Spartans Square Off With Sycamores In Weekend Series As MSU Makes First-Ever Trip To Terre Haute

*** SCHEDULE UPDATE -- Due to inclement weather, schedule adjusted and will now play a doubleheader on Sunday, March 19, now starting at 2 p.m. with second game to start at approx 5:45 p.m. More Info On Schedule Update ***

MICHIGAN STATE (8-7, 0-0 B1G) at INDIANA STATE (8-8, 0-0 MVC)
Location	Bob Warn Field // Terre Haute, Ind.
Tickets	Indiana State Tickets
Weather	High/Low -- Fri: 40^° / 24^° \| Sat: 29^° / 20^° \| Sun: 39^° / 20^°
Game Notes	MICHIGAN STATE \| INDIANA STATE
Social Media	@MSUbaseball \| MichiganStateBaseball @msu_baseball
Television	None
Game 1	Sunday, March 19 \| 2 p.m. ET
Probable Pitching Matchup	ISU: #34 R-JR RHP Matt Jachec (1-2, 4.50 ERA) MSU: #16 FR LHP Joseph Dzierwa (2-1, 5.40 ERA)
Coverage	Live Stats \| Watch Live
Game 2	Sunday, March 19 \| Approx 5:45 p.m. ET
Probable Pitching Matchup	ISU: #33 R-SR RHP Connor Fenlong (1-1, 5.68 ERA) MSU: #44 R-SO Adam Berghorst (1-0, 2.53 ERA
Coverage	Live Stats \| Watch Live
Game 3	CANCELLED
Probable Pitching Matchup	ISU: #40 JR RHP Simon Gregersen (1-0, 6.75 ERA) MSU: #41 FR RHP Nolan Higgins (1-1, 8.68 ERA)
Coverage	Live Stats \| Watch Live - NONE

• Michigan State baseball makes its first-ever trip to Terre Haute, Indiana this weekend then the Spartans square off with the Sycamores of Indiana State in a three-game series, slated for Friday-Sunday, March 17-19 at ISU's Bob Warn Field ... the weekend schedule is subject to change based on inclement weather in the forecast ... the series is scheduled to open on Friday at 3 p.m. ET, with game two slated for Saturday at 2 p.m., before wrapping up on Sunday with a 1 p.m. first pitch.

• Fans can follow this weekend's action with "Watch Live" and "Live Stats" links, where available, at MSUSpartans.com, with live streaming scheduled for Friday and Saturday's games only.

• MSU is making its first-ever trip to Terre Haute, after being set to play at ISU on March 13-15, 2020, before remainder of season was cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic the day that the Spartans were about to bus to Terre Haute.

SPARTAN STRONG
It has been just over a month since the mass shooting on the East Lansing campus on the night of Monday, Feb. 13, when three MSU students were killed and five were hospitalized. Michigan State University canceled classes the remainder of the week following the deaths of the three students – juniors Arielle Anderson and Alexandria Verner and sophomore Brian Fraser.

Michigan State players are wearing "Spartan Strong" stickers on their helmets in a tribute of the three lives lost and for the five students still hospitalized, and several players have personal tributes as well.

Classes resumed on Monday, Feb. 20.

MEDIA ADVISORY (when discussing the events of Monday, Feb. 13)
• Can describe the shooting that happened on Feb. 13 as "The violence the Michigan State community experienced."
• Refrain from or be spare with the use of adjectives: Horrific, senseless, devastating, etc.
• Please use "students" instead of "victims."
• Referring to this event as "a tragedy" is okay. Saying "tragic loss of life" is also okay.

CAROLINA IN MY MIND AND TRAVEL ITINERARY FOR WEEK IN REVIEW
• MSU's travel theme music for the past three weeks was James Taylor's "Carolina In My Mind" as the Spartans played three-straight weekends in the Palmetto State.

Michigan State started its South Carolina trips in Spartanburg, S.C. area, playing in the OneSpartanburg, Inc. Baseball Classic, facing three different teams in three days, rotating with fellow visiting teams Northwestern and Toledo in playing at USC Upstate, Gardner-Webb and Presbyterian ... MSU opened the weekend in an all-Spartans clash vs. USC Upstate, winning, 13-6, followed by heading to Boiling Springs, N.C. to take on Gardner-Webb on Feb. 25, dropping a 7-3 contest in the first-ever meeting between MSU and GWU ... Michigan State concluded the weekend in the Spartanburg area with an 8-6 loss at Presbyterian on Feb. 26, in MSU's first visit to Clinton since 1948.

