Michigan State University Athletics
Friday, May 1
6:02 PM
Michigan State University
vs
UCLA
Photo by: Erin Grady/MSU Athletic Communications
Spartans Battle Top-Ranked Bruins In B1G Home Weekend Series
4/30/2026 5:44:00 PM | Baseball
MSU hosts top-ranked UCLA in penultimate B1G weekend series; believed to be first No. 1 team to come to East Lansing, first visiting team from California in East Lansing since 1979.
Leading Off... Spartans Battle Top-Ranked Bruins In B1G Home Weekend Series
MSU hosts top-ranked UCLA in penultimate B1G weekend series; believed to be first No. 1 team to come to East Lansing, first visiting team from California in East Lansing since 1979.
• Michigan State baseball's season-long nine-game homestand at Jeff Ishbia Field at McLane Stadium rolls on this weekend when the Spartans open the final month of the season by hosting No. 1 UCLA in a three-game Big Ten Conference weekend series, Friday-Sunday, May 1-3 ... the series opens under Friday night lights at 6:02 p.m. ... MSU and UCLA then meet in game two of the series on Saturday slated for a 3:32 p.m. start time, before wrapping up the series on Sunday in a 12:02 p.m. first pitch.
• MSU's schedule is subject to change, stay tuned to MSUSpartans.com and @MSUBaseball on X/Twitter for schedule updates.
• Fans can follow the action with "Watch Live," "Live Stats" and "Listen Live" links, at MSUSpartans.com.
• Michigan State is fresh off Finals Week on campus and did not have a midweek game ... MSU enters its final B1G home series and its penultimate conference series weekend with a 16-25 overall record and a 10-14 B1G mark ... the Spartans have won their last two weekend series, taking 2-of-3 at Washington on April 17-19, doing what no B1G team had done before in winning a three-game series at Washington during the Huskies' two years in the league ... last weekend, MSU took 2-of-3 from Maryland last weekend, giving the scoreboard a workout, as the Spartans dropped the opener, 18-10 Friday night, but then bounced back to win game two, 12-4, on Saturday afternoon, then won the series with a 13-1, 7-inning, run-rule route on Sunday ... the Spartans have won four of their last seven and five of their last nine.
• No. 1 UCLA comes to town with a 40-4 overall record and an unblemished 21-0 B1G ledger in tow ... the Bruins are coming off a 15-3, 7-inning, run-rule win at UC Santa Barbara on Tuesday night, avenging their 4-0 loss at home to the same UCSB Gauchos squad on April 14 that snapped UCLA's 27-game winning streak, which was not only the longest in the nation at the time, but also the longest in UCLA baseball history ... last weekend, the Bruins had a bye in the Big Ten schedule, hosting Sacramento State in a non-conference three-game series, winning Friday's opener, 6-5, on a walk-off win, rallying from a 5-4 deficit entering the bottom of the ninth, then winning Saturday's game, 5-3, before falling in Sunday's finale, 9-6.
MICHIGAN STATE ATHLETICS ANNOUNCES JAKE BOSS JR. CONTRACT EXTENSION
• Michigan State athletics announced a contract extension for head baseball coach Jake Boss Jr. on Thursday, Feb. 12 on the eve of Opening Day ... With the extension, Boss' contract now runs through 2029.
• Boss is in his 18th year at Michigan State and 19th overall as a collegiate head coach ... Boss entered the 2026 season at No. 3 on MSU's longest coaching list behind John H. Kobs (1935-63), the namesake for Kobs Field, location of McLane Stadium, with 39 seasons, and legendary head coach Denny Litwhiler (1964-82) with 19 seasons ... Now at 484 Victories for MSU entering the weekend vs. UCLA, Boss is also No. 3 on the Spartan head coach list for wins and games coached, also behind Kobs with 576 wins in 969 games, and Litwhiler with 489 wins in 859 games.
BOSS 500 CAREER WINS
• MSU head coach Jake Boss Jr. won his 500th career win on March 21 vs. Iowa, with a 15-5 8-inning run-rule Victory for MSU, and the Spartans' win at CMU on March 24 was number 501 for Coach Boss ... he now has 509 career wins in his 19th overall season with 484 wins in 18+ seasons at Michigan State (2009-pres.), and 25 wins in one season at Eastern Michigan (2008).
SEASON 142 OF SPARTAN BASEBALL
• Michigan State is in its 142nd season of baseball in 2026 and won its 2,500th all-time Victory for MSU vs. Eastern Michigan on May 6, 2025 ... Baseball was the first organized varsity sport on campus with the first season of Spartan baseball in 1884, winning its first recorded game on May 19, 1884, 20-9 over Olivet, going 4-2 in the six-game schedule, and baseball has been played every season since, with only no varsity in 1944 due to World War II.
100 YEARS OF SPARTANS
• One hundred years ago, on April 2, 1926, the name "Spartans" was first identified with Michigan State. "Spartans" initially appeared in a Lansing State Journal story about the baseball team, when LSJ editor George Alderton decided the established "Aggies" nickname no longer fit the recently renamed Michigan State College ... Other publications would soon follow in utilizing the nickname, and eventually it was officially adopted by Michigan State ... In the hundred years which have followed, "Spartans" has become more than just a moniker, it's an identity for decades of alumni, representing our uncommon will ... Here's to another century of Spartans!
SPARTAN BASEBALL ON THE RADIO AIRWAVES
• For the 10th-straight year, the Spartan Media Network will carry a live audio stream for all home and select road Spartan baseball games this season ... 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 for select home games.
SATURDAY IS DERBY DAY AT THE BALLPARK
• Celebrate Kentucky Derby Day Saturday at McLane Stadium!
Wear your favorite Derby hat, or stop by the marketing table to make your own Kentucky Derby hat, design your own horse & get ready for the big race at the ballpark!
HONORING TURKEY STEARNES
• MSU Baseball will be honoring the legacy of Norman "Turkey" Stearnes on Friday.
Born on May 8, 1901, Stearnes was one of the greatest players to ever take the field in the Negro Leagues, spending 11 seasons with the Detroit Stars and leaving a mark on the game of baseball. When Major League Baseball officially incorporated Negro League statistics into the record book in 2024, he became further immortalized as one of the game's all-time greats ... Stearnes ranks in the top 10 all-time in batting average (.348), slugging percentage (.616) and OPS (.417) ... He led the Negro National League (NNL) in home runs six times ... Stearnes also won the NNL batting championship in 1929 with a .390 batting average and repeated as batting champion in 1931 with a .376 average.
This historic career earned Stearnes induction into five baseball Hall of Fames, including the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2000 and the Michigan Baseball Hall of Fame in 2024, where he was inducted with former Spartan baseball assistant coach, Jake Boss Sr., the father of current MSU head coach Jake Boss Jr.
Stearnes played a critical role in breaking down racial barriers in baseball, paving the way for future generations of athletes ... His contributions to the sport and society continue to be celebrated.
MSU Baseball will welcome several members of Stearnes' family to celebrate the legacy of Norman "Turkey" Stearnes on Friday ... Two of Stearnes' daughters, Rosilyn Stearnes-Brown and Joyce Stearnes-Thompson will be throwing out ceremonial first pitches.
LOOK OUT FOR NUMBER ONE
• The Spartans are cuing up the Stayin' Alive soundtrack hit by Thomas Faragher this weekend when they "Look Out For Number One" - as No. 1 UCLA's visit to East Lansing is believed to be the first time in program history that Michigan State welcomes the No. 1 team in the country to Jeff Ishbia Field at McLane Stadium.
MSU is in pursuit of its first victory over a No. 1 team since beating No. 1 Oregon State, 8-7, on Feb. 22, 2014 in Surprise, Arizona.
MITTEN STATERS
• Michigan State has 21 players on its 2026 roster from the state of Michigan ... UCLA does not have any Michiganders on its roster.
FROM THE HOME OF IN-N-OUT
• The Spartans do not have any California natives on their roster ... the Bruins have 33 players from third home state of California on its roster.
CALIFORNIANS VISITIN'
• This weekend's UCLA visit to East Lansing marks the first time that MSU has hosted a team from California since 2017 when the Spartans welcomed Fresno State for a three-game weekend series, but due to inclement weather and flooding at Old College Field and McLane State, it was shifted from home to Grand Rapids and played at Fifth Third Ballpark (currently LMCU Ballpark), home of the West Michigan Whitecaps, the Single A-Affiliate of the Detroit Tigers.
• This weekend will be the first time since 1979 that MSU has hosted a team from California in East Lansing, when the Spartans hosted two for the NCAA Regional, playing Pepperdine on May 25 and San Diego State on May 27.
HOME ON THE BANKS OF THE RED CEDAR
• Along with winning two of three in MSU's home-opening series, the Spartans have won eight of their last 15 home games at Jeff Ishbia Field at McLane Stadium dating back to last season ... MSU was 11-10 at home last season, and are 6-8 at home this season.
Michigan State is in the midst of a season-long nine-game homestand, continuing this weekend with the series vs. UCLA in games five, six and seven of the homestand.
The Spartans are playing 13 of their final 16 games of the regular-season at home, as after this weekend's series vs. UCLA, the Green & White wrap up the nine-game homestand, by hosting Bowling Green on Tuesday, May 5 and Western Michigan on Wednesday, May 6, both in 6:02 p.m. start times ... MSU then plays at Ohio State next weekend, May 8-10, before concluding the regular-season by hosting Eastern Michigan on Tuesday, May 12, then hosting Illinois State in a three-game non-conference weekend series, Thursday-Saturday, May 14-16.
QUICK LOOK BACK AT MARYLAND SERIES WIN
• The Spartans' offense erupted for 35 runs on 37 hits, including five home runs, in the three games, posting a .343 batting average for the series.
• The 35 runs, 11.7 runs per game average and .343 batting average were all season-highs.
• MSU's five home runs tied a season-best marking the fourth weekend series this season belting five home runs in the series, including the second in a row ... however, it was a season-high for round-trippers in a home series, as the Spartans also had five homers in the series at No. 8 Louisville on opening weekend (Feb. 13-15), at Rutgers (March 13-15) and at Washington (April 17-19).
• The Spartans run-ruled the Terps on Sunday, 13-1, in 7-inning, marking their third game to end in 7-innings this season, but the first won with a win, after losing in 7-innings twice in a span of four games, vs. No. 10 Clemson (12-1) on March 4 at Fluor Field in Greenville, S.C., then at Nebraska (12-2).
• Michigan State scored 10+ runs in all three games of the Maryland series, marking the first time with 10 or more runs in back-to-back games this season, last doing so in the 2025 season nearly the same dates, with 10 runs April 19 vs. Ohio State, and 14 runs the next day, Oct. 20, also vs. Ohio State ... the three games with 10+ runs was the Spartans most since plating 10 or more runs in four-straight games on April 15-20, with a 14-4 win over Western Michigan, an 11-4 win over Ohio State, 10-9 (11 inn.) win over Ohio State and a 14-4 (7-inn. run-rule) win over Ohio State.
• Junior infielder Ryan McKay tallied five RBI in Sunday's win, belting a grand slam in the second inning, adding an RBI single in the fifth ... McKay was the first Spartan with five RBI in the last two weeks, as freshman teammate CJ Deckinga had five RBI on April 12 vs. Michigan, with a grand slam and an RBI double.
NINE-RUN INNING
• Michigan State hung nine runs on the scoreboard in the second inning of Sunday's 13-1, 7-inning run-rule rout of Maryland.
• It was the Spartans' most runs in an inning since also scoring a nine-spot on May 15, 2022 in an 11-8 win over Iowa ... All seven hits and nine runs in the inning on Sunday were in consecutive order after retiring the leadoff hitter, rallying to bat around with one out.
FIRST WASHINGTON EXPEDITION FOR STATE NUMBER 31
• The Spartans made their first ever trek to the state of Washington on April 17-19 ... crossing Washington off its states checklist, Washington was the 31st different state that the Spartans have played in during their 142-season history.
While MSU has played teams from nearly all 50 states, they haven't played in that respective state, i.e. the Spartans played Montana State in 1986 in Florida, but haven't played a game on Montana soil.
