Photo by: Elijah Zech
Tickets On Sale For The 20th Annual MSU Baseball First Pitch Dinner
12/4/2025 12:00:00 PM | Baseball
Event will take place Sunday, Feb. 1, 2026 at the Kellogg Center.
EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Michigan State baseball will hold its 20th Annual First Pitch Dinner on Sunday, Feb. 1, 2026 at the Kellogg Center in East Lansing. Tickets are now on sale for the event, which will begin at 12 p.m. with a silent auction and player autographs. Lunch and a formal program will follow at 1 p.m.
This year's event will feature Michigan State University Vice President and Director of Athletics J Batt, as the keynote speaker, while honoring Gary Lytle as Alumni of the Year.
Batt was announced as Michigan State Vice President and Director of Athletics in June 2025. Batt came to East Lansing from Georgia Tech, where he served as Vice President and Director of Athletics since October 2022.
In each of Batt's two full years guiding the department at Georgia Tech, 14 of 17 varsity programs earned a spot in postseason competition, and the football team earned back-to-back bowl berths for the first time since 2013-14, marking the program's first appearance in the Associated Press Top 25 in nine years. In 2024-25, Georgia Tech was one of just nine schools nationally that earned postseason berths in football, men's basketball, women's basketball, volleyball, softball and baseball.
Prior to taking the helm at Georgia Tech, Batt worked at the University of Alabama from 2017-22, serving as executive deputy director of athletics, chief operating officer and chief revenue officer. He was responsible for guiding revenue generation, including charitable giving, ticket sales and other revenue sources. Batt oversaw the successful development, implementation and launch of the Crimson Standard, Alabama Athletics' 10-year, $600 million capital initiative.
Before his arrival in Tuscaloosa, Batt was senior associate athletic director and executive director of the Pirate Club at East Carolina University from 2013-17 and held positions at the University of Maryland, James Madison University, William & Mary and the University of North Carolina, his alma mater.
A member of the 2001 NCAA championship men's soccer team at North Carolina, Batt earned a bachelor's degree in journalism and mass communications and a master's degree in sports administration from UNC.
Lytle, a native of Detroit, earned his MSU varsity baseball letter in 1965, helping the Spartans to a 28-11 overall record, finishing third in the Big Ten. He was also on the 1962-63 Spartan basketball team. He graduated with his bachelor of arts in marketing from MSU's Eli Broad College of Business, and also earned his MBA. He also served in the U.S. Army Reserves during his time at Michigan State.
After MSU, Lytle began his career in sales and went on to hold various government affairs positions for Michigan Bell, Ameritech and Qwest Communications, where he served as the Senior Vice President for Federal Relations. He also served as the interim president and CEO of the United States Telecom Association and was co-founder of the CGCN public policy group. He served on the boards of the University Club of Washington D.C., the Washington Performing Arts Society and the Prevent Cancer Foundation.
Lytle passed away in May of 2025, and will be represented in remembrance by family.
The 2026 MSU Baseball First Pitch Dinner will feature a silent auction, door prizes, player autographs, a team poster and special tribute to the Annual Crosstown Showdown between the Spartans and Lansing Lugnuts.
Tickets for the 2026 First Pitch Dinner range in price from $40 per person for children and students (8th grade and under), $50 for college students (with student ID), $65 for Spartan baseball alumni and $75 each for adults. Sponsored tables of eight are also available.
For more information on the 2026 First Pitch Dinner, download the registration form HERE, or contact Tommy Merlo in the MSU baseball office at 517-355-4486 or email at TMerlo@ath.msu.edu. Fans are encouraged to sign up for the 2026 First Pitch Dinner online at www.msuspartans.com/firstpitch.
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This year's event will feature Michigan State University Vice President and Director of Athletics J Batt, as the keynote speaker, while honoring Gary Lytle as Alumni of the Year.
Batt was announced as Michigan State Vice President and Director of Athletics in June 2025. Batt came to East Lansing from Georgia Tech, where he served as Vice President and Director of Athletics since October 2022.
In each of Batt's two full years guiding the department at Georgia Tech, 14 of 17 varsity programs earned a spot in postseason competition, and the football team earned back-to-back bowl berths for the first time since 2013-14, marking the program's first appearance in the Associated Press Top 25 in nine years. In 2024-25, Georgia Tech was one of just nine schools nationally that earned postseason berths in football, men's basketball, women's basketball, volleyball, softball and baseball.
Prior to taking the helm at Georgia Tech, Batt worked at the University of Alabama from 2017-22, serving as executive deputy director of athletics, chief operating officer and chief revenue officer. He was responsible for guiding revenue generation, including charitable giving, ticket sales and other revenue sources. Batt oversaw the successful development, implementation and launch of the Crimson Standard, Alabama Athletics' 10-year, $600 million capital initiative.
Before his arrival in Tuscaloosa, Batt was senior associate athletic director and executive director of the Pirate Club at East Carolina University from 2013-17 and held positions at the University of Maryland, James Madison University, William & Mary and the University of North Carolina, his alma mater.
A member of the 2001 NCAA championship men's soccer team at North Carolina, Batt earned a bachelor's degree in journalism and mass communications and a master's degree in sports administration from UNC.
Lytle, a native of Detroit, earned his MSU varsity baseball letter in 1965, helping the Spartans to a 28-11 overall record, finishing third in the Big Ten. He was also on the 1962-63 Spartan basketball team. He graduated with his bachelor of arts in marketing from MSU's Eli Broad College of Business, and also earned his MBA. He also served in the U.S. Army Reserves during his time at Michigan State.
After MSU, Lytle began his career in sales and went on to hold various government affairs positions for Michigan Bell, Ameritech and Qwest Communications, where he served as the Senior Vice President for Federal Relations. He also served as the interim president and CEO of the United States Telecom Association and was co-founder of the CGCN public policy group. He served on the boards of the University Club of Washington D.C., the Washington Performing Arts Society and the Prevent Cancer Foundation.
Lytle passed away in May of 2025, and will be represented in remembrance by family.
The 2026 MSU Baseball First Pitch Dinner will feature a silent auction, door prizes, player autographs, a team poster and special tribute to the Annual Crosstown Showdown between the Spartans and Lansing Lugnuts.
Tickets for the 2026 First Pitch Dinner range in price from $40 per person for children and students (8th grade and under), $50 for college students (with student ID), $65 for Spartan baseball alumni and $75 each for adults. Sponsored tables of eight are also available.
For more information on the 2026 First Pitch Dinner, download the registration form HERE, or contact Tommy Merlo in the MSU baseball office at 517-355-4486 or email at TMerlo@ath.msu.edu. Fans are encouraged to sign up for the 2026 First Pitch Dinner online at www.msuspartans.com/firstpitch.
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