Spartans Tangle With Broncos Tuesday

MICHIGAN STATE (13-8, 2-1 B1G) at WESTERN MICHIGAN (5-16, 2-4 MAC)
Location	Robert J. Bobb Stadium at Hyames Field \|\| Kalamazoo, Mich.
Tickets	WMU Ticket Office
Weather	High/Low -- Tue: 49^° / 35^°
Game Notes	MICHIGAN STATE \| WESTERN MICHIGAN
Social Media	@MSUbaseball \| MichiganStateBaseball @msu_baseball
Television	None
Game 1	Wednesday, March 28 \| 3:05 p.m. ET
Probable Pitching Matchup	WMU: #34 R-SO RHP Luke Thelen (0-2, 11.81 ERA) MSU: #44 R-SO Adam Berghorst (1-0, 4.40 ERA)
Coverage	Live Stats \| Watch Live \| Listen Live

• Michigan State baseball's game at in-state foe Western Michigan has been adjusted to play Tuesday, March 28, due to inclement weather in Wednesday's forecast ... First pitch Tuesday is slated for 3:05 p.m. from WMU's Robert J. Bobb Stadium at Hyames Field, in the swap of last Wednesday's home-and-home ... MSU's schedule is subject to change, stay tuned to MSUSpartans.com and @MSUBaseball on Twitter for schedule updates.

• Fans can follow Tuesday's action with "Watch Live," "Listen Live" and "Live Stats" links, where available, at MSUSpartans.com.

• For the seventh-straight year, the Spartan Media Network will carry a live audio stream for all home and select road Spartan baseball games this season, including Wednesday's game at WMU ... 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 on select games.

• MSU and WMU swapped the home-and-home scheduled for last week and this week, as MSU hosted Western Michigan last week and traveling to Kalamazoo this week due to wet conditions at WMU's Robert J. Bobb Stadium at Hyames Field ... the Spartans beat the Broncos, 8-3, in last Wednesday's game, rallying from a 3-0 deficit after four frames and being no-hit by WMU starting pitcher Luke Thelen over that same span ... Tuesday's starting pitching match-up is a rematch of last Wednesday, with MSU sophomore Adam Berghorst getting the nod to start and will face off with Thelen again, as neither starter got a decision in last week's match-up.

• Michigan State has won the last two meetings as part of winning five of the last six, six of the last eight and 14 of the last 17 meetings, cutting WMU's all-time series lead down to 95-86 ... the Broncos have a 45-37 edge in match-ups played in Kalamazoo, but the Spartans have won the last three meetings there as the visitors, including last year, 3-1 on May 11.

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.

EARLY HOME OPENER
• Last Wednesday's March 21 home opener date was among the earliest home-openers in program history, as the fourth-earliest date for the first home game ... March 21 trails 2018's first home game of March 15, last season's March 18 date, and the 2009 season's March 20 opener, which was also the scheduled start date for the 2019 opener, but was postponed due to weather.

HOME OPENER SUCCESS
• With MSU's 8-3 win over Western Michigan last Wednesday, Michigan State has won 10 of its last 11 home openers and the Spartans improved to 13-2 in their first game of the year played at McLane Stadium under head coach Jake Boss Jr. ... The 2021 season's home opening loss to Indiana snapped MSU's eight-game home opener winning streak.

SPARTANS VS. IN-STATE TEAMS
• Tuesday's tangle with Western Michigan is Michigan State's second of nine games against six in-state foes, as MSU beat WMU last week, 8-3 ... The Spartans will also host Oakland (April 12), play three games at Michigan (April 21-23), and host both Eastern Michigan (May 10) and Central Michigan (May 16), along with an exhibition against the Lansing Lugnuts in the Crosstown Showdown (April 4).

A LOOK BACK AT LAST WEEK'S MATCH-UP
Michigan State's 2023 home opener initially didn't get off to a good start, but the Spartans rallied for a celebratory finish, storming back from down 3-0 against Western Michigan for an 8-3 Victory for MSU Wednesday afternoon at McLane Stadium at Kobs Field.

WMU had a 3-0 lead through four innings and Broncos' starting pitcher Luke Thelen didn't allow a hit to the Spartans over that same span, before the Michigan State bats came to life. Junior infielder Dillon Kark knocked MSU's first hit of the day to lead off the fifth to ignite a Spartan rally with three runs in the inning. The Green & White added four more runs in the sixth and another in the eighth for the 8-3 final score.

With the Victory for MSU, the Spartans have now won 10 of their last 11 home openers, and improved to 13-2 in their first game of the year played at McLane Stadium under Coach Boss.