WHERE IN THE USA IS CARMEN SPARTANDIEGO
• The Spartans are doing their best Carmen Sandiego impression this season, having already played in nine different states since Opening Day on Feb. 13, and last weekend's trip to Washington marked the ninth different state that MSU has played in, as well as the Spartans' first-ever trip to Seattle ... the Spartans have already played in the states of Kentucky, Texas, South Carolina and Nebraska, adding the Mitten State with the midweek match-up at Eastern Michigan on March 10 ... MSU then added New Jersey on March 13-15, as the Spartans played Rutgers at Piscataway, N.J. for a three-game Big Ten weekend series ... Michigan State added Illinois to the list with the B1G weekend series at Northwestern, April 3-5 ... the Spartans added Indiana as their eighth state with the trip to South Bend, Ind., on April 8.
MSU will add its 10th different state on May 8-10 heading to Columbus, Ohio to play at Ohio State in the Spartans' final road trip of the regular-season.
35 FOR 35 AND NOW UP TO 43
• Senior infielder Randy Seymour wears jersey number 35 and registered his 35th RBI of the season on April 12 vs. Michigan ... he added his 36th RBI of the season vs. Oakland on April 14 for a new career-high , then added five ribbies in the three games at Washington, and two more in the Maryland series ... that gives Seymour 43 RBI for the season and setting a new single-season career-high for RBI, bettering his season total of 35 for 2025 in 207 AB in 58 games played (0.6 RBI/game), as this season he has 43 RBI in just 168 AB in 41 games played (1.1 RBI/game).
With the 43 RBI, Seymour not only leads MSU, but also ranks tied for 13th in the B1G ... Seymour is also tied for 13th in the B1G in RBI/game (1.11).
TOUGHEST SCHEDULE IN B1G TO OPEN SEASON
• MSU's game against No. 10 Clemson on March 4 was Michigan State's seventh game this season against a ranked opponent, going 2-5 to that point.
• Michigan State opened the season with a three-game series at No. 8 Louisville, taking 2-of-3 and then a three-game series at No. 3 Texas, falling in all three.
• After being at No. 1 in the Big Ten in the first two weeks of the season, MSU was No. 2 for the week of Feb. 23, behind UCLA in the Baseball Strength of Schedule (SOS) by warrennolan.com.
• Following three weeks in a row at No. 1 in the B1G (weeks of March 2, 9 and 16), MSU was at No. 2 in the B1G for the weeks of March 23 and 30, but behind Maryland at No. 1 in the conference in the April 6 rankings, up from No. 3 in the league and No. 18 in the nation for the March 30 rankings.
• In this week's rankings as of April 27, the Spartans are at No. 6 in the B1G and No. 64 in the NCAA, while UCLA is No. 1 in the B1G and No. 13 in the NCAA ... USC is No. 2 in the B1G and No. 34 in the NCAA ... Nebraska is No. 3 in the B1G and No. 42 in the NCAA, followed by Maryland at No. 4 in the B1G and No. 45 in the NCAA, Illinois at No. 5 in the B1G and No. 50 in the NCAA, and Michigan State at No. 64.
• Other B1G teams in the Top 80 in the nation include Penn State at No. 66, Michigan at No. 70, Northwestern at No. 79.
• Last week's midweek opponent, Notre Dame is No. 49, while several others of MSU's non-conference opponents also listed including Texas (No. 11), Clemson (No. 32), James Madison (No. 95), Louisville (No. 82) and Bowling Green (No. 106).
MITTEN STATE MARCH MADNESS
• The Crosstown Showdown on April 1 was Michigan State's ninth game of nine-straight games in the state of Michigan, after the March 31 home game vs. Central Michigan was cancelled due to inclement weather ... the Spartans started the stretch on March 18 at Michigan, before their home opening series vs. Iowa on March 20-21, playing a DH on the 21st due to inclement weather ... MSU played at Central Michigan last Tuesday, before returning home to host Purdue last weekend in a three-game series ... the Spartans wrapped up the nine-game in-state stretch with the 2026 Crosstown Showdown, taking on the Lansing Lugnuts, the High-A affiliate of the Oakland A's, on Wednesday, April 1 at Jackson® Field™ in the annual exhibition game.
STURGESS COLLECTING GAME-WINNING RBI
• Spartan sophomore outfielder Isaac Sturgess has over of MSU's game-winning RBI aka "The RBI that gives team the lead it never relinquishes" with six official GW RBI through the Spartans' 14 wins, adding one unofficial RBI.
Sturgess started his game-winning RBI collection in the season-opener at then-No. 8 Louisville with a home run in the eighth inning that proved to be the winning run in the Spartans' 4-3 upset of the Cardinals ... he then knocked his second game-winning RBI in as many days with an RBI double in the fourth that put MSU ahead for good on the way to a 13-4 Victory for MSU.
He then posted his third game-winning RBI with a bases-loaded walk vs. Albany in the third inning in MSU's win on Feb. 28.
Sturgess collected the GW RBI in both of MSU's wins over Iowa, with a double in the first inning on March 20 and an RBI groundout the next day.
In the win at Northwestern on April 3, Sturgess had a 2-run single in the sixth that put MSU ahead for good on the way to the 5-1 win.
At Notre Dame on April 8, Sturgess hit a solo home run in the top of the first inning to give MSU the lead and the Spartans didn't look back on the way to a 7-4 Victory for MSU, for Sturgess' sixth game-winning RBI.
In the April 12 Victory for MSU over Michigan, Sturgess hit into a double play, but it allowed teammate CJ Deckinga to score, pushing MSU ahead at 3-2 ... while he doesn't officially get credit as the game-winning RBI because of the RBI, it marked the seventh time this season that Sturgess was involved in what proved to be the run that gives the Spartans the lead they never relinquish out of their wins.
DECKINGA COMPLETES HOME RUN CYCLE
• MSU freshman infielder CJ Deckinga hit a two-run home run on April 4 at Northwestern, completing his home run cycle in only four home runs.
The Spartan freshman hit the first home run of his collegiate career on March 14 at Rutgers with a solo homer to lead off the inning ... Deckinga then decked a grand slam and a three-run home run in the same game on March 28 vs. Purdue ... he then completed his home run cycle with a two-run homer on Saturday, April 4 at Northwestern.
PICOT ALSO COMPLETES HR CYCLE, DOING SO IN SUCCESSIVE ORDER
• Junior outfielder Parker Picot joined Deckinga in the home run cycle with his fourth HR of the season coming on a solo homer at Washington on April 17, completing the cycle in successive order ... Picot's first HR of the season was a grand slam in the fourth inning on Feb. 14 at Louisville, then adding a three-run homer in the sixth for his first two-HR game of his career ... Picot checked two-run home run off the list on March 24 with a two-run home at Central Michigan, before completing the cycle in successive order with a solo home run at Washington on April 17.
BRIGHT BELTS FIRST HOME RUN WITH TEAMMATE ON BASE
• Graduate catcher/designated hitter Noah Bright belted his fourth HR of the season and eighth of his career on Friday at Washington with a two-run homer in the third inning, but that was the first home run he'd hit with a teammate on base, as all of his previous HR had been of the solo variety.
SLUGGIN' IN SEATTLE
• Despite the three-hour time difference, MSU's offense was anything but sleepless in Seattle, as the Spartans hung a combined 24 runs on the board in the three-game series, averaging 8.0 runs per game, for their most runs in a three-game series this season, topping the previous mark of 21 runs (7.0 rpg) from the Purdue series (March 27-29) ... MSU belted five HR in the series, tying a season-high for the third time, with all three times coming on the road, matching five homers in the series at Louisville (Feb. 13-15) and at Rutgers (March 13-15).
SEYMOUR AMONG B1G LEADERS IN HR AND RBI
• Senior infielder Randy Seymour's three HR at CMU vaulted him up the B1G HR leaderboard ... now with 14 HR on the season, Seymour not only leads MSU, but has jumped up to third on the B1G HR list, just behind Penn State's Michael Anderson (18) and UCLA's Will Gasparino (17), while ranking tied with UCLA's Roch Cholowsky (14) and Maryland's Ryan Costello (14), and just ahead of USC's Augie Lopez (13) and Oregon's Drew Smith (13) ... Seymour is tied for 29th in the NCAA in HR ... he also is fifth in the league and tied for 36th in the nation in HR/game (0.37).
• Now with his jersey-number matching 35 RBI coming on April 12 vs. Michigan, and adding six more last week to give him a career-high 41 RBI, Seymour is now 12th in the league in RBI, and tied for 10th in the conference in RBI/game (1.08).
DONOVAN ON B1G ERA LEADERBOARD
• Sophomore pitcher Aidan Donovan is ninth in the Big Ten with a 3.62 ERA ... Donovan had a stretch where he yielded just six earned runs in a span of four outings in 27.1 IP, for an ERA of 1.99 over those four starts ... highlighting that spurt was no earned runs in 7.0 IP vs. Iowa on March 20 and one earned run in 8.0 IP at Northwestern on April 3.
AND THEN THERE WAS ONE
• Senior Randy Seymour started at DH on April 14 vs. Oakland, after starting at first base in the previous 33 games, with Sturgess handling first base duties in that game ... Seymour returned to starting at first base in all three games at Washington ... While Seymour and junior infielder Ryan McKay are the only two Spartans to start all 41 games, McKay is now the lone MSU player to start at the same position every game, starting every game at second base.
FOUR-FOR-FOUR FOR KHAMAREE
• Sophomore outfielder Khamaree Thomas finished with a career-best 4-for-4, knocking a career-high four hits, with three singles and a double, tallying three RBI and a run score in the loss to Oakland on April 14.
Thomas opened with a single to lead off the second stanza, later coming around to score ... in the fourth inning, he knocked a single, but was left stranded ... in the sixth stanza, he laced an RBI single, before smacking a two-run double in the seventh.
Thomas is the first Spartan to go exactly 4-for-4 this season, while teammate Noah Bright was 5-for-5 on March 5 at Northwestern ... the last Spartan to go 4-for-4 in a game was Ryan McKay, ironically also coming vs. Oakland, knocking four singles in four ABs in an 8-5 Victory for MSU over the Golden Grizzlies on March 20, 2025.
PROFESSIONAL STADIUM EXPERIENCE
• MSU's game scheduled for April 15 vs. Western Michigan at LMCU Ballpark in Comstock Park, Michigan, home of the West Michigan Whitecaps, the High-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers, would have been part of a total of 10 games and one exhibition contest in four different professional stadiums for the Spartans this season, but the game was cancelled due to inclement weather.
• Michigan State's five games over the end of February and first few days of March at Fluor Field, home of the Greenville Drive, the high-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox were the first five games the Spartans will play in professional stadiums this season, with three more on tap this weekend in Lincoln, Nebraska.
• The Spartans played five games at their home-away-from-home, Fluor Field, in Greenville, S.C., home of the Greenville Drive, the high-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox. Fluor Field nearly replicates the dimensions of Fenway Park, home of the Red Sox. The Greenville ballpark has its own "Green Monster" replica, a 30-foot high wall in left field as opposed to the 37-foot one found at Fenway, and contains a manual scoreboard. Every other dimension is to the same specifications as Fenway Park, including "Pesky's Pole" in right field.
• Michigan State opened Big Ten play on March 6-8 at Nebraska, in Lincoln, Nebraska, and the Spartans faced the Cornhuskers at Hawks Field at Haymarket Park in Lincoln, which the Huskers share with the Lincoln Saltdogs of the American Association of Professional Baseball.
• Michigan State tangled with the Lansing Lugnuts, the High-A affiliate of the Oakland A's, in the 2026 Crosstown Showdown on Wednesday, April 1 at Jackson® Field™ in the annual exhibition game.
• MSU was also scheduled to meet Western Michigan on Wednesday, April 15 at LMCU Ballpark in Comstock Park, Michigan, home of the West Michigan Whitecaps, the High-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers, but it was cancelled due to inclement weather from the night before and the day of the game.
• On Friday, May 8, the Spartans open their three-game Big Ten weekend series at Ohio State by playing at Huntington Park, home of the Columbus Clippers, the Triple-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians.
DECKINGA TABBED BIG TEN FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK ON MARCH 30
• Michigan State baseball freshman infielder CJ Deckinga was named the Big Ten Conference Freshman of the Week, announced on the afternoon of Monday, March 30, by the conference office.