The Spartans opened their Spring Break week in South Carolina in Charleston, S.C., losing at College of Charleston, 11-3, on Friday, March 3, before sinking the Buccaneers of Charleston Southern, 19-10, on Saturday, March 4, then losing, 10-3, back at College of Charleston on Sunday, March 5 ... Air Force played those two teams on the other days that MSU was playing them, and the Spartans and Falcons met at scenic Shipyard Park on Monday, March 6 with AF winning, 7-4.

After the game on March 6, the Spartans bussed from Charleston to Greenville, arriving there Monday night at their home-away-from-home, Fluor Field, home of the Greenville Drive, the A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox ... MSU played Wofford and lost in 12-9 thriller on Wednesday, March 8, as MSU rallied from being down 9-1 in the third, including a 5-run ninth inning and had the tying run in the on-deck circle when the game ended.

The Spartans hosted the 2023 First Pitch Invitational Friday-Sunday, March 10-12 at Fluor Field, opening action with a 6-5 Victory for MSU over Western Carolina on junior infielder Dillon Kark's walk-off inside-the-park home run to lead off the bottom of the ninth, as MSU rallied from down 5-3 after the seventh inning with two runs in the eighth to tie it before Kark's heroics for the win ... the Spartans then played a split twinbill on Saturday, March 11, beating Kansas, 10-6, in the opener, knocking three triples in the first inning as part of a 5-run first frame adding a run in the second for a 6-0 lead, only to see Kansas come back and tie it with six runs in the fourth, before pulling away with a 3-run seventh and a run in the eighth ... in the nightcap, MSU got a gem from sophomore pitcher Adam Berghorst with a career-high 11 Ks in 6.0 IP, more than doubling his previous career-best of five Ks, most recently done in his last outing on March 6 vs. Air Force, and first done on March 27, 2021 vs. Indiana ... the 11 strikeouts by Berghorst was the first MSU pitcher with 10 or more Ks since Nick Powers rang up 10 strikeouts against the same Western Carolina and almost a year to the day on March 12, 2022 ... Sunday's finale vs. Kansas was rained out and won't be made up.

ABOUT INDIANA STATE
• The Sycamores are 8-8 overall, having won their last six in a row, most recently a 7-3 10-inning victory at another Big Ten foe, Illinois, Wednesday afternoon in Champaign, Ill. ... ISU scored four runs in the top of the 10th, after the Illini sent the game to extras with a three-run seventh inning ... Indiana State is hitting .238 as a team, led by sophomore catcher Luis Hernandez at .308, while junior outfielder Parker Stinson is hitting .304 ... ISU's pitching staff is led by sophomore reliever Jared Spencer with a 2-1 record and 3.18 ERA.

SPARTANS FROM INDIANA
• Michigan State has one player from Indiana: redshirt-sophomore catcher Christian Williams (Carmel/Carmel HS).

DOUBLE DIGITS IN RUNS AND HITS COLUMNS
• MSU has posted double-digit runs in four games this season
--15 runs vs. Michigan on Feb. 17 in season-opener
--13 runs at USC Upstate on Feb. 24
--Season-high 19 runs at Charleston Southern on March 4
--10 runs vs. Kansas on March 11
Michigan State is 4-0 when scoring double-digit runs.

• The Spartans have posted double-digit hits in the last five games as part of 11 total times in the 15 games this season:
--Season-high 19 hits: at Charleston Southern on March 4
--18 hits: vs. Michigan on Feb. 17
--15 hits (three times): vs. Fresno State on Feb. 19, at Grand Canyon on Feb. 20 and vs. Wofford on March 8;
--12 hits at USC Upstate on Feb. 24
--11 hits (three times): at Presbyterian on Feb. 26, vs. Air Force on March 6 and vs. Kansas on March 11
--10 hits (two times): vs. Western Carolina in both meetings on March 10 and March 11
MSU is 8-3 when posting double-digit hits.