After being no-hit for the first four innings, the Spartans finished with seven hits in scoring their eight runs, as MSU was four hits shy of its season average of 11.7 hits per game, but right on its scoring average of 7.7 runs per game.

Freshman outfielder Jake Dresselhouse was 2-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI in his home debut, tying his season-high of two hits for the second game in a row, while the two runs also matched his season high for the second time.

Junior infielder Trent Farquhar was 1-for-3 with three RBI and run scored, while junior infielder Brock Vradenburg, redshirt-sophomore designated hitter Sam Busch, junior outfielder Jack Frank and Kark all had one hit apiece. Vradenburg and Busch matched Dresselhouse each with an RBI, while Kark mirrored Dresselhouse's two runs scored. Junior infielder Mitch Jebb had an RBI and a run scored, reaching twice on WMU errors, while Frank and senior outfielder Casey Mayes also scored a run apiece, as Mayes reached on a walk, one of six free passes drawn by the Spartan batters.

On the mound, junior Nick Powers came on in relief in the fourth inning and lassoed the Bronco bats, only yielding one hit and no runs, with just one walk while ringing up a season-high five strikeouts. Powers picked up his first win of the season.

Redshirt-sophomore Adam Berghorst started and went 3.0 IP, scattering four hits and allowing one run with two walks and two Ks. Fellow redshirt-sophomore Dominic Pianto came on in relief with 0.1 IP with two hits, two runs and one walk, before turning the ball over to Powers. Another redshirt-sophomore, Noah Matheny, pitched a scoreless, hitless top of the ninth, with one walk and one strikeout, getting a double play after yielding the leadoff walk, then ringing up the strikeout to spark the home opening Victory for MSU celebration.

Sophomore catcher Bryan Broecker added to his B1G-leading total for runners caught stealing, throwing out two more, in back-to-back innings in the first two frames of the game.

SPARTAN-BRONCO CONNECTIONS
Tuesday's match-up in Kalamazoo has connections galore between Michigan State and Western Michigan:

• Spartan sophomore pitcher Ryan Szczepaniak will be matching up against his brother, WMU redshirt-junior pitcher Drew Szczepaniak ... Both Szczepaniak brothers were the pitchers of record at the same time during last season's first meeting on April 13 in East Lansing, with Drew pitching the bottom of the fifth, while Ryan pitched the top of the sixth ... Ryan had a three-up, three-down inning with one strikeout, while Drew faced four Spartan batters without a hit, allowing one walk ... in the second meeting of the season on May 11 in Kalamazoo, neither Szczepaniak brother saw action, as Ryan pitched the day before at Notre Dame, and Drew pitched three days prior at Central Michigan ... Drew pitched one inning in last week's meeting, yielding MSU's go-ahead run and was dealt the tough-luck loss.

• Current MSU head coach Jake Boss Jr., WMU head coach Billy Gernon and MSU assistant coach/pitching coach Mark Van Ameyde were together on the Spartans' staff from 2009-10, before Gernon left to become head coach at WMU.

• Current MSU volunteer assistant coach Andrew Stone is in his second season with the Spartans, but was a four-year letterwinner at Western Michigan (2015-19) ... For his career, Stone finished with a .304 average with a .402 on-base percentage in 155 games played, making 104 starts ... Stone helped WMU to the 2016 MAC Tournament title and helped the Broncos advance to the NCAA Regionals for the first time since 1989 ... Stone was a three-time Academic All-MAC selection and a MAC Distinguished Scholar Athlete ... He earned his bachelor's degree in sports management from Western Michigan in 2018, and his master's degree also in sports management from WMU in 2019 ... Stone's father is Jeff Stone, Western Michigan's former Senior Associate Athletic Director, overseeing academic and compliance services, who retired this past summer.

• Current WMU assistant coach Jordan Keur is in his second season with the Broncos, but Keur was on the Spartan staff for four seasons (2016-19) and also was a four-year letterwinner at Michigan State (2010-13), playing in Gernon's final year on the Spartan staff ... Keur left the MSU staff in 2019 to be head coach at Lansing Community College, where he earned conference Coach of the Year accolades for both 2019 and 2021, along with Region XII Coach of the Year, leading the Starts to a 47-3 record inn 2021, reaching the NJCAA Region XII Baseball Championship Series after finishing the regular-season ranked No. 1 in the nation ... While at MSU, Keur started over 150 games and posted a career .315 batting average as four-year letterwinner at Michigan State from 2010-13 ... As team captain his senior season, Keur led the team with a .337 average and 20 RBI, before tearing his Achilles ... Despite the injury, Keur was awarded MSU's Kirk Gibson Offensive Player of the Year award ... He also earned First-Team All-Big Ten accolades as a junior, as he started all 60 games and led MSU to a NCAA Regional appearance ... Keur played in 53 games as a sophomore in 2011, helping MSU to the Big Ten Championship ... Keur graduated from Michigan State with a bachelor's degree in advertising.