Deckinga, from Minooka, Illinois, slashed .500/.563/1.000 (avg./on-base pct./slug pct.) to go with a 1.563 OPS in MSU's four games last week. He bashed his first career two-home run game with a grand slam and a three-run HR for a season-high seven RBI outing in Saturday's slugfest vs. Purdue.
He is the first Spartan with seven RBI in a game since Bailey Peterson had seven on May 23, 2021 at Rutgers (4-for-5, 2 HR; W, 14-8). Additionally, Deckinga is the third Spartan this season with six or more RBI in a game, joining senior infielder Randy Seymour (6 RBI at Central Michigan on March 25) and junior outfielder Parker Picot (8 RBI at No. 8 Louisville on Feb. 14).
Deckinga had at least two hits in three of the four games of the week, highlighted by going 3-for-4 with the seven RBI on Saturday vs. Purdue. He started the week going 2-for-4 with two runs scored and a double in MSU's win at Central Michigan. Deckinga then went 2-for-3 with two RBI and a stolen base in Friday's 4-3 Victory for MSU over Purdue. He then erupted for 3-for-4 with the seven RBI, two runs scored on the two HR, and a walk in Saturday's 16-13 loss, running his hitting streak to a season-long six games, before it came to a halt in Sunday's loss, going 0-for-3 on a flyout and a pair of groundouts, but was hit-by-a-pitch once, keep his reached base streak active and extend it to eight games.
Deckinga is the first Spartan recognized as B1G Freshman of the Week since teammate Ryan McKay garnered the honor on May 6, 2024.
VANDY FAMILY MATTERS - THREE VAN AMEYDES
• Both Michigan State and Oakland had at least one Van Ameyde on their respective rosters last Wednesday night, with two for the Spartans and one for the Golden Grizzlies ... MSU assistant coach/pitching coach Mark Van Ameyde and his son, Cole Van Ameyde, a freshman infielder for MSU will be squaring off against Cole's twin brother, Cash, Van Ameyde, who is a freshman outfielder for Oakland ... Coach Van Ameyde's oldest son, Chase, is a sophomore pitcher at Notre Dame, who MSU played on April 8.
Coach Van Ameyde is in his ninth year back on MSU's coaching staff and his 15th overall ... Van Ameyde was previously on the MSU bench from 2009-14, including associate head coach from 2011-14, before becoming the Eastern Michigan head coach in 2015.
Cole Van Ameyde has played in 13 games with eight starts, making three at third base, four at DH and one in left field, starting last week's game at Notre Dame against his older brother, Chase, who started on the mound for the Fighting Irish ... Cole made his Spartan and collegiate debut on Feb. 20 at Texas, and belted a triple for his collegiate hit on March 6 at Nebraska and added a double the next day ... he has scored six runs and drawn five walks on the season.
Cole's twin brother, Cash, is a freshman outfielder at Oakland, but hasn't seen any action yet, due to an injury.
In the MSU-ND game in South Bend on April 8, Cole started in left field, while Chase started on the mound ... Cole and Chase Van Ameyde did not get to face each other, as Chase only pitched the first inning, and Cole was ninth in the batting order and didn't get an at bat until the third inning ... Chase was dealt the loss after yielding one run by the Spartans in the top of the first inning and MSU held the lead the rest of the way ... Cole was hit by a pitch in the fourth inning and later came around to score, and also made four put-outs in left field, including two catches at the wall.
Chase Van Ameyde has made seven appearances on the mound this season for the Irish, with one start, making his first start of the season last Wednesday against the Spartans, and was his sixth career start ... this season Chase Van Ameyde has an 0-2 record, being dealt the loss in last Wednesday's game ... he has logged 14 strikeouts with five walks in 6.2 IP ... at the plate, he has 13 at bats with two singles and two walks, scoring two runs.
Michigan State and Notre Dame have the second half of the home-and-home on April 22 in East Lansing, while ND plays Oakland in a three-game series, May 8-10 in South Bend, Ind.
PURDUE SERIES SNIPPETS
• Some tidbits from the weekend series vs. Purdue:
• With 13 runs in Saturday's loss, the Spartans have scored 10+ runs in three of the last five games after only doing so twice in the previous 18 games, as they scored 15 in the 15-5 Victory for MSU over Iowa on March 21, then 19 runs in the 19-8 rout at Central Michigan on Tuesday before the 13 runs on Saturday vs. Purdue.
• Saturday's 29 combined runs scored in the game came on a combined 32 hits, with 16 apiece, including three grand slams on the day, one from MSU by freshman infielder CJ Deckinga in the second inning for his first collegiate grand slam, while Purdue had the other two ... Deckinga also added a three-run home run in the ninth, finishing with a season-high three hits on a 3-for-4 outing at the plate with seven RBI and two runs scored.
• Deckinga belted the first grand slam of his Spartan career, and was MSU's first grand salami in barely a week, as redshirt-sophomore catcher Adam Broski had a grand slam on March 21 vs. Iowa, in a "walk-off" in the eighth that gave MSU the 15-5 run-rule win.
• Deckinga also had a three-run home run in Saturday's game for his first two-HR game in the Green & White, and is the second Spartan with two homers in a game and the third Spartan with multi-home runs in a game, joining teammate Parker Picot with two homers on Feb. 14 at No. 8 Louisville, and Randy Seymour's three HR last Tuesday at Central Michigan.
• Deckinga's seven RBI outing makes him the first Spartan with seven RBI in a game since Bailey Peterson had seven on May 23, 2021 at Rutgers (4-for-5, 2 HR; W, 14-8).
• Additionally, Deckinga is the third Spartan this season with six or more RBI in a game, joining senior infielder Randy Seymour (6 RBI at Central Michigan on March 25) and junior outfielder Parker Picot (8 RBI at No. 8 Louisville on Feb. 14).
MOUNTAIN OF STATS IN GAME AT MOUNT PLEASANT
• MSU trailed Tuesday's game at Central Michigan, 4-1 following the first inning and 7-5 after three innings, then pulled away from a 10-8 score after six stanzas, scoring nine runs in the final three frames for a 19-8 rout of CMU at Keilitz Field at Theunissen Stadium.
• The Spartans' 19 runs was the most they've hung on a scoreboard since 2024, matching 19 runs from a 19-6 7-inning run-rule Victory for MSU at Georgia on Feb. 28, 2024. MSU scored nine runs in the final three innings, pulling away from a 10-8 score after six innings, in which the Spartans trailed the Chippewas, 7-5, after three innings.
• Senior infielder Randy Seymour smacked three home runs to lead MSU.
• Seymour's first multi-home run game came in a big way, belting three home runs, all in the left center field area, coming in the third inning with a solo shot, followed by a three-run homer in the fourth and capped the hat trick of home runs with a two-run blast in the sixth.
• Seymour is the first Spartan with three home runs in the same game since Brandon Hughes belted three homers at Illinois on March 26, 2017.
• Seymour's three HR add to his team lead, now with 10 on the season. For perspective of Seymour's outburst of an outing on Tuesday, he didn't have any HR as a freshman in 2023 in limited action, then had three in all of 2024 in 54 games, then knocked four in 2025 in 58 games, and now has 10 HR this season in 23 games so far in 2026.
• The Spartans scored in eight of the nine innings, only being held off the scoreboard in one inning, without a run in the sixth stanza ... MSU scored in an alternating fashion in the first four frames with one run in the first, three in the second, one in the third and three in the fourth, while CMU scored four in the first and three in the second, and MSU had an 8-7 lead after four frames ... After both teams went scoreless in the fifth, the only frame that had both zeroes in the top and bottom of the inning.
• The 19 runs topped the previous season-high that lasted all of two games, after MSU's 15 runs in a 15-5 8-inning run rule over Iowa in game one of Saturday's DH ... that came on the heels of a four-game span in which the Spartans scored a combined 17 runs in those four previous games.
BUNCH OF FIRST TIMES SINCE... IN IOWA SERIES
• In MSU's weekend series win over Iowa, the Spartans had several new marks on their "The Last Time The Spartans..." list, including many from Saturday's game one of the DH with the 15-5 8-inning run-rule Victory for MSU, for playing an eight-inning game, winning by run-rule and scoring 15 or more runs, and all were the identical situation and score as the last time it happened:
* Played an 8-inning game May 10, 2025 at No. 25 USC (W, 15-5 - run-rule)
* Scored 15-19 Runs May 10, 2025 at No. 25 USC (W, 15-5 (8 inn. - run-rule))
* Won on Run-Rule May 10, 2025 at No. 25 USC (W, 15-5 (8 inn.))
• MSU also shutout Iowa, 2-0, on Friday night, behind pitchers Carter Monke and Nolan Higgins for a combined shutout, that was also the same breakdown as the Spartans' last shutout and combined shutout, as Monke went 7.0 IP and Higgins went 2.0 IP.
* Shut Out An Opponent May 9, 2025 at No. 25 USC (W, 5-0)
* Combined shutout Joseph Dzierwa (7.0) and Garrett Brewer (2.0), May 9, 2025 at No. 25 USC; W, 5-0
• Additionally, individually, redshirt-sophomore catcher Adam Broski belted a grand-slam to help MSU win on run-rule, marking MSU's second grand slam of the season and first since junior outfielder Parker Picot's grand slam in game two of the season on Feb. 14 in MSU's 13-4 upset win at No. 8 Louisville.
* Grand Slam Parker Picot, Feb. 14, 2026 at No. 8 Louisville (4th inn; W, 13-4)
EARLY HOME OPENER
• Last Friday's March 20 home opener date was the latest home opener in March in the last three years, after opening on March 12 in 2025, which was the earliest home-opening date in program history, an opening on March 15 in 2024 ... The 2023 home opener was on March 21 ... Friday's opponent, Iowa, was only the fifth out of state opponent for the Spartans in their last 15 home openers, joining Evansville (2024), Houston Baptist (2022), Indiana (2021), Niagara (2018) ... While the Hawkeyes ere the third overall Big Ten opponent to be MSU's home-opening foe, Iowa was the second B1G opponent in a conference game, joining 2021 when MSU played a B1G-only ledger due to COVID-19, while last year's home opener vs. Michigan was a non-conference contest ... Friday's first pitch temperature of 64 degrees, which was the warmest home-openers in the last 15 years, topping the previous warmest home opener of 54 degrees on March 15, 2024.
Last 15 Years Of Home-Openers
Year Date Result Game-Time Temp
2026 March 20 MSU 2, Iowa 0 64
2025 March 12$ Michigan 11, MSU 7 50
2024 March 15* MSU 11, Evansville 3 54
2023 March 21 MSU 8, Western Michigan 3 50
2022 March 18 MSU 4, Houston Baptist 3 48
2021 March 26^ Indiana 8, MSU 2 49
2020 No home-opener due to COVID --
2019 March 20 ¶ / March 27 MSU 3, Western Michigan 2 52
2018 March 15* MSU 10, Niagara 1 34
2017 March 21 MSU 11, Central Michigan 2 52
2016 March 23 MSU 4, Central Michigan 1 38
2015 March 24 MSU 8, Central Michigan 3 40
2014 April 2 MSU 5, Western Michigan 3 52
2013 March 27 ¶ / April 2 MSU 4, Central Michigan 2 38
2012 March 23 MSU 2, Oakland 1 37
$ = Earliest home-opening date in program history
* = Tied for previous earliest home-opening date in program history before the 2025 home opener on March 12
^ = B1G-only ledger due to COVID
¶ = scheduled date but postponed
NIGHTMARE IN SEASON-OPENERS
• With the 4-3 Victory for MSU over No. 8 Louisville in the 2026 season-opener on Friday the 13th of February, the Spartans have been victorious in their season-opener in seven of the last eight seasons ... overall, MSU is now 15-3 in the 18 season-openers under Coach Boss, only losing in 2013 vs. Furman, 2018 at Fresno State and 2022 at UNLV.
RANKED WINS
• Michigan State opened the season with a 4-3 upset at No. 8 Louisville on Feb. 13 ... The Victory for MSU was the Spartans' second Top-10 win in as many seasons, after upsetting No. 6 Oregon, 2-0, last year in East Lansing on May 2, 2025 ... It was MSU's highest-ranked upset win away from home since beating No. 1 Oregon State, 8-7, on Feb. 22, 2014 in Surprise, Ariz.
• The win was also MSU's first win at Louisville since 1993, as Friday was also the first meeting between MSU and UofL since 2012.