• Michigan State has posted both double-digit hits and runs in four games:
--15 runs on 18 hits vs. Michigan on Feb. 17 in season-opener
--13 runs on 12 hits at USC Upstate on Feb. 24
--Season-high 19 runs on season-high 19 hits at Charleston Southern on March 4
--10 runs on 10 hits vs. Kansas on March 11
Michigan State is 4-0 when posting double-digit runs and double-digit hits in same game.

MSU TEAM NOTES
• Michigan State is hitting .312 as a team, which ranks second in the Big Ten and ranks 33rd in the NCAA.
• The Spartans also lead the B1G and rank 30th in the NCAA in hits with 171.
• MSU tops the B1G and ranks fifth in the NCAA in both total triples (10) and triples per game (0.67).
• Michigan State also ranks third in the league and 78th in the nation in doubles (31), while ranking fourth in the conference in both slugging percentage (.493) and total runs (113).
• The Spartans are also sixth in the B1G in both stolen bases (21) and stolen bases per game (1.4).
• MSU's pitching staff is fourth in the B1G in strikeouts per nine innings (9.7) and fifth in both strikeout-to-walk ratio (1.96) and walks allowed per nine innings (4.95).

SPARTAN PLAYER NOTES
• MSU's bats are led by their infield, as first baseman Brock Vradenburg tops the team with a .469 average, while second baseman/shortstop Trent Farquhar is second at .409, followed by back-up second baseban Jacob Anderson third with a .357 average.

• Infielders make up the top three leaders in run scored in Farquhar (22), Vradenburg (21) and junior third baseman Dillon Kark (11), while junior shortstop Mitch Jebb is part of three-way tie for fourth ... Spartan infielders also have three of top five team marks for RBI, in Vradenburg (1st-23), Farquhar (4th-11) and Kark (5th-10) ... infielders also have top three spots for total bases in Vradenburg (1st-55), Farquhar (2nd-36) and Kark (T-3rd, 27).

• Junior first baseman Brock Vradenburg leads the B1G and ranked 10th in the NCAA in hits (30) ... he also tops the league and ranks fourth in the nation in hits per game (2.00), and additionally leads the conference and ranks 13th in the country in total bases (55) ... Vradenburg is also first in the B1G and 37th in the NCAA in RBI (23) and first in the conference and 33rd in the country in RBI/game (1.53), while ranking second in the league and 17th in the nation in batting average (.469) ... he also is second in the B1G and on the team in runs (21), one-run behind teammate and B1G-leader Trent Farquhar (22) ... Vradenburg is also second in the conference and 36th in the country in slugging percentage (.859), in addition to third in the league and 47th in the nation in home runs (6).

• Junior second baseman Trent Farquhar is first in the B1G and fourth in the NCAA in doubles (9), along with leading the league and ranking ninth in the nation in doubles per game (0.60), in addition to topping the conference and ranking 34th in runs (22), one more run than teammate Brock Vradenburg (21), and also leading the league and ranking 25th in the nation in runs per game (1.47) ... Farquhar is also No. 1 in the B1G and No. 25 in the NCAA in toughest to strikeout (16.5 AB per K), with just four strikeouts in 66 ABs ... the Spartan second baseman is also third in the conference and 27th in the country in hits (27), while ranking third in the B1G and 28th in the NCAA in hits per game (1.80) ... he also is fourth in the league in batting average (.409).

• Junior infielder Mitch Jebb, senior outfielder Casey Mayes, and sophomore designated hitter/infielder Sam Busch are all part of a tied for second in the B1G and tied for 32nd in the NCAA in triples (2), while Busch is fifth in the league in triples per game (0.14) and Mayes is eighth in the conference (0.13).

• Senior pitcher Andrew Carson is tied for first in the conference and tied for 14th in the country in games started (4), while tied with freshman pitcher Joseph Dzierwa for fourth in the league in wins (2).

• Senior relief pitcher Wyatt Rush is tied for second in the conference in saves (2).

DOUBLE THE WALK-OFFS FOR KARK
Junior infielder Dillon Kark has a walk-off inside-the-park home run to complete Michigan State's comeback in a 6-5 Victory for MSU over Western Carolina on March 10 in the opening game of the 2023 First Pitch Invitational at Fluor Field in Greenville.

• Kark smacked his second walk-off home run in as many seasons, with a walk-off over-the-fence home run variety on March 18, 2022 for a 4-3 win over Houston Baptist, and Kark was also the last Spartan with a walk-off home run, and the last walk-off Victory for MSU was two days later, also over Houston Baptist, and matching Friday's score of 6-5.