400 FOR BOSS
• MSU head coach Jake Boss Jr. picked up career win No. 400 on April 24, 2022 with the Spartans' 11-7 Victory for MSU at Northwestern ... Boss now has 421 career wins with 396 in his 14th year at MSU (2009-pres.) after 25 wins in his lone season at Eastern Michigan (2008) ... at the time, Boss became the seventh active Big Ten head coach to reach 400 career wins and is now one of eight B1G head coaches with 400+ career wins, but would only become just the third B1G active head coach with 400 wins leading their current B1G team ... Boss also became the second active NCAA Division I head coach in the state of Michigan, joining close friend and former assistant coach Billy Gernon at Western Michigan, now with 414 (257 in his 13th season at WMU (2011-pres.) and 157 in nine seasons at Purdue Fort Wayne (2000-08), and is now one of three in the state, joined by first-year Michigan head coach Tracy Smith ... Boss also became the 103rd active Division I head coach to reach 400 career wins.

The 2023 season-opener vs. Michigan under Tracy Smith was the first of four B1G opponents this season under the leadership of a head coach with over 400 career wins, as MSU will play at Rutgers and Steve Owens (March 31-April 2), at Michigan and Smith again (April 21-23), at Iowa and Rich Heller (May 12-14), at Illinois and Dan Hartleb (May 5-7) ... Michigan State doesn't play Minnesota and the Dean of the B1G coaches in John Anderson, nor playing Penn State and Rob Cooper.

Current Big Ten Head Coaches By Career Wins (as of 3/27/23)
John Anderson - Minnesota   1,352
Steve Owens - Rutgers           997
Rich Heller - Iowa       985
Tracy Smith - Michigan           817
Dan Hartleb - Illinois 518
Rob Cooper - Penn State        471
Jim Foster - Northwestern     431
Jake Boss Jr. - Michigan State           421

Current Big Ten Head Coaches By Wins At Current B1G Team (as of 3/23/23)
John Anderson - Minnesota   1,352
Dan Hartleb - Illinois 518
Jake Boss Jr. - Michigan State           396
Rich Heller - Iowa       295
Rob Cooper - Penn State        185
Rob Vaughn - Maryland         155
Jeff Mercer - Indiana 116
Steve Owens - Rutgers           83
Will Bolt - Nebraska    77
Greg Goff - Purdue     62
Bill Mosiello - Ohio State        12
Tracy Smith - Michigan           12 (287 at Indiana (2006-14)
Jim Foster - Northwestern     1

• Boss is also just four wins from his 400th win at Michigan State, and would become just the third Spartan head coach to reach 400 Victories for MSU.

Michigan State Baseball Coaches By Wins (as of 3/21/23)
John H. Kobs 576      1935-63 (39)
Daniel W. Litwhiler     489      1964-82 (19)
Jake Boss Jr.    396      2009-pres. (14th)
Thomas W. Smith       377      1983-95 (13)
Ted Mahan     256      1996-2005 (10)

ABOUT WESTERN MICHIGAN
• The Broncos are 5-16 overall and have played not only played more Big Ten Conference teams than MSU but also played more games against B1G teams, as WMU played Michigan State last week and Iowa this past weekend in a three-game series at Iowa City against the 20th-ranked Hawkeyes, and Tuesday's game marks Western Michigan's fifth-straight game against a B1G foe ... Iowa won Friday's series opener, 9-3, then swept Saturday's DH, 13-8 and 21-6 in a run-ruled 7-inning game, as the Hawkeyes are off to their best start in program history, improving to 19-3 on the season ... WMU is 2-4 in early MAC action, and is coming off dropping a three-game league series against Eastern Michigan March 18-19, playing in Bowling Green, Ky. ... redshirt-junior outfielder Will Morrison leads WMU with a .375 average with 14 RBI, junior infielder Josh Swinehart adds a .262 average with 12 RBI, while junior outfielder Jackson Kitchen is hitting .254 with 13 RBI and junior middle infielder Cade Sullivan has tallied a team-leading six HR and 20 RBI, posting a .247 average ... WMU head coach Billy Gernon is in his 13th year at the reins of the Broncos with a 257-362 record and Gernon is in his 22nd year overall as a head coach with a 414-637-3 career record.