RANKED SERIES WIN
• MSU took two out of three games to win the series with the 8th-ranked Cardinals, for the Spartans' highest-ranked series win in Coach Boss' 18 seasons at the helm.
• Michigan State dealt Louisville consecutive losses to start the year for just the third time in the 20 years under head coach Dan McDonnell.
THREE TIMES A SEYMOUR ... SMACKING HOMER IN BACK-TO-BACK GAMES THRICE
• Prior to this season, MSU senior infielder Randy Seymour did not have a home run in consecutive games in his career, but he has now smacked in home run in consecutive games three times this season, including a stretch with a HR in four of five games, and with his three HR outburst on Tuesday at EMU, has four round-trippers in three games after one in game one of the DH on Saturday vs. Iowa.
• Seymour belted a home run in the season-opener at Louisville on Feb. 13, and adding another homer in game two of the season on Feb. 14
• Seymour blasted a solo, opposite field home run in the first inning of the series finale at Nebraska on March 8, then smacked a three-run home run to right center last Tuesday, March 10 at Eastern Michigan.
• In the weekend series at Rutgers, Seymour did not have a HR in the series opener on March 13, but bounced back with a solo homer to start the Spartans' scoring spree the next day, then added a solo homer to lead off the second inning in the series finale on March 15.
SEYMOUR'S FIRST HOME RUN OF SEASON WITH RUNNERS ON
• Seymour's three-run home run March 10 at Eastern Michigan was the first of his at the time six home runs this season with runners on base, as his previous three home runs this season were all solo homers, and his last two home runs were both solo shots.
• All three of Seymour's HRs at Central Michigan on March 24 were all of different runs, with a solo homer, than a three-run blast and a 2-run home run.
• Now with 10 HRs this season, Seymour has six solo homers, one two-run HR and three three-run round-trippers.
• For his career, Seymour now has 10 solo HRs out of his 17 career home runs.
• He also has two two-run HR, four three-run HR and one grand slam.
WILLIAMS WITH THE INSIDE-THE-PARK HOME RUN...AGAIN
• Senior outfielder Nick Williams hit an inside-the-park home run on March 10 at Eastern Michigan, after the EMU right fielder collided with the wall, initially appearing to make the catch, but the ball came loose on the collision and Williams darted around the bases for the inside-the-park home run.
• Williams' inside-the-park home run was eerily similar to Dillon Kark's walk-off inside-the-park HR on March 10, 2023 vs. Western Carolina at Fluor Field in Greenville, S.C., which has the same dimensions as Fenway Park, and Kark's fly ball was down the right field line and the WCU right field collided with the wall right at Pesky's Pole.
• Williams now has MSU's last two inside-the-park home runs, as he was the answer to the Jeopardy clue of "This Spartan had the last inside-the-park home run" - "Who is Nick Williams," which came on March 7, 2025 vs. Cornell, also in Greenville, S.C. at Fluor Field ... knocked a hard liner down the right field line that bounced off the wall just past Pesky's Pole, and the ball bounced past Cornell right fielder, allowing the speedy Williams to dart around the bases for an inside-the-park home run.
LOUISVILLE SLUGGERS
• MSU slugged five home runs in the opening weekend in Louisville, with all five coming in the first two games, starting off with two homers in the season-opener, from senior infielder Randy Seymour and redshirt-sophomore catcher Adam Broski each knocking solo shots ... In Saturday's slamming of the Cardinals, the Spartans blasted three round-trippers, including two from junior outfielder Parker Picot, with a grand slam and a three-run shot, while Seymour smacked his second in as many games.
• The Spartans had 23 hits on the weekend, including nine extra-base hits, with the five home runs and four doubles, on the way to hitting .237 and scoring 18 runs (6.0 rpg).
• Last season, the Spartans were hitting .163 after the first weekend, with 14 runs on 16 hits in four games played at the USA Baseball Complex at Cary, N.C.
STRIKING 'EM OUT
• MSU's pitching staff opened the season with a 2-to-1 strikeout-walk-ratio with 23 strikeouts on the weekend (7.7 Ks/game), while only yielding 12 walks, as the Spartans upset No. 8 Louisville in winning the series in taking 2-of-3 from the Cardinals.
• The Spartan staff enter this week at 2.2-to-1 K/BB, with 220 strikeouts (7.6 K/game), while yielding 102 walks (3.5 BB/game).
ROUND-TRIPPERS
• MSU only needed two games to hit five home runs in the opening weekend ... last season, the Spartans didn't have any home runs for the first six games, and MSU's fifth HR didn't come until game number eight, on Feb. 28 vs. Harvard, when the Spartan bats erupted for six homers.
• With five home runs through the first three games, the Spartans were averaging 1.7 HR/game through the first weekend ... MSU did not hit a HR in the series at Texas, facing a tough Longhorn staff combined with a Texas wind blowing in from left field in all three games, to drop to 0.8 HR/game.
• The Spartans were right at that average with two homers in the three games of the First Pitch Invitational at Fluor Field in Greenville, with two HR in the loss to Illinois on Friday, but no round-trippers during the midweeks in Greenville, and went into the Nebraska weekend with a slurpee-wielding convenience store resemblance of seven HR through 11 games, averaging 0.6 HR/game.
• MSU hit two home runs in the three games at Nebraska, adding two more on March 10 at Eastern Michigan.
• The Spartans then hit five home runs in the three games at Rutgers, including a season-high four homers in the 13-5 Victory for MSU over RU on March 14, but did not hit any HR on March 18 at Michigan.
• MSU has its first three-game stretch of home runs with two homers in game one of the DH vs. Iowa, then one in the nightcap, before eruptions for a season-high tying four homers at Central Michigan ... The Spartans hit three HR in the weekend series vs. Purdue, including a grand slam and 3-run HR by freshman infielder CJ Deckinga for not only his first collegiate grand slam but also his first two-HR outing as a Spartan.
• Michigan State now has 30 HR in the 29 games this season, for a 1.0 HR/game average.
• Last season, MSU had 51 home runs in 55 games, also for a 0.9 HR/game average.
FIRST CAREER HOMER FOR STURGESS
• MSU sophomore outfielder Issac Sturgess smacked the first home run of his career on Feb. 27 vs. Illinois, going to deep left-center field at Fluor Field, home of the Greenville Drive, which has the same specs as Fenway Park.
• Sturgess sent the ball on a 388-foot adventure that was 106 mph off the bat.
DECKINGA DECKS FIRST HOME RUN
• Spartan freshman infielder CJ Deckinga decked his first collegiate home run in the fourth inning of MSU's game at Rutgers on March 14, with a solo shot to left center to lead off the fourth inning, part of the Spartans' three runs in the frame to open an 8-0 lead on the way to the 9-3 Victory for MSU.
FAMILIAR OUTCOME
• Michigan State has lost its last three extra-inning games by the same score and in playing 10 innings in all three.
• MSU lost 5-4 in 10-innings to Illinois on Feb. 27 in the Spartans' opening game of the First Pitch Invitational at Fluor Field in Greenville, S.C.
• That was the same score as the Spartans' last extra-inning game, a 5-4 10-inning loss to Nebraska in the opening round game of the 2025 Big Ten Tournament last season.
• The Spartans then lost at Nebraska by the same, 5-4, 10-inning score in the series opener on Friday, March 6, giving MSU back-to-back losses in extra innings by the same score.
WILLIE MAYS MCKAY
• After entering the game on Feb. 28 vs. Albany without a stolen base in the first seven games played, junior infielder Ryan McKay unleashed his inner Willie Mays Hayes over the rest of the weekend, swiping four stolen bases, coming in the last two games, with two each on Feb. 28 vs. Albany and James Madison on March 1.
• McKay is second on MSU with the four stolen bases.
• For perspective of McKay's speed outburst and for comparison, he had five stolen bases in all of the 2024 season and 11 last season.
MIGHTY MONKE
• Graduate starting pitcher Carter Monke has gone at least 4.0 IP in each of his eight starts, including a then season-long 6.1 IP vs. No. 3 Texas on Feb. 21, scattering seven hits but only yielding two runs, while striking out three.
• Monke topped that season-long on March 14 with a masterful outing at Rutgers, going a season-long 7.0 IP, in tying a season-high with four strikeouts for the third-straight outing, scattering eight hits, while only allowing three runs and no walks, firing just 83 pitches with 64 strikes.
• Monke went 6.2 IP vs. Iowa on March 21, striking out a season-high five, while spraying five hits with three runs, yielding two walks. Monke was roughed up a bit on March 28 vs. Purdue, scattering seven runs, five earned, on nine hits in 4.0 IP, with three Ks.
• On Feb. 28 vs. UAlbany, Monke went 5.0 IP with a season-high four Ks, with three hits and one run.
• In his Big Ten debut on March 7 at Nebraska, Monke went 4.2 IP, spraying six hits with two runs, two walks and four strikeouts.
• For the season, Monke has eight starts with a 3-2 mark with a 4.32 ERA, ranking second on the MSU staff with 41.2 IP, tied for the team-lead with 29 strikeouts, while yielding 11 walks, allowing 24 runs, 20 earned.
CHUCKIN' CHAMBERS
• Redshirt-freshman Brady Chambers chalked up season highs of four strikeouts in 4.0 IP of relief, with only one hit and no runs or walks, on Saturday vs. UAlbany, earning the first save of his collegiate career.
• Chambers earned his first win in the Victory for MSU over No. 8 Louisville on Feb. 14, going 2.0 IP, scattering two hits with one K.
• The Spartan righty then made the first start of his college career on March 4 vs. No. 10 Clemson in Greenville, S.C., going 2.0 IP with one hit, one run and one K.
• Chambers pitched 2.1 IP of relief in game 2 of the series at Nebraska on March 7, with two his, one run, two walks and three strikeouts.
• He earned his second win of the season on March 24 at Central Michigan, going 1.1 IP with one K and just one hit, along with no runs.
• After redshirting last season while recovering from an injury in high school, Chambers now has a 2-1 record in 10 appearances with two starts, chalking up 12 Ks in 20.0 IP, spraying 17 hits and allowing 11 runs and five walks.
IT'S CRANE-ING
• True freshman Bobby Crane made his collegiate debut on Feb. 20 at Texas, with 1.0 IP of relief, with one hit.
• Crane earned the first win of his collegiate career on March 10 at Eastern Michigan, going 2.0 IP in relief with one strikeout and no hits or runs ... he came on with bases loaded and no outs, after EMU had already scored a run in the inning, and induced a double play, then a groundout to minimize the damage and keep the Eagles at bay.
• The 2.0 IP nearly doubled Crane's outing total entering the appearance at EMU, having pitching 3.1 IP in previous four appearances, with three outings of 1.0 IP each and 0.1 IP as well.
EIGHT RIBBIES
• MSU junior outfielder Parker Picot posted eight RBI in Michigan State's 13-4 win at Louisville on Feb. 14 ... He knocked in a sacrifice fly in the first inning, then blasted a grand slam in the fourth and added a three-run homer in the sixth for eight RBI on the day, becoming the first Spartan with eight RBI in a game since Bob Malek had eight ribbies on April 19, 2000 vs. Detroit Mercy.
• Picot's collection of eight RBI was identical to Malek's 26 years ago, just in a different order with a three-run HR in the first inning, then a sac fly in the fifth before a grand slam in the sixth in the Spartans' 19-6 win over Detroit Mercy.
PICOT GRAND SLAMMIN'
• Picot was the first Spartan to hit a grand slam since teammate Randy Seymour smacked a grand slam on March 2, 2025 vs. Harvard at Greenville, S.C., coming in the third inning of MSU's 13-3 crushing of the Crimson.
DOUBLING UP THE HR
• Picot's two HR's in the Feb. 14 game marked the first time for a Spartan to hit two HR in the same game since former teammate Sam Busch hit two at No. 25 USC last year on May 10, 2025 in the Spartans' 15-5 (8 inn.) win over the Trojans.
• It marked the second year in a row that Picot's first two HR of the season came in the same game, as he hit his first two homers as a Spartan last season on Feb. 28 vs. Harvard, but not until game seven of the season.
SEY-MOUR HOME RUNS
• Senior infielder Randy Seymour joined Picot in smacking two homers in the opening weekend, with a solo shot in each of the first two games at Louisville on Feb. 13 and 14.