MAYES TRIPLING WAY UP RECORD LIST
Senior outfielder Casey Mayes has two triples on the season, with his second of the season coming last weekend in Greenville ... Mayes now has 11 triples for his career, vaulting up to tie for No. 4 on MSU's career triples list, one of six Spartans in program history with 11, most recently by Cam Gibson (2013-15), and needing one more to crack into the Top 3.

MSU'S BROECKER ON BUSTER POSEY NATIONAL COLLEGIATE CATCHER OF THE YEAR AWARD WATCH LIST
• Michigan State catcher Bryan Broecker was tabbed to the Buster Posey National Collegiate Catcher of the Year Award Watch List, announced by the Greater Wichita Area Sports Commission.

Broecker, a sophomore from Chicago, Ill., is one of four Big Ten catchers on the 65-player list, joined by Ohio State senior Cole Andrews, Nebraska sophomore Josh Caron, Indiana senior Matthew Ellis, as well as only one of 10 sophomores on the list.

"Bryan is an outstanding leader, and he is an extremely hard worker, who just continues to get better and better," MSU head coach Jake Boss Jr. said. "Last season, he led the Big Ten by throwing out 22 potential base-stealers, and had a very good year behind the plate for us last year and we expect that to continue into the 2023 season."

Last season, Broecker was named to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team, and was the Spartans' primary catcher all season, leading the B1G in caught stealing by nabbing 22 stolen base attempts, six more than the second spot. In B1G only action, Broecker threw out 11 base stealing attempts, also leading the league and posting three more than the number two spot.

At the plate, Broecker hit .271 overall, ranking tied for fifth on the team, as well as fourth on the team in runs scored (31) and fifth in hits (48), along with third in hit by pitch (7).

This season, Broecker already leads the B1G with nine caught stealing, including two at Charleston Southern on March 4 and three more vs. Air Force on March 6. The nine caught stealing by is four more than the next-best mark in the B1G. Broecker is also hitting .302 at the plate with two HR, one triple and one double, logging eight RBI.

PROFESSIONAL STADIUM EXPERIENCE
• The Spartans opening weekend's three games of the MLB Desert Invitational were Michigan State's first games played in two different professional stadiums ... overall, MSU is slated to now play seven official games and one exhibition contest in four different professional stadiums.

The Spartans also played four games last weekend at their home-away-from-home, Fluor Field, in Greenville, S.C., home of the Greenville Drive, taking on Wofford (March 8), then hosting the 2023 First Pitch Invitational on March 10-12 against Western Carolina and Kansas, having the final game vs. Kansas on March 12 rained out.

Michigan State will take on the Lansing Lugnuts, the High-A affiliate of the Oakland A's, in the 2023 Crosstown Showdown on April 4 at Jackson Field in an exhibition game.

Last season, MSU played in five different professional stadiums, and playing 15 official games, along with one exhibition contest.

The Spartans 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 Comerica Park, home of the Detroit Tigers on April 26, winning 6-2.

Michigan State played at 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 May 8-9 ... MSU then played Nebraska at Hawks Field at Haymarket Park in Lincoln, home of the Lincoln Saltdogs of the American Association of Professional Baseball.

HOME RUNS AND RUNS GALORE
• Michigan State blasted five round-trippers on the way to a 19-10 Victory for MSU at Charleston Southern on March 4.
• The five Spartan home runs was their most since knocking eight round-trippers on March 26, 2017 at Illinois.
• The 19 runs was MSU's most since scoring 22 vs. UNC Greensboro (W, 22-16) on Feb. 25, 2017.

• Junior outfielder Jack Frank hit his second home run of the season, as well as his 12th career HR, which leads all active Spartans, but the three-run home run on March 4 at Charleston Southern was his first three-run round tripper of his career.
• Junior infielder Brock Vradenburg knocked two homers over the weekend in Charleston, vaulting him from fifth on the active HR list with six to tied for second with senior outfielder Casey Mayes with eight four-baggers ... both of Vradenburg's home runs in Charleston were of the two-run variety, and he now leads the active Spartans in two-run HRs.

