University Park

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Peter Ahn

Kyle Bischoff

Trent Farquhar

Jack Frank

Mitch Jebb

Dillon Kark

Bryce Kelley

Casey Mayes

Bailey Peterson

Ryan Szczepaniak

Conner Tomasic

Brock Vradenburg

Zaid Walker

Christian Williams

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