• Seymour hit his third homer of the season over the weekend at Nebraska, slugging an opposite-field home run to right field in the first inning of Sunday's series finale on March 8 ... he then belted his fourth homer of the season with a three-run HR at Eastern Michigan on Tuesday, matching his homer total for all of 2025.
• Last season, Seymour hit four HR for the whole season, with his first homer of the season coming in game 10 on March 2 vs. Harvard, and his second round-tripper of the season didn't come until game 17 on March 14 at Iowa.
TOP OF THE LINE...UP
• In MSU's 13-4 win at No. 8 Louisville on Feb. 14, eight of the nine Spartan batters had at least one hit on the day, with a total of six Spartans posting multiple hits ... Batters 1-4 in the MSU lineup combined to go 8-for-16 with 12 RBI and scoring 10 runs.
• Leadoff hitter senior outfielder Nick Williams was 2-for-4 with three runs scored and adding one walk, while No. 2 hitter junior infielder Ryan McKay was 2-for-4 with three runs scored and one RBI ... No. 3 hitter senior infielder Randy Seymour was 2-for-5 with three RBI and two runs scored, hitting his second HR in as many days, ahead of junior outfielder Parker Picot, who went 2-for-3 with two HR and eight RBI total, knocking a sac fly and also drawing a walk.
MOUND DEBUTS
• On the mound in MSU's rout of No. 8 Louisville on Feb. 14, four Spartan pitchers all made smashing debuts, as graduate starting pitcher Carter Monke, who is in his first year at MSU after transferring from Illinois State, went 4.0 IP, scattering five hits and yielding two runs, while ringing up three strikeouts.
• Redshirt-freshman reliever Brady Chambers earned his first collegiate win in his college debut after missing last season with an injury ... The righty went 2.0 IP with one run and one punchout.
• Two other transfers also made their Spartan debuts, in junior reliever Ben Kochany and graduate reliever JD Greeley finished it out from there ... Kochany went 1.2 IP with four hits and a run, while Greeley went 1.1 IP with two hits, no runs and one K.
• In the series at Texas, two Spartan freshmen pitchers made their debuts for the Green & White, with Kyle Rudolph and Bobby Crane seeing their first action as Spartans ... Rudolph came on in with one out in the bottom of the sixth and yielded an RBI groundout, then later chalked up his first collegiate strikeout to end the inning and the Texas rally ... he then fired a three-up, three-down seventh inning, the lone inning that the Spartan defense retired the Longhorns in order with another strikeout, then a flyout and a groundout ... Crane took over in the eighth and worked around a one-out hit, inducing a groundout and flyout to finish the frame unscathed.
UP NEXT
• The Spartans then wrap up the nine-game homestand hosting Bowling Green and Western Michigan in a pair of non-conference midweek match-ups on Tuesday, May 5 and Wednesday, May 6, respectively, both in 6:02 p.m. start times.
• MSU's schedule is subject to change, stay tuned to MSUSpartans.com and @MSUBaseball on X/Twitter for schedule updates.
MSU hosts top-ranked UCLA in penultimate B1G weekend series; believed to be first No. 1 team to come to East Lansing, first visiting team from California in East Lansing since 1979.
• Michigan State baseball's season-long nine-game homestand at Jeff Ishbia Field at McLane Stadium rolls on this weekend when the Spartans open the final month of the season by hosting No. 1 UCLA in a three-game Big Ten Conference weekend series, Friday-Sunday, May 1-3 ... the series opens under Friday night lights at 6:02 p.m. ... MSU and UCLA then meet in game two of the series on Saturday slated for a 3:32 p.m. start time, before wrapping up the series on Sunday in a 12:02 p.m. first pitch.
• MSU's schedule is subject to change, stay tuned to MSUSpartans.com and @MSUBaseball on X/Twitter for schedule updates.
• Fans can follow the action with "Watch Live," "Live Stats" and "Listen Live" links, at MSUSpartans.com.
• Michigan State is fresh off Finals Week on campus and did not have a midweek game ... MSU enters its final B1G home series and its penultimate conference series weekend with a 16-25 overall record and a 10-14 B1G mark ... the Spartans have won their last two weekend series, taking 2-of-3 at Washington on April 17-19, doing what no B1G team had done before in winning a three-game series at Washington during the Huskies' two years in the league ... last weekend, MSU took 2-of-3 from Maryland last weekend, giving the scoreboard a workout, as the Spartans dropped the opener, 18-10 Friday night, but then bounced back to win game two, 12-4, on Saturday afternoon, then won the series with a 13-1, 7-inning, run-rule route on Sunday ... the Spartans have won four of their last seven and five of their last nine.
• No. 1 UCLA comes to town with a 40-4 overall record and an unblemished 21-0 B1G ledger in tow ... the Bruins are coming off a 15-3, 7-inning, run-rule win at UC Santa Barbara on Tuesday night, avenging their 4-0 loss at home to the same UCSB Gauchos squad on April 14 that snapped UCLA's 27-game winning streak, which was not only the longest in the nation at the time, but also the longest in UCLA baseball history ... last weekend, the Bruins had a bye in the Big Ten schedule, hosting Sacramento State in a non-conference three-game series, winning Friday's opener, 6-5, on a walk-off win, rallying from a 5-4 deficit entering the bottom of the ninth, then winning Saturday's game, 5-3, before falling in Sunday's finale, 9-6.
MICHIGAN STATE ATHLETICS ANNOUNCES JAKE BOSS JR. CONTRACT EXTENSION
• Michigan State athletics announced a contract extension for head baseball coach Jake Boss Jr. on Thursday, Feb. 12 on the eve of Opening Day ... With the extension, Boss' contract now runs through 2029.
• Boss is in his 18th year at Michigan State and 19th overall as a collegiate head coach ... Boss entered the 2026 season at No. 3 on MSU's longest coaching list behind John H. Kobs (1935-63), the namesake for Kobs Field, location of McLane Stadium, with 39 seasons, and legendary head coach Denny Litwhiler (1964-82) with 19 seasons ... Now at 484 Victories for MSU entering the weekend vs. UCLA, Boss is also No. 3 on the Spartan head coach list for wins and games coached, also behind Kobs with 576 wins in 969 games, and Litwhiler with 489 wins in 859 games.
BOSS 500 CAREER WINS
• MSU head coach Jake Boss Jr. won his 500th career win on March 21 vs. Iowa, with a 15-5 8-inning run-rule Victory for MSU, and the Spartans' win at CMU on March 24 was number 501 for Coach Boss ... he now has 509 career wins in his 19th overall season with 484 wins in 18+ seasons at Michigan State (2009-pres.), and 25 wins in one season at Eastern Michigan (2008).
SEASON 142 OF SPARTAN BASEBALL
• Michigan State is in its 142nd season of baseball in 2026 and won its 2,500th all-time Victory for MSU vs. Eastern Michigan on May 6, 2025 ... Baseball was the first organized varsity sport on campus with the first season of Spartan baseball in 1884, winning its first recorded game on May 19, 1884, 20-9 over Olivet, going 4-2 in the six-game schedule, and baseball has been played every season since, with only no varsity in 1944 due to World War II.
100 YEARS OF SPARTANS
• One hundred years ago, on April 2, 1926, the name "Spartans" was first identified with Michigan State. "Spartans" initially appeared in a Lansing State Journal story about the baseball team, when LSJ editor George Alderton decided the established "Aggies" nickname no longer fit the recently renamed Michigan State College ... Other publications would soon follow in utilizing the nickname, and eventually it was officially adopted by Michigan State ... In the hundred years which have followed, "Spartans" has become more than just a moniker, it's an identity for decades of alumni, representing our uncommon will ... Here's to another century of Spartans!
SPARTAN BASEBALL ON THE RADIO AIRWAVES
• For the 10th-straight year, the Spartan Media Network will carry a live audio stream for all home and select road Spartan baseball games this season ... 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 for select home games.
SATURDAY IS DERBY DAY AT THE BALLPARK
• Celebrate Kentucky Derby Day Saturday at McLane Stadium!
Wear your favorite Derby hat, or stop by the marketing table to make your own Kentucky Derby hat, design your own horse & get ready for the big race at the ballpark!
HONORING TURKEY STEARNES
• MSU Baseball will be honoring the legacy of Norman "Turkey" Stearnes on Friday.
Born on May 8, 1901, Stearnes was one of the greatest players to ever take the field in the Negro Leagues, spending 11 seasons with the Detroit Stars and leaving a mark on the game of baseball. When Major League Baseball officially incorporated Negro League statistics into the record book in 2024, he became further immortalized as one of the game's all-time greats ... Stearnes ranks in the top 10 all-time in batting average (.348), slugging percentage (.616) and OPS (.417) ... He led the Negro National League (NNL) in home runs six times ... Stearnes also won the NNL batting championship in 1929 with a .390 batting average and repeated as batting champion in 1931 with a .376 average.
This historic career earned Stearnes induction into five baseball Hall of Fames, including the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2000 and the Michigan Baseball Hall of Fame in 2024, where he was inducted with former Spartan baseball assistant coach, Jake Boss Sr., the father of current MSU head coach Jake Boss Jr.
Stearnes played a critical role in breaking down racial barriers in baseball, paving the way for future generations of athletes ... His contributions to the sport and society continue to be celebrated.
MSU Baseball will welcome several members of Stearnes' family to celebrate the legacy of Norman "Turkey" Stearnes on Friday ... Two of Stearnes' daughters, Rosilyn Stearnes-Brown and Joyce Stearnes-Thompson will be throwing out ceremonial first pitches.
LOOK OUT FOR NUMBER ONE
• The Spartans are cuing up the Stayin' Alive soundtrack hit by Thomas Faragher this weekend when they "Look Out For Number One" - as No. 1 UCLA's visit to East Lansing is believed to be the first time in program history that Michigan State welcomes the No. 1 team in the country to Jeff Ishbia Field at McLane Stadium.
MSU is in pursuit of its first victory over a No. 1 team since beating No. 1 Oregon State, 8-7, on Feb. 22, 2014 in Surprise, Arizona.
MITTEN STATERS
• Michigan State has 21 players on its 2026 roster from the state of Michigan ... UCLA does not have any Michiganders on its roster.
FROM THE HOME OF IN-N-OUT
• The Spartans do not have any California natives on their roster ... the Bruins have 33 players from third home state of California on its roster.
CALIFORNIANS VISITIN'
• This weekend's UCLA visit to East Lansing marks the first time that MSU has hosted a team from California since 2017 when the Spartans welcomed Fresno State for a three-game weekend series, but due to inclement weather and flooding at Old College Field and McLane State, it was shifted from home to Grand Rapids and played at Fifth Third Ballpark (currently LMCU Ballpark), home of the West Michigan Whitecaps, the Single A-Affiliate of the Detroit Tigers.
• This weekend will be the first time since 1979 that MSU has hosted a team from California in East Lansing, when the Spartans hosted two for the NCAA Regional, playing Pepperdine on May 25 and San Diego State on May 27.
HOME ON THE BANKS OF THE RED CEDAR
• Along with winning two of three in MSU's home-opening series, the Spartans have won eight of their last 15 home games at Jeff Ishbia Field at McLane Stadium dating back to last season ... MSU was 11-10 at home last season, and are 6-8 at home this season.
Michigan State is in the midst of a season-long nine-game homestand, continuing this weekend with the series vs. UCLA in games five, six and seven of the homestand.
The Spartans are playing 13 of their final 16 games of the regular-season at home, as after this weekend's series vs. UCLA, the Green & White wrap up the nine-game homestand, by hosting Bowling Green on Tuesday, May 5 and Western Michigan on Wednesday, May 6, both in 6:02 p.m. start times ... MSU then plays at Ohio State next weekend, May 8-10, before concluding the regular-season by hosting Eastern Michigan on Tuesday, May 12, then hosting Illinois State in a three-game non-conference weekend series, Thursday-Saturday, May 14-16.
QUICK LOOK BACK AT MARYLAND SERIES WIN
• The Spartans' offense erupted for 35 runs on 37 hits, including five home runs, in the three games, posting a .343 batting average for the series.
• The 35 runs, 11.7 runs per game average and .343 batting average were all season-highs.