OPENING WEEK IN THE DESERT
• MSU started the season at the 2023 MLB Desert Invitational in the Phoenix, Arizona area, beginning with a 15-8 win over Michigan in the season-opener on Feb. 17, then split a day-night doubleheader with Fresno State, winning 7-4, and Arizona, losing 7-1, to wrap up the Desert Invite action ... the Spartans then wrapped up the extended weekend with a 7-1 win at Grand Canyon on Monday, the same GCU team that upset No. 2 Tennessee on Saturday night ... MSU playing its third game in 24 hours, after playing a day-night doubleheader on Sunday that started at 1 p.m. MT / 3 p.m. ET, beating Fresno State, 7-4, Sunday afternoon before losing to Arizona, 7-1, in the night cap, then taking on Grand Canyon in an 11 a.m. MT / 1 p.m. ET start time, before MSU flew home to East Lansing Monday evening.

SEASON-OPENING SUCCESS
• The 15-8 Victory for MSU over Michigan in the season-opener marked the fourth time in the last five seasons that the Spartans were victorious in their season-opener, getting back on the winning track after dropping last year's lid-lifter at UNLV following winning the previous three openers ... overall, MSU is 12-3 in the 15 season-openers under Coach Boss, only losing in 2013 vs. Furman, 2018 at Fresno State and 2022 at UNLV.

TWO MSU BASEBALL PLAYERS EARN BIG TEN WEEKLY HONORS
• Michigan State baseball players Brock Vradenburg and Dominic Pianto both collected weekly award honors from the Big Ten Conference, the league office announced on Feb. 21 for the opening week of the season. Vradenburg garnered Player of the Week accolades, while Pianto was tabbed Co-Pitcher of the Week.

Both Vradenburg and Pianto collected their first career weekly B1G honors for their performances over the weekend in Phoenix, helping MSU to a 3-1 record, marking the third-straight season that the Spartans have opened 3-1 or better. Vradenburg is MSU's first B1G Player of the Week Award since Mitch Jebb collected the honor on March 16 of last season, while Pianto is the first Spartan to earn B1G Pitcher of the Week since Sam Benschoter on April 27, 2021.

Vradenburg, a junior from Pasadena, Calif., hit .556 (10-for-18) for the weekend with four RBI, seven runs scored, with a double and triple, and also drawing two walks. He posted a .600 on-base percentage for the weekend, along with a .722 slugging percentage, logging three hits in three of the four games and had two RBI each in a pair of games, along with scoring at least two runs in three of the four games, adding three runs in the win over Fresno State.

The Spartans' first baseman started the season and the weekend going 3-for-5 with two ribbies and two runs scored in MSU's emotional win over Michigan, the Spartans' first game after the shooting on campus at MSU, as the Spartans rallied from down 5-1. He knocked in MSU first run of game with an RBI single in the first inning, then after drawing a walk in the third frame, roped a triple to the right-center gap in the fifth to spark the Spartan comeback, later scoring a run as well. In the eighth, he again sparked the rally leading off the inning with a single to center and two batters later scored the Spartans' first run of the inning, and later batted again in the inning, reaching on an RBI fielder's choice, part of a seven-run stanza.

Vradenburg went 3-for-4 with three runs scored in the 7-1 Victory for MSU over Fresno State, including giving MSU the 3-2 lead when he scored in the third after a walk. He also sparked a Spartan rally in the fifth with a single to lead off the frame, coming around to score from first on a double by Jack Frank, then knocked a ground-rule double in the seventh into the bullpen down the right-field line. In the ninth, he laced a single and later came around to score MSU's final run of the game to secure the 7-4 win.

In the loss to Arizona, Vradenburg knocked his lone hit in the game with a single in the sixth.

He wrapped up the weekend going 3-for-5 with two RBI and two runs scored in the 7-1 win over Grand Canyon, the same team that beat No. 2 Tennessee on Saturday. Vradenburg got MSU's scoring going with an RBI single in the third inning for the Spartans' first run of the day, and came around to score the second and last run of the inning as the Spartans took a 2-0 lead. He started the Spartan rally in the seventh by leading off with a single and came around to score on a sac fly, and capped weekend with an RBI single in the eighth.