SOMETHING HAD TO GIVE AND IT GAVE IN THE SPARTANS' FAVOR
• Michigan State entered last weekend leading the B1G with 12 caught stealing by, while Purdue led the league in stolen bases, with 50 (2.6 per game) ... when the dust settled, the Spartan pitchers, catchers and defense didn't allow a stolen base to Purdue, with zero in three games ... meanwhile, the Spartans were 6-of-7 swiping bases, including two each by junior infielder Mitch Jebb, senior outfielder Casey Mayes and junior outfielder Jack Frank.

NO STEALS FOR YOU
• Individually, sophomore catcher Bryan Broekcer leads the B1G with 11 caught stealing by, four more than the No. 2 spot in the league, Thomas Bramley of Penn State, with seven.

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 at CSU was MSU's most runs 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 at the time, but the three-run home run on March 4 at Charleston Southern was his first three-run round tripper of his career ... Frank now leads all active Spartans with 13 home runs after a two-run homer on March 19 at Indiana State.
• Junior infielder Brock Vradenburg knocked two homers in the Charleston weekend, 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 is tied with Mayes for the lead among active Spartans in two-run HRs ... on the season, Vradenburg leads the team with six HR.
• Junior infielder Dillon Kark crushed his third round-tripper of the season on March 19 at Indiana State, and his sixth career, but it was his first two-run homer.
• Redshirt-sophomore designated hitter and East Lansing native Sam Busch bashed a two-run home run in the fourth inning of game two, crushing a shot over the wall in right and into the Red Cedar River for his first home run at McLane Stadium at Kobs Field ... Busch now has two home runs on the season, both of the two-run variety.

DOUBLE-DIGITS IN HITS AND RUNS AND HIIIIIIITTTS AND RUUUUUNNNNNSSSS COLUMNS
• MSU has posted double-digit runs in six 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
--10 runs at Indiana State in G2 of DH on March 19
--12 runs vs. Purdue in G2 on DH on March 26
--Michigan State is 6-0 when scoring double-digit runs.

• The Spartans had their streak of double-digits hits halted at seven-straight games with only seven in last Wednesday's game vs. Western Michigan and then had their first back-to-back game with single-digit hits with only nine in game one of the series vs. Purdue, but then got back on track with 10 and 13 hits in games two and three, respectively ... overall, MSU has had 10+ hits a total of 15 total times in the 21 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
--14 hits (twice): both games of DH at Indiana State on March 19
--13 hits vs. Purdue in G2 on DH on March 26
--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 (three times): vs. Western Carolina in both meetings on March 10 and March 11; vs Purdue in G1 of DH on March 26
--MSU is 12-3 when posting double-digit hits.

• Michigan State has posted both double-digit hits and runs in six 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
--10 runs on 14 hits in G2 of DH at Indiana State on March 19
--12 runs on 13 hits in G2 of DH vs. Purdue on March 26
--Michigan State is 6-0 when posting double-digit runs and double-digit hits in same game.

MSU TEAM NOTES
• Michigan State is hitting .314 as a team, which ranks second in the Big Ten and ranks 26th in the NCAA ... MSU is also fourth in the conference and 56th in the country in slugging percentage (.482).
• The Spartans are also fourth in the B1G and rank 61st in the NCAA in hits with 238.
• MSU tops the B1G and ranks fourth in the NCAA in total triples (14), while also leading the league and ranking third in the nation in triples per game (0.67).
• The Spartans are third in the B1G in stolen bases (33) and fourth in stolen bases per game (1.57).
• Michigan State also ranks seventh in the league in both doubles (43) and total runs (160).
• Michigan State is averaging 11.3 hits and 7.6 runs per game.
• MSU's pitching staff is sixth in the B1G in strikeouts per nine innings (9.4) and also sixth in both strikeout-to-walk ratio (2.06) and walks allowed per nine innings (4.57).

SPARTAN PLAYER NOTES
• MSU's bats are led by their infield, as first baseman Brock Vradenburg tops the team with a .455 average, while second baseman/shortstop Trent Farquhar is second at .396, followed by junior shortstop Mitch Jebb at .343 and back-up first baseman/DH Sam Busch at .328.

• Infielders also make up the top three leaders and four of the top five in run scored in Farquhar (T-1st-28), Vradenburg (T-1st-28), junior third baseman Dillon Kark (3rd-17) and junior shortstop Mitch Jebb (5th-15) ... Spartan infielders also have three of top five team marks for RBI, in Vradenburg (1st-30), Farquhar (4th-15) and Kark (5th-14) ... infielders also have top three spots for total bases in Vradenburg (1st-70), Farquhar (2nd-48) and Kark (5th, 36).