• MSU's five home runs tied a season-best marking the fourth weekend series this season belting five home runs in the series, including the second in a row ... however, it was a season-high for round-trippers in a home series, as the Spartans also had five homers in the series at No. 8 Louisville on opening weekend (Feb. 13-15), at Rutgers (March 13-15) and at Washington (April 17-19).
• The Spartans run-ruled the Terps on Sunday, 13-1, in 7-inning, marking their third game to end in 7-innings this season, but the first won with a win, after losing in 7-innings twice in a span of four games, vs. No. 10 Clemson (12-1) on March 4 at Fluor Field in Greenville, S.C., then at Nebraska (12-2).
• Michigan State scored 10+ runs in all three games of the Maryland series, marking the first time with 10 or more runs in back-to-back games this season, last doing so in the 2025 season nearly the same dates, with 10 runs April 19 vs. Ohio State, and 14 runs the next day, Oct. 20, also vs. Ohio State ... the three games with 10+ runs was the Spartans most since plating 10 or more runs in four-straight games on April 15-20, with a 14-4 win over Western Michigan, an 11-4 win over Ohio State, 10-9 (11 inn.) win over Ohio State and a 14-4 (7-inn. run-rule) win over Ohio State.
• Junior infielder Ryan McKay tallied five RBI in Sunday's win, belting a grand slam in the second inning, adding an RBI single in the fifth ... McKay was the first Spartan with five RBI in the last two weeks, as freshman teammate CJ Deckinga had five RBI on April 12 vs. Michigan, with a grand slam and an RBI double.
NINE-RUN INNING
• Michigan State hung nine runs on the scoreboard in the second inning of Sunday's 13-1, 7-inning run-rule rout of Maryland.
• It was the Spartans' most runs in an inning since also scoring a nine-spot on May 15, 2022 in an 11-8 win over Iowa ... All seven hits and nine runs in the inning on Sunday were in consecutive order after retiring the leadoff hitter, rallying to bat around with one out.
FIRST WASHINGTON EXPEDITION FOR STATE NUMBER 31
• The Spartans made their first ever trek to the state of Washington on April 17-19 ... crossing Washington off its states checklist, Washington was the 31st different state that the Spartans have played in during their 142-season history.
While MSU has played teams from nearly all 50 states, they haven't played in that respective state, i.e. the Spartans played Montana State in 1986 in Florida, but haven't played a game on Montana soil.
WHERE IN THE USA IS CARMEN SPARTANDIEGO
• The Spartans are doing their best Carmen Sandiego impression this season, having already played in nine different states since Opening Day on Feb. 13, and last weekend's trip to Washington marked the ninth different state that MSU has played in, as well as the Spartans' first-ever trip to Seattle ... the Spartans have already played in the states of Kentucky, Texas, South Carolina and Nebraska, adding the Mitten State with the midweek match-up at Eastern Michigan on March 10 ... MSU then added New Jersey on March 13-15, as the Spartans played Rutgers at Piscataway, N.J. for a three-game Big Ten weekend series ... Michigan State added Illinois to the list with the B1G weekend series at Northwestern, April 3-5 ... the Spartans added Indiana as their eighth state with the trip to South Bend, Ind., on April 8.
MSU will add its 10th different state on May 8-10 heading to Columbus, Ohio to play at Ohio State in the Spartans' final road trip of the regular-season.
35 FOR 35 AND NOW UP TO 43
• Senior infielder Randy Seymour wears jersey number 35 and registered his 35th RBI of the season on April 12 vs. Michigan ... he added his 36th RBI of the season vs. Oakland on April 14 for a new career-high , then added five ribbies in the three games at Washington, and two more in the Maryland series ... that gives Seymour 43 RBI for the season and setting a new single-season career-high for RBI, bettering his season total of 35 for 2025 in 207 AB in 58 games played (0.6 RBI/game), as this season he has 43 RBI in just 168 AB in 41 games played (1.1 RBI/game).
With the 43 RBI, Seymour not only leads MSU, but also ranks tied for 13th in the B1G ... Seymour is also tied for 13th in the B1G in RBI/game (1.11).
TOUGHEST SCHEDULE IN B1G TO OPEN SEASON
• MSU's game against No. 10 Clemson on March 4 was Michigan State's seventh game this season against a ranked opponent, going 2-5 to that point.
• Michigan State opened the season with a three-game series at No. 8 Louisville, taking 2-of-3 and then a three-game series at No. 3 Texas, falling in all three.
• After being at No. 1 in the Big Ten in the first two weeks of the season, MSU was No. 2 for the week of Feb. 23, behind UCLA in the Baseball Strength of Schedule (SOS) by warrennolan.com.
• Following three weeks in a row at No. 1 in the B1G (weeks of March 2, 9 and 16), MSU was at No. 2 in the B1G for the weeks of March 23 and 30, but behind Maryland at No. 1 in the conference in the April 6 rankings, up from No. 3 in the league and No. 18 in the nation for the March 30 rankings.
• In this week's rankings as of April 27, the Spartans are at No. 6 in the B1G and No. 64 in the NCAA, while UCLA is No. 1 in the B1G and No. 13 in the NCAA ... USC is No. 2 in the B1G and No. 34 in the NCAA ... Nebraska is No. 3 in the B1G and No. 42 in the NCAA, followed by Maryland at No. 4 in the B1G and No. 45 in the NCAA, Illinois at No. 5 in the B1G and No. 50 in the NCAA, and Michigan State at No. 64.
• Other B1G teams in the Top 80 in the nation include Penn State at No. 66, Michigan at No. 70, Northwestern at No. 79.
• Last week's midweek opponent, Notre Dame is No. 49, while several others of MSU's non-conference opponents also listed including Texas (No. 11), Clemson (No. 32), James Madison (No. 95), Louisville (No. 82) and Bowling Green (No. 106).
MITTEN STATE MARCH MADNESS
• The Crosstown Showdown on April 1 was Michigan State's ninth game of nine-straight games in the state of Michigan, after the March 31 home game vs. Central Michigan was cancelled due to inclement weather ... the Spartans started the stretch on March 18 at Michigan, before their home opening series vs. Iowa on March 20-21, playing a DH on the 21st due to inclement weather ... MSU played at Central Michigan last Tuesday, before returning home to host Purdue last weekend in a three-game series ... the Spartans wrapped up the nine-game in-state stretch with the 2026 Crosstown Showdown, taking on the Lansing Lugnuts, the High-A affiliate of the Oakland A's, on Wednesday, April 1 at Jackson® Field™ in the annual exhibition game.
STURGESS COLLECTING GAME-WINNING RBI
• Spartan sophomore outfielder Isaac Sturgess has over of MSU's game-winning RBI aka "The RBI that gives team the lead it never relinquishes" with six official GW RBI through the Spartans' 14 wins, adding one unofficial RBI.
Sturgess started his game-winning RBI collection in the season-opener at then-No. 8 Louisville with a home run in the eighth inning that proved to be the winning run in the Spartans' 4-3 upset of the Cardinals ... he then knocked his second game-winning RBI in as many days with an RBI double in the fourth that put MSU ahead for good on the way to a 13-4 Victory for MSU.
He then posted his third game-winning RBI with a bases-loaded walk vs. Albany in the third inning in MSU's win on Feb. 28.
Sturgess collected the GW RBI in both of MSU's wins over Iowa, with a double in the first inning on March 20 and an RBI groundout the next day.
In the win at Northwestern on April 3, Sturgess had a 2-run single in the sixth that put MSU ahead for good on the way to the 5-1 win.
At Notre Dame on April 8, Sturgess hit a solo home run in the top of the first inning to give MSU the lead and the Spartans didn't look back on the way to a 7-4 Victory for MSU, for Sturgess' sixth game-winning RBI.
In the April 12 Victory for MSU over Michigan, Sturgess hit into a double play, but it allowed teammate CJ Deckinga to score, pushing MSU ahead at 3-2 ... while he doesn't officially get credit as the game-winning RBI because of the RBI, it marked the seventh time this season that Sturgess was involved in what proved to be the run that gives the Spartans the lead they never relinquish out of their wins.
DECKINGA COMPLETES HOME RUN CYCLE
• MSU freshman infielder CJ Deckinga hit a two-run home run on April 4 at Northwestern, completing his home run cycle in only four home runs.
The Spartan freshman hit the first home run of his collegiate career on March 14 at Rutgers with a solo homer to lead off the inning ... Deckinga then decked a grand slam and a three-run home run in the same game on March 28 vs. Purdue ... he then completed his home run cycle with a two-run homer on Saturday, April 4 at Northwestern.
PICOT ALSO COMPLETES HR CYCLE, DOING SO IN SUCCESSIVE ORDER
• Junior outfielder Parker Picot joined Deckinga in the home run cycle with his fourth HR of the season coming on a solo homer at Washington on April 17, completing the cycle in successive order ... Picot's first HR of the season was a grand slam in the fourth inning on Feb. 14 at Louisville, then adding a three-run homer in the sixth for his first two-HR game of his career ... Picot checked two-run home run off the list on March 24 with a two-run home at Central Michigan, before completing the cycle in successive order with a solo home run at Washington on April 17.
BRIGHT BELTS FIRST HOME RUN WITH TEAMMATE ON BASE
• Graduate catcher/designated hitter Noah Bright belted his fourth HR of the season and eighth of his career on Friday at Washington with a two-run homer in the third inning, but that was the first home run he'd hit with a teammate on base, as all of his previous HR had been of the solo variety.
SLUGGIN' IN SEATTLE
• Despite the three-hour time difference, MSU's offense was anything but sleepless in Seattle, as the Spartans hung a combined 24 runs on the board in the three-game series, averaging 8.0 runs per game, for their most runs in a three-game series this season, topping the previous mark of 21 runs (7.0 rpg) from the Purdue series (March 27-29) ... MSU belted five HR in the series, tying a season-high for the third time, with all three times coming on the road, matching five homers in the series at Louisville (Feb. 13-15) and at Rutgers (March 13-15).
SEYMOUR AMONG B1G LEADERS IN HR AND RBI
• Senior infielder Randy Seymour's three HR at CMU vaulted him up the B1G HR leaderboard ... now with 14 HR on the season, Seymour not only leads MSU, but has jumped up to third on the B1G HR list, just behind Penn State's Michael Anderson (18) and UCLA's Will Gasparino (17), while ranking tied with UCLA's Roch Cholowsky (14) and Maryland's Ryan Costello (14), and just ahead of USC's Augie Lopez (13) and Oregon's Drew Smith (13) ... Seymour is tied for 29th in the NCAA in HR ... he also is fifth in the league and tied for 36th in the nation in HR/game (0.37).
• Now with his jersey-number matching 35 RBI coming on April 12 vs. Michigan, and adding six more last week to give him a career-high 41 RBI, Seymour is now 12th in the league in RBI, and tied for 10th in the conference in RBI/game (1.08).
DONOVAN ON B1G ERA LEADERBOARD
• Sophomore pitcher Aidan Donovan is ninth in the Big Ten with a 3.62 ERA ... Donovan had a stretch where he yielded just six earned runs in a span of four outings in 27.1 IP, for an ERA of 1.99 over those four starts ... highlighting that spurt was no earned runs in 7.0 IP vs. Iowa on March 20 and one earned run in 8.0 IP at Northwestern on April 3.
AND THEN THERE WAS ONE
• Senior Randy Seymour started at DH on April 14 vs. Oakland, after starting at first base in the previous 33 games, with Sturgess handling first base duties in that game ... Seymour returned to starting at first base in all three games at Washington ... While Seymour and junior infielder Ryan McKay are the only two Spartans to start all 41 games, McKay is now the lone MSU player to start at the same position every game, starting every game at second base.
FOUR-FOR-FOUR FOR KHAMAREE
• Sophomore outfielder Khamaree Thomas finished with a career-best 4-for-4, knocking a career-high four hits, with three singles and a double, tallying three RBI and a run score in the loss to Oakland on April 14.
Thomas opened with a single to lead off the second stanza, later coming around to score ... in the fourth inning, he knocked a single, but was left stranded ... in the sixth stanza, he laced an RBI single, before smacking a two-run double in the seventh.