Pianto, a redshirt-sophomore relief pitcher from Hendersonville, Tenn., came on with two on and two outs in the first inning with MSU already down 2-0 to Fresno State in Sunday's game. He then went the remaining 8.1 innings of relief for a new career-long outing, ringing up a career-high tying four strikeouts, with just three hits and only yielding one earned run without a walk, as MSU rallied for a 7-4 triumph

The Spartan hurler rang up a total of five 3-up, 3-down innings in the eight innings he started the frame, starting with opening the second with back-to-back strikeouts, then worked around a one-out single in the fourth, another in-order inning in the fourth and fifth, ending with another K, before some defensive miscues led to Bulldog base runners in the sixth and scoring two runs, one earned, before getting out of the jam by fielding position on a comebacker and starting a 1-6-3 double play to end the inning. After retiring Fresno State in order in the seventh and eighth, he worked around a one-out single in the ninth, getting a popup and flyout to end the game and seal the Victory for MSU.

DOUBLE THE SPARTAN B1G AWARDS
• With Brock Vradenburg winning B1G Player of the Week and Dominic Pianto winning B1G Pitcher of the Week, it marked the first time since April 29, 2013 that two Spartan players collected weekly honors in the same week, when Blaise Salter collected Freshman of the Week accolades and Andrew Waszak was tabbed Pitcher of the Week ... it was the first time since Feb. 28, 2011 that two Spartans won both the Player and Pitcher awards in the same week, when Brandon Ecklerle was named the Player of the Week, while Kurt Wunderlich was the Pitcher of the Week.

MAYES MAKING MARK
• Last season, senior outfielder Casey Mayes led not just MSU, but also the B1G as part of ranking tied for third in the NCAA with seven triples ... Mayes picked up right where he left off, knocking a triple in game two in MSU's 7-4 win over Fresno State.

The triple vs. Fresno State was the 10th career triple for Mayes, moving into the MSU Career Top 10 Triples list, tying for No. 9 with Chris Roberts (2007-10), Alex Gagin (1989-92) and Abe Eliowitz (1931-33).
MICHIGAN STATE ONE OF 10 SCHOOLS WITH A CFP, MF4 AND CWS APPEARANCE
• Michigan State is one of 10 schools in the country with a College Football Playoff, Men's Basketball Final Four appearance and a College World Series appearance, including one of three Big Ten Conference schools:

Michigan State
Florida State
Georgia
LSU
Michigan
Notre Dame
Ohio State
Oklahoma
Oregon
Washington

TRIO OF SPARTANS EARN B1G PRESEASON PLAYERS TO WATCH ACCOLADES
• Three Michigan State baseball players earned Big Ten Preseason Players to Watch honors, as the conference announced its preseason honors list and preseason poll on Thursday, ahead of Friday's 2023 season-opening action around the conference.

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

Junior infielders Trent Farquhar and Mitch Jebb, along with senior outfielder Casey Mayes garnered preseason recognition.

Farquhar, a native of Highland, Mich., is now a two-time Preseason All-B1G honoree, after earning recognition last season ... he also has garnered B1G honors in the classroom, as he is a two-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree and also earned Big Ten Distinguished Scholar accolades.

The Spartans' primary second baseman was the recipient of the Danny Litwhiler Defensive Player of the Year MSU Team Award for the second-straight year ... Last season, he started all 54 games at second base, leading the Big Ten in fielding double plays with 39, helping MSU lead the B1G and rank fifth in the NCAA with 53 double plays, as well as leading the conference and ranking sixth in the country with 0.98 double plays per game ... For the season, Farquhar posted 143 assists and 115 putouts.

At the plate, Farquhar hit .271 with 29 RBI in 2022, as well as ranking tied for second on the team with six home runs, including the first grand slam of his Spartan career in MSU's season-finale at Nebraska on May 21 ... Farquhar was also second on the team with a .392 on-base percentage, 34 walks and eight hit by pitches, along with third in both runs scored (37) and doubles (13) ... He had a nine-game hitting streak (March 29 - April 13), ranking fourth on the Spartan squad, as well as ranking second with an 18-game reached base streak ... Farquhar was also fourth on the team in multiple hit games (14) and tied for fourth in multiple RBI games (6).

Jebb, a native of Saginaw, Mich., is also a two-time Preseason All-B1G award collector ... The Spartans' primary shortstop also earned Third-Team All-Big Ten Conference honors in 2022 and named to Big Ten All-Freshman Team in 2021.