• Junior first baseman Brock Vradenburg leads the B1G and ranks fourth in the NCAA in hits per game (1.90), while ranking second in the conference and 18th in the country overall in hits (40) ... Vradenburg also leads the B1G and ranks sixth in the nation in batting average (.455) ... the Spartan first baseman is also second in the B1G in on base + slugging pct (OPS) at 1.324 ... he also leads the league and ranks 29th in the nation in total bases (70) ... Vradenburg also tops the B1G and ranked 27th in the NCAA in on-base percentage (.529) along with leading the league and ranking 33rd in the nation in slugging percentage (.795), as well as tied for sixth in the conference in home runs (6)... he is also fourth in the B1G and 50th in the NCAA in RBI (30), while ranking fourth in the league and 37th in the country in RBI/game (1.43) ... he also is tied for third in the B1G and tied for the team lead in runs (28), matching teammate and B1G-leader Trent Farquhar (28) ... Vradenburg is also second in the B1G in toughest to strikeout (11.0 AB per K) ... he also is tied for fifth in the league in triples (2), matching teammate Casey Mayes and trailing co-league leaders teammates Sam Busch and Mitch Jebb.

• Junior second baseman Trent Farquhar is first in the B1G and sixth in the NCAA in doubles (12), along with leading the league and ranking sixth in the nation in doubles per game (0.57), in addition to ranking tied for third in the conference and tied for 78th in the country in runs (28), tied with teammate Brock Vradenburg (28), and also ranking tied for second in the league and ranking tied for 34th in the nation in runs per game (1.33) ... Farquhar is also seventh in the B1G in toughest to strikeout (8.3 AB per K), with just 11 strikeouts in 91 ABs, striking out a rare three times in 10 ABs in the DH at Indiana State ... the Spartan second baseman is also sixth in the conference and 65th in the country in hits (36), while ranking third in the B1G and 24th in the NCAA in hits per game (1.71) ... he also is fifth in the league in batting average (.396).

• Junior infielder Mitch Jebb is tied for the B1G-lead and tied for 19th in the NCAA in triples, with teammate, sophomore designated hitter/infielder Sam Busch each with three triples ... Jebb also leads the league and ranks 10th in the nation in triples per game (0.19) ... Jebb is also fourth in the B1G in toughest to strikeout (10.0 AB per K) ... the Spartan shortstop is also eighth in the B1G in hits per game (1.50), with 24 hits in 16 games played ... Jebb is also sixth in the league in stolen bases per game (0.44), with seven swipes in 16 games played.

• Senior outfielder Casey Mayes is tied for fifth with Vradenburg for third on the team and fifth in the B1G in triples (2), while ranking tied for 10th in the league in triples per game (0.10) ... Mayes also is seventh in the conference in both stolen bases (7) and stolen bases per game (0.43).

• Freshman pitcher Joseph Dzierwa is fifth in the B1G in walks allowed per nine innings (1.99), along with eighth in the conference in strikeout-to-walk ratio (4.29) ... Dzierwa also joins with senior pitcher Andrew Carson to rank tied for 11th in the league in wins (2) ... Dzierwa is also eighth in the B1G in innings pitched (31.2) ... Carson is also 11th in ERA (3.60) and tied for eighth in the league in batters SO looking (10).

• Senior relief pitcher Wyatt Rush is tied for second in the conference and tied for 37th in the country in saves (4) ... Rush is also ninth in the B1G in ERA (3.07).

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 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.

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.

CAROLINA IN MY MIND AND TRAVEL ITINERARY
• MSU's travel theme music for three-straight weeks from Feb. 24-March 12 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.

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 hits the road for its first B1G road series, traveling to Piscataway, N.J. to play a three-game series at Rutgers, Friday-Sunday, March 31-April 2 ... the Spartans vs. Scarlet Knights series gets underway on Friday at 3 p.m., followed by the middle game of the series on Saturday at 2 p.m., before the series finale on Sunday at 1 p.m.

MSU then plays in the 2023 Crosstown Showdown, meeting the Lansing Lugnuts, the local low-A affiliate of the Oakland A's, in an exhibition game on Tuesday, April 4 at 7 p.m.

Michigan State's schedule is subject to change, stay tuned to MSUSpartans.com and @MSUBaseball on Twitter for schedule updates.

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Players Mentioned

Aidan Arbaugh

Adam Berghorst

Bryan Broecker

Sam Busch

Andrew Carson

Harrison Cook

Jake Dresselhouse

Joseph Dzierwa

Trent Farquhar

Jack Frank

Mitch Jebb

Dillon Kark

Noah Matheny

Casey Mayes

Dominic Pianto

Nick Powers

Wyatt Rush

Ryan Szczepaniak

Brock Vradenburg

Christian Williams