Thomas is the first Spartan to go exactly 4-for-4 this season, while teammate Noah Bright was 5-for-5 on March 5 at Northwestern ... the last Spartan to go 4-for-4 in a game was Ryan McKay, ironically also coming vs. Oakland, knocking four singles in four ABs in an 8-5 Victory for MSU over the Golden Grizzlies on March 20, 2025.
PROFESSIONAL STADIUM EXPERIENCE
• MSU's game scheduled for April 15 vs. Western Michigan at LMCU Ballpark in Comstock Park, Michigan, home of the West Michigan Whitecaps, the High-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers, would have been part of a total of 10 games and one exhibition contest in four different professional stadiums for the Spartans this season, but the game was cancelled due to inclement weather.
• Michigan State's five games over the end of February and first few days of March at Fluor Field, home of the Greenville Drive, the high-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox were the first five games the Spartans will play in professional stadiums this season, with three more on tap this weekend in Lincoln, Nebraska.
• The Spartans played five games at their home-away-from-home, Fluor Field, in Greenville, S.C., home of the Greenville Drive, the high-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox. Fluor Field nearly replicates the dimensions of Fenway Park, home of the Red Sox. The Greenville ballpark has its own "Green Monster" replica, a 30-foot high wall in left field as opposed to the 37-foot one found at Fenway, and contains a manual scoreboard. Every other dimension is to the same specifications as Fenway Park, including "Pesky's Pole" in right field.
• Michigan State opened Big Ten play on March 6-8 at Nebraska, in Lincoln, Nebraska, and the Spartans faced the Cornhuskers at Hawks Field at Haymarket Park in Lincoln, which the Huskers share with the Lincoln Saltdogs of the American Association of Professional Baseball.
• Michigan State tangled with the Lansing Lugnuts, the High-A affiliate of the Oakland A's, in the 2026 Crosstown Showdown on Wednesday, April 1 at Jackson® Field™ in the annual exhibition game.
• MSU was also scheduled to meet Western Michigan on Wednesday, April 15 at LMCU Ballpark in Comstock Park, Michigan, home of the West Michigan Whitecaps, the High-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers, but it was cancelled due to inclement weather from the night before and the day of the game.
• On Friday, May 8, the Spartans open their three-game Big Ten weekend series at Ohio State by playing at Huntington Park, home of the Columbus Clippers, the Triple-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians.
DECKINGA TABBED BIG TEN FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK ON MARCH 30
• Michigan State baseball freshman infielder CJ Deckinga was named the Big Ten Conference Freshman of the Week, announced on the afternoon of Monday, March 30, by the conference office.
Deckinga, from Minooka, Illinois, slashed .500/.563/1.000 (avg./on-base pct./slug pct.) to go with a 1.563 OPS in MSU's four games last week. He bashed his first career two-home run game with a grand slam and a three-run HR for a season-high seven RBI outing in Saturday's slugfest vs. Purdue.
He is the first Spartan with seven RBI in a game since Bailey Peterson had seven on May 23, 2021 at Rutgers (4-for-5, 2 HR; W, 14-8). Additionally, Deckinga is the third Spartan this season with six or more RBI in a game, joining senior infielder Randy Seymour (6 RBI at Central Michigan on March 25) and junior outfielder Parker Picot (8 RBI at No. 8 Louisville on Feb. 14).
Deckinga had at least two hits in three of the four games of the week, highlighted by going 3-for-4 with the seven RBI on Saturday vs. Purdue. He started the week going 2-for-4 with two runs scored and a double in MSU's win at Central Michigan. Deckinga then went 2-for-3 with two RBI and a stolen base in Friday's 4-3 Victory for MSU over Purdue. He then erupted for 3-for-4 with the seven RBI, two runs scored on the two HR, and a walk in Saturday's 16-13 loss, running his hitting streak to a season-long six games, before it came to a halt in Sunday's loss, going 0-for-3 on a flyout and a pair of groundouts, but was hit-by-a-pitch once, keep his reached base streak active and extend it to eight games.
Deckinga is the first Spartan recognized as B1G Freshman of the Week since teammate Ryan McKay garnered the honor on May 6, 2024.
VANDY FAMILY MATTERS - THREE VAN AMEYDES
• Both Michigan State and Oakland had at least one Van Ameyde on their respective rosters last Wednesday night, with two for the Spartans and one for the Golden Grizzlies ... MSU assistant coach/pitching coach Mark Van Ameyde and his son, Cole Van Ameyde, a freshman infielder for MSU will be squaring off against Cole's twin brother, Cash, Van Ameyde, who is a freshman outfielder for Oakland ... Coach Van Ameyde's oldest son, Chase, is a sophomore pitcher at Notre Dame, who MSU played on April 8.
Coach Van Ameyde is in his ninth year back on MSU's coaching staff and his 15th overall ... Van Ameyde was previously on the MSU bench from 2009-14, including associate head coach from 2011-14, before becoming the Eastern Michigan head coach in 2015.
Cole Van Ameyde has played in 13 games with eight starts, making three at third base, four at DH and one in left field, starting last week's game at Notre Dame against his older brother, Chase, who started on the mound for the Fighting Irish ... Cole made his Spartan and collegiate debut on Feb. 20 at Texas, and belted a triple for his collegiate hit on March 6 at Nebraska and added a double the next day ... he has scored six runs and drawn five walks on the season.
Cole's twin brother, Cash, is a freshman outfielder at Oakland, but hasn't seen any action yet, due to an injury.
In the MSU-ND game in South Bend on April 8, Cole started in left field, while Chase started on the mound ... Cole and Chase Van Ameyde did not get to face each other, as Chase only pitched the first inning, and Cole was ninth in the batting order and didn't get an at bat until the third inning ... Chase was dealt the loss after yielding one run by the Spartans in the top of the first inning and MSU held the lead the rest of the way ... Cole was hit by a pitch in the fourth inning and later came around to score, and also made four put-outs in left field, including two catches at the wall.
Chase Van Ameyde has made seven appearances on the mound this season for the Irish, with one start, making his first start of the season last Wednesday against the Spartans, and was his sixth career start ... this season Chase Van Ameyde has an 0-2 record, being dealt the loss in last Wednesday's game ... he has logged 14 strikeouts with five walks in 6.2 IP ... at the plate, he has 13 at bats with two singles and two walks, scoring two runs.
Michigan State and Notre Dame have the second half of the home-and-home on April 22 in East Lansing, while ND plays Oakland in a three-game series, May 8-10 in South Bend, Ind.
PURDUE SERIES SNIPPETS
• Some tidbits from the weekend series vs. Purdue:
• With 13 runs in Saturday's loss, the Spartans have scored 10+ runs in three of the last five games after only doing so twice in the previous 18 games, as they scored 15 in the 15-5 Victory for MSU over Iowa on March 21, then 19 runs in the 19-8 rout at Central Michigan on Tuesday before the 13 runs on Saturday vs. Purdue.
• Saturday's 29 combined runs scored in the game came on a combined 32 hits, with 16 apiece, including three grand slams on the day, one from MSU by freshman infielder CJ Deckinga in the second inning for his first collegiate grand slam, while Purdue had the other two ... Deckinga also added a three-run home run in the ninth, finishing with a season-high three hits on a 3-for-4 outing at the plate with seven RBI and two runs scored.
• Deckinga belted the first grand slam of his Spartan career, and was MSU's first grand salami in barely a week, as redshirt-sophomore catcher Adam Broski had a grand slam on March 21 vs. Iowa, in a "walk-off" in the eighth that gave MSU the 15-5 run-rule win.
• Deckinga also had a three-run home run in Saturday's game for his first two-HR game in the Green & White, and is the second Spartan with two homers in a game and the third Spartan with multi-home runs in a game, joining teammate Parker Picot with two homers on Feb. 14 at No. 8 Louisville, and Randy Seymour's three HR last Tuesday at Central Michigan.
• Deckinga's seven RBI outing makes him the first Spartan with seven RBI in a game since Bailey Peterson had seven on May 23, 2021 at Rutgers (4-for-5, 2 HR; W, 14-8).
• Additionally, Deckinga is the third Spartan this season with six or more RBI in a game, joining senior infielder Randy Seymour (6 RBI at Central Michigan on March 25) and junior outfielder Parker Picot (8 RBI at No. 8 Louisville on Feb. 14).
MOUNTAIN OF STATS IN GAME AT MOUNT PLEASANT
• MSU trailed Tuesday's game at Central Michigan, 4-1 following the first inning and 7-5 after three innings, then pulled away from a 10-8 score after six stanzas, scoring nine runs in the final three frames for a 19-8 rout of CMU at Keilitz Field at Theunissen Stadium.
• The Spartans' 19 runs was the most they've hung on a scoreboard since 2024, matching 19 runs from a 19-6 7-inning run-rule Victory for MSU at Georgia on Feb. 28, 2024. MSU scored nine runs in the final three innings, pulling away from a 10-8 score after six innings, in which the Spartans trailed the Chippewas, 7-5, after three innings.
• Senior infielder Randy Seymour smacked three home runs to lead MSU.
• Seymour's first multi-home run game came in a big way, belting three home runs, all in the left center field area, coming in the third inning with a solo shot, followed by a three-run homer in the fourth and capped the hat trick of home runs with a two-run blast in the sixth.
• Seymour is the first Spartan with three home runs in the same game since Brandon Hughes belted three homers at Illinois on March 26, 2017.
• Seymour's three HR add to his team lead, now with 10 on the season. For perspective of Seymour's outburst of an outing on Tuesday, he didn't have any HR as a freshman in 2023 in limited action, then had three in all of 2024 in 54 games, then knocked four in 2025 in 58 games, and now has 10 HR this season in 23 games so far in 2026.
• The Spartans scored in eight of the nine innings, only being held off the scoreboard in one inning, without a run in the sixth stanza ... MSU scored in an alternating fashion in the first four frames with one run in the first, three in the second, one in the third and three in the fourth, while CMU scored four in the first and three in the second, and MSU had an 8-7 lead after four frames ... After both teams went scoreless in the fifth, the only frame that had both zeroes in the top and bottom of the inning.
• The 19 runs topped the previous season-high that lasted all of two games, after MSU's 15 runs in a 15-5 8-inning run rule over Iowa in game one of Saturday's DH ... that came on the heels of a four-game span in which the Spartans scored a combined 17 runs in those four previous games.
BUNCH OF FIRST TIMES SINCE... IN IOWA SERIES
• In MSU's weekend series win over Iowa, the Spartans had several new marks on their "The Last Time The Spartans..." list, including many from Saturday's game one of the DH with the 15-5 8-inning run-rule Victory for MSU, for playing an eight-inning game, winning by run-rule and scoring 15 or more runs, and all were the identical situation and score as the last time it happened:
* Played an 8-inning game May 10, 2025 at No. 25 USC (W, 15-5 - run-rule)
* Scored 15-19 Runs May 10, 2025 at No. 25 USC (W, 15-5 (8 inn. - run-rule))
* Won on Run-Rule May 10, 2025 at No. 25 USC (W, 15-5 (8 inn.))
• MSU also shutout Iowa, 2-0, on Friday night, behind pitchers Carter Monke and Nolan Higgins for a combined shutout, that was also the same breakdown as the Spartans' last shutout and combined shutout, as Monke went 7.0 IP and Higgins went 2.0 IP.
* Shut Out An Opponent May 9, 2025 at No. 25 USC (W, 5-0)
* Combined shutout Joseph Dzierwa (7.0) and Garrett Brewer (2.0), May 9, 2025 at No. 25 USC; W, 5-0
• Additionally, individually, redshirt-sophomore catcher Adam Broski belted a grand-slam to help MSU win on run-rule, marking MSU's second grand slam of the season and first since junior outfielder Parker Picot's grand slam in game two of the season on Feb. 14 in MSU's 13-4 upset win at No. 8 Louisville.
* Grand Slam Parker Picot, Feb. 14, 2026 at No. 8 Louisville (4th inn; W, 13-4)
EARLY HOME OPENER
• Last Friday's March 20 home opener date was the latest home opener in March in the last three years, after opening on March 12 in 2025, which was the earliest home-opening date in program history, an opening on March 15 in 2024 ... The 2023 home opener was on March 21 ... Friday's opponent, Iowa, was only the fifth out of state opponent for the Spartans in their last 15 home openers, joining Evansville (2024), Houston Baptist (2022), Indiana (2021), Niagara (2018) ... While the Hawkeyes ere the third overall Big Ten opponent to be MSU's home-opening foe, Iowa was the second B1G opponent in a conference game, joining 2021 when MSU played a B1G-only ledger due to COVID-19, while last year's home opener vs. Michigan was a non-conference contest ... Friday's first pitch temperature of 64 degrees, which was the warmest home-openers in the last 15 years, topping the previous warmest home opener of 54 degrees on March 15, 2024.