Jebb has been tabbed to several 2023 preseason MLB Prospects lists, including No. 44 on MLB's Top 100 Prospects; No. 60 on d1baseball.com's College Top 100 Prospects and the No. 76 MLB Draft Prospect by ProspectsLive.

He is coming off a big summer of 2022 in which he finished ranked No. 3 on Baseball America's Top 50 Cape Cod League Prospects list, after helping the Harbor Hawks to the West Division Championship series, ending with a 22-16-6 record, hitting .356 in 149 at-bats, leading the Harbor Hawks with eight doubles and three triples, while swiping 26 stolen bases ... Jebb was also elected to the West Division All-Star Team for the 2022 Cape Cod League All-Star Game for the Hyannis Harbor Hawks.

Jebb was selected as the 2022 MSU John Kobs Most Valuable Player Award recipient as well as the Kirk Gibson Offensive Player of the Year for the team awards ... He led MSU and ranked tied for eighth in the B1G with a .356 average, also topping the team and ranking fifth in the B1G with 78 hits ... Additionally, Jebb led the team in stolen bases and walks, ranking eighth in the conference with 20 stolen bases and sixth in the league with 38 walks ... He was tied for second on team with six home runs ... Furthermore, Jebb led the B1G and ranked 17th in the NCAA in toughest to strikeout - with just one K every 13.7 ABs - on just 16 Ks in 209 ABs.

He also tied for second on the team and tied for seventh in the B1G with three triples ... Jebb also had MSU's longest hitting streak (14 games) and reached base streak (19 games), along with team-high for multiple hit games (23) and multiple RBI games (12) ... The Spartan shortstop started the season on a 14-game hitting streak that was part of a 21-game hitting streak dating back to the last seven games of 2021 season ... He also had an eight-game hitting streak (April 29-May 11) and a seven-game hitting streak (April 17-26), as well as finishing the season with a six-game hitting streak (May 14-21), ending the year with at least one hit in 14 of the last 15 games, 29 of last 34 games ... Jebb did not go hitless in back-to-back games during the last 34-game stretch of the season, with that 34-game streak coming after only a stretch of consecutive games without a hit in a three-game spurt (March 25-27) during three-game Illinois series, one of only two teams that didn't have a hit against, joining one game vs. Purdue Fort Wayne ... He had at least one hit in 45 of the 54 games.

In the field, the Spartan shortstop was third in the B1G with 29 fielding double plays, and sixth in assists with 138 ... He was named Big Ten Player of the Week on March 16, for first career B1G weekly honor, for performance during MSU's four games during the week of March 7-13 in Greenville, South Carolina at Fluor Field, highlighted by belting two HR in the same game including a leadoff HR and then a two-run walk-off HR to cap the Spartan comeback in a 10-8 Victory for MSU over Cincinnati, for first multi-HR game of career.

Mayes, a Wichita, Kan. native, earns his first B1G recognition for playing, as he is a three-time Academic All-Big Ten and Big Ten Distinguished Scholar honoree, and recipient of the MSU Scholar-Athlete Award at the Spartan Academic Excellence Gala (April 11, 2022), for having the highest GPA on the baseball team ... He also earned the Jerry Sutton Student-Athlete MSU Team Award.

In 2022, Mayes started all 54 games, and was one of three Spartans to do so, joining Jebb and Farquhar ... Mayes made 49 starts in left field and five starts at DH ... He led MSU and the Big Ten as part of ranking tied for third in the NCAA with seven triples, including two in the Penn State series and added one at Michigan on May 17, scoring on an error on the play for a "Little League" home run.

Mayes also ranked second on the team with a .306 average, additionally ranking second on the team in hits (68), third in total bases (104), tied for third in stolen bases (11), fourth in slugging percentage (.468), fifth in home runs (4), runs scored (29) and RBI (28), and tied for fifth in doubles (10) ... He was also second on team with 21 multiple hit games with two hits in 15 games and three hits in six games.

The Spartan outfielder opened the season with a season-long eight-game hitting streak (Feb. 18-March 4), including six multiple-hit games in that stretch, highlighted by back-to-back three-hit outings in games against UNLV (Feb. 19 and 20) along with four games with two hits, including in all three games of the series at Abilene Christian (Feb. 27 and 28), going 6-for-11 with a double and triple in the three games.

He knocked in multiple RBI in six games to tie for third on the team, with two ribbies in four games, while driving in a career-high tying three RBI in two other games ... Additionally, he tallied three games with multiple extra-base hits ... In the outfield, Mayes made 90 putouts and had one assist.

BIG BATS RETURNING
• Michigan State returns its top five players in seven different offensive categories at the plate: batting average, slugging percentage, on-base percentage, runs, hits, home runs and RBI.

All five of the Spartans' top average hitters return in Mitch Jebb (.356), Casey Mayes (.306), Jack Frank (.294), Brock Vradenburg (.280), Bryan Broecker (.271).

MSU also returns its top five in slugging percentage in Frank (.527), Jebb (.511), Christian Williams (.470), Mayes (.468) and Vradenburg (.446).

The Green & White also has its top five in on-base percentage back in Jebb (.448), Trent Farquhar (.392), Frank (.376), Vradenburg (.363) and Broecker (.358).

In runs scored, MSU has tops five returns in Frank and Jebb (38), Farquhar (37), Broecker (31) and Mayes (29).

Jebb also tops the five Spartan returners in hits (78), followed by Mayes (68), Frank (59), Farquhar (56) and Broecker (48).

In home runs, Frank led the way (9), preceding Farquhar and Jebb (6), Vradenburg (5) and Mayes (4).

Additionally, Jebb topped the team in RBI (46), followed by Frank (34), Vradenburg and Farquhar (29) and Mayes (28).

ALMOST ALL ROUND-TRIPPERS RETURNING
• Along with the top five for home runs last year, Michigan State returns 92.3 percent of its home runs from 2022, returning 36 of the 39 home runs from a year ago.

BIG RETURNS ON MOUND
• Michigan State's pitching staff also has big returns, with 68.9 percent of its strikeout totals returning, led by its top three for punchouts, led by team-leader, right-hander Harrison Cook (50), along with southpaw Nick Powers (45) ... While the Spartans lost the number four and five spots on the team totals, they do have the number six spot back in righty Ryan Szczepaniak (35).

Additionally, the Spartan pitchers have the top three for batters struck out looking back in staff-leaders Cook and Carson (18), along with Powers (13).

The Green & White also has a majority of its starts and innings pitched returning, including four of the top five, led by numbers one and two in Cook (13), followed by Powers (11), along with fourth in Szczepaniak (8) and tied for fifth in Aidan Arbaugh (4) ... overall, the Spartans have 72.2 percent (39 of 54) of their starts returning.

For innings pitched, MSU has four of the top five back in number two Powers (58.2), followed by Cook (53.2), Rush (43.2) and Szczepaniak (42.1) ... overall, the Green & White pitchers have 66.6 percent (313.1 of 470.2 IP) of their inning pitched back in 2023.

UP NEXT
• Michigan State is scheduled to play its first game in the state of Michigan on March 22, heading to Kalamazoo to meet in-state foe Western Michigan ... the Spartans then host their home opener at McLane Stadium at Kobs Field on March 24, hosting Purdue in MSU's Big Ten Opener in the first of a three-game conference series, March 24-26 ... MSU's schedule is subject to change, stay tuned to MSUSpartans.com and @MSUBaseball on Twitter for schedule updates.

Spartans Square Off With Sycamores In Weekend Series As MSU Makes First-Ever Trip To Terre Haute

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Jacob Anderson

Aidan Arbaugh

Adam Berghorst

Bryan Broecker

Sam Busch

Andrew Carson

Harrison Cook

Joseph Dzierwa

Trent Farquhar

Jack Frank

Nolan Higgins

Mitch Jebb

Dillon Kark

Casey Mayes

Dominic Pianto

Nick Powers

Wyatt Rush

Ryan Szczepaniak

Brock Vradenburg

Christian Williams

Spartans Square Off With Sycamores In Weekend Series As MSU Makes First-Ever Trip To Terre Haute

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Jacob Anderson

Aidan Arbaugh

Adam Berghorst

Bryan Broecker

Sam Busch

Andrew Carson

Harrison Cook

Joseph Dzierwa

Trent Farquhar

Jack Frank

Nolan Higgins

Mitch Jebb

Dillon Kark

Casey Mayes

Dominic Pianto

Nick Powers

Wyatt Rush

Ryan Szczepaniak

Brock Vradenburg

Christian Williams

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