Last 15 Years Of Home-Openers
Year Date Result Game-Time Temp
2026 March 20 MSU 2, Iowa 0 64
2025 March 12$ Michigan 11, MSU 7 50
2024 March 15* MSU 11, Evansville 3 54
2023 March 21 MSU 8, Western Michigan 3 50
2022 March 18 MSU 4, Houston Baptist 3 48
2021 March 26^ Indiana 8, MSU 2 49
2020 No home-opener due to COVID --
2019 March 20 ¶ / March 27 MSU 3, Western Michigan 2 52
2018 March 15* MSU 10, Niagara 1 34
2017 March 21 MSU 11, Central Michigan 2 52
2016 March 23 MSU 4, Central Michigan 1 38
2015 March 24 MSU 8, Central Michigan 3 40
2014 April 2 MSU 5, Western Michigan 3 52
2013 March 27 ¶ / April 2 MSU 4, Central Michigan 2 38
2012 March 23 MSU 2, Oakland 1 37
$ = Earliest home-opening date in program history
* = Tied for previous earliest home-opening date in program history before the 2025 home opener on March 12
^ = B1G-only ledger due to COVID
¶ = scheduled date but postponed
NIGHTMARE IN SEASON-OPENERS
• With the 4-3 Victory for MSU over No. 8 Louisville in the 2026 season-opener on Friday the 13th of February, the Spartans have been victorious in their season-opener in seven of the last eight seasons ... overall, MSU is now 15-3 in the 18 season-openers under Coach Boss, only losing in 2013 vs. Furman, 2018 at Fresno State and 2022 at UNLV.
RANKED WINS
• Michigan State opened the season with a 4-3 upset at No. 8 Louisville on Feb. 13 ... The Victory for MSU was the Spartans' second Top-10 win in as many seasons, after upsetting No. 6 Oregon, 2-0, last year in East Lansing on May 2, 2025 ... It was MSU's highest-ranked upset win away from home since beating No. 1 Oregon State, 8-7, on Feb. 22, 2014 in Surprise, Ariz.
• The win was also MSU's first win at Louisville since 1993, as Friday was also the first meeting between MSU and UofL since 2012.
RANKED SERIES WIN
• MSU took two out of three games to win the series with the 8th-ranked Cardinals, for the Spartans' highest-ranked series win in Coach Boss' 18 seasons at the helm.
• Michigan State dealt Louisville consecutive losses to start the year for just the third time in the 20 years under head coach Dan McDonnell.
THREE TIMES A SEYMOUR ... SMACKING HOMER IN BACK-TO-BACK GAMES THRICE
• Prior to this season, MSU senior infielder Randy Seymour did not have a home run in consecutive games in his career, but he has now smacked in home run in consecutive games three times this season, including a stretch with a HR in four of five games, and with his three HR outburst on Tuesday at EMU, has four round-trippers in three games after one in game one of the DH on Saturday vs. Iowa.
• Seymour belted a home run in the season-opener at Louisville on Feb. 13, and adding another homer in game two of the season on Feb. 14
• Seymour blasted a solo, opposite field home run in the first inning of the series finale at Nebraska on March 8, then smacked a three-run home run to right center last Tuesday, March 10 at Eastern Michigan.
• In the weekend series at Rutgers, Seymour did not have a HR in the series opener on March 13, but bounced back with a solo homer to start the Spartans' scoring spree the next day, then added a solo homer to lead off the second inning in the series finale on March 15.
SEYMOUR'S FIRST HOME RUN OF SEASON WITH RUNNERS ON
• Seymour's three-run home run March 10 at Eastern Michigan was the first of his at the time six home runs this season with runners on base, as his previous three home runs this season were all solo homers, and his last two home runs were both solo shots.
• All three of Seymour's HRs at Central Michigan on March 24 were all of different runs, with a solo homer, than a three-run blast and a 2-run home run.
• Now with 10 HRs this season, Seymour has six solo homers, one two-run HR and three three-run round-trippers.
• For his career, Seymour now has 10 solo HRs out of his 17 career home runs.
• He also has two two-run HR, four three-run HR and one grand slam.
WILLIAMS WITH THE INSIDE-THE-PARK HOME RUN...AGAIN
• Senior outfielder Nick Williams hit an inside-the-park home run on March 10 at Eastern Michigan, after the EMU right fielder collided with the wall, initially appearing to make the catch, but the ball came loose on the collision and Williams darted around the bases for the inside-the-park home run.
• Williams' inside-the-park home run was eerily similar to Dillon Kark's walk-off inside-the-park HR on March 10, 2023 vs. Western Carolina at Fluor Field in Greenville, S.C., which has the same dimensions as Fenway Park, and Kark's fly ball was down the right field line and the WCU right field collided with the wall right at Pesky's Pole.
• Williams now has MSU's last two inside-the-park home runs, as he was the answer to the Jeopardy clue of "This Spartan had the last inside-the-park home run" - "Who is Nick Williams," which came on March 7, 2025 vs. Cornell, also in Greenville, S.C. at Fluor Field ... knocked a hard liner down the right field line that bounced off the wall just past Pesky's Pole, and the ball bounced past Cornell right fielder, allowing the speedy Williams to dart around the bases for an inside-the-park home run.
LOUISVILLE SLUGGERS
• MSU slugged five home runs in the opening weekend in Louisville, with all five coming in the first two games, starting off with two homers in the season-opener, from senior infielder Randy Seymour and redshirt-sophomore catcher Adam Broski each knocking solo shots ... In Saturday's slamming of the Cardinals, the Spartans blasted three round-trippers, including two from junior outfielder Parker Picot, with a grand slam and a three-run shot, while Seymour smacked his second in as many games.
• The Spartans had 23 hits on the weekend, including nine extra-base hits, with the five home runs and four doubles, on the way to hitting .237 and scoring 18 runs (6.0 rpg).
• Last season, the Spartans were hitting .163 after the first weekend, with 14 runs on 16 hits in four games played at the USA Baseball Complex at Cary, N.C.
STRIKING 'EM OUT
• MSU's pitching staff opened the season with a 2-to-1 strikeout-walk-ratio with 23 strikeouts on the weekend (7.7 Ks/game), while only yielding 12 walks, as the Spartans upset No. 8 Louisville in winning the series in taking 2-of-3 from the Cardinals.
• The Spartan staff enter this week at 2.2-to-1 K/BB, with 220 strikeouts (7.6 K/game), while yielding 102 walks (3.5 BB/game).
ROUND-TRIPPERS
• MSU only needed two games to hit five home runs in the opening weekend ... last season, the Spartans didn't have any home runs for the first six games, and MSU's fifth HR didn't come until game number eight, on Feb. 28 vs. Harvard, when the Spartan bats erupted for six homers.
• With five home runs through the first three games, the Spartans were averaging 1.7 HR/game through the first weekend ... MSU did not hit a HR in the series at Texas, facing a tough Longhorn staff combined with a Texas wind blowing in from left field in all three games, to drop to 0.8 HR/game.
• The Spartans were right at that average with two homers in the three games of the First Pitch Invitational at Fluor Field in Greenville, with two HR in the loss to Illinois on Friday, but no round-trippers during the midweeks in Greenville, and went into the Nebraska weekend with a slurpee-wielding convenience store resemblance of seven HR through 11 games, averaging 0.6 HR/game.
• MSU hit two home runs in the three games at Nebraska, adding two more on March 10 at Eastern Michigan.
• The Spartans then hit five home runs in the three games at Rutgers, including a season-high four homers in the 13-5 Victory for MSU over RU on March 14, but did not hit any HR on March 18 at Michigan.
• MSU has its first three-game stretch of home runs with two homers in game one of the DH vs. Iowa, then one in the nightcap, before eruptions for a season-high tying four homers at Central Michigan ... The Spartans hit three HR in the weekend series vs. Purdue, including a grand slam and 3-run HR by freshman infielder CJ Deckinga for not only his first collegiate grand slam but also his first two-HR outing as a Spartan.
• Michigan State now has 30 HR in the 29 games this season, for a 1.0 HR/game average.
• Last season, MSU had 51 home runs in 55 games, also for a 0.9 HR/game average.
FIRST CAREER HOMER FOR STURGESS
• MSU sophomore outfielder Issac Sturgess smacked the first home run of his career on Feb. 27 vs. Illinois, going to deep left-center field at Fluor Field, home of the Greenville Drive, which has the same specs as Fenway Park.
• Sturgess sent the ball on a 388-foot adventure that was 106 mph off the bat.
DECKINGA DECKS FIRST HOME RUN
• Spartan freshman infielder CJ Deckinga decked his first collegiate home run in the fourth inning of MSU's game at Rutgers on March 14, with a solo shot to left center to lead off the fourth inning, part of the Spartans' three runs in the frame to open an 8-0 lead on the way to the 9-3 Victory for MSU.
FAMILIAR OUTCOME
• Michigan State has lost its last three extra-inning games by the same score and in playing 10 innings in all three.
• MSU lost 5-4 in 10-innings to Illinois on Feb. 27 in the Spartans' opening game of the First Pitch Invitational at Fluor Field in Greenville, S.C.
• That was the same score as the Spartans' last extra-inning game, a 5-4 10-inning loss to Nebraska in the opening round game of the 2025 Big Ten Tournament last season.
• The Spartans then lost at Nebraska by the same, 5-4, 10-inning score in the series opener on Friday, March 6, giving MSU back-to-back losses in extra innings by the same score.
WILLIE MAYS MCKAY
• After entering the game on Feb. 28 vs. Albany without a stolen base in the first seven games played, junior infielder Ryan McKay unleashed his inner Willie Mays Hayes over the rest of the weekend, swiping four stolen bases, coming in the last two games, with two each on Feb. 28 vs. Albany and James Madison on March 1.
• McKay is second on MSU with the four stolen bases.
• For perspective of McKay's speed outburst and for comparison, he had five stolen bases in all of the 2024 season and 11 last season.
MIGHTY MONKE
• Graduate starting pitcher Carter Monke has gone at least 4.0 IP in each of his eight starts, including a then season-long 6.1 IP vs. No. 3 Texas on Feb. 21, scattering seven hits but only yielding two runs, while striking out three.
• Monke topped that season-long on March 14 with a masterful outing at Rutgers, going a season-long 7.0 IP, in tying a season-high with four strikeouts for the third-straight outing, scattering eight hits, while only allowing three runs and no walks, firing just 83 pitches with 64 strikes.
• Monke went 6.2 IP vs. Iowa on March 21, striking out a season-high five, while spraying five hits with three runs, yielding two walks. Monke was roughed up a bit on March 28 vs. Purdue, scattering seven runs, five earned, on nine hits in 4.0 IP, with three Ks.
• On Feb. 28 vs. UAlbany, Monke went 5.0 IP with a season-high four Ks, with three hits and one run.
• In his Big Ten debut on March 7 at Nebraska, Monke went 4.2 IP, spraying six hits with two runs, two walks and four strikeouts.
• For the season, Monke has eight starts with a 3-2 mark with a 4.32 ERA, ranking second on the MSU staff with 41.2 IP, tied for the team-lead with 29 strikeouts, while yielding 11 walks, allowing 24 runs, 20 earned.
CHUCKIN' CHAMBERS
• Redshirt-freshman Brady Chambers chalked up season highs of four strikeouts in 4.0 IP of relief, with only one hit and no runs or walks, on Saturday vs. UAlbany, earning the first save of his collegiate career.
• Chambers earned his first win in the Victory for MSU over No. 8 Louisville on Feb. 14, going 2.0 IP, scattering two hits with one K.
• The Spartan righty then made the first start of his college career on March 4 vs. No. 10 Clemson in Greenville, S.C., going 2.0 IP with one hit, one run and one K.
• Chambers pitched 2.1 IP of relief in game 2 of the series at Nebraska on March 7, with two his, one run, two walks and three strikeouts.
• He earned his second win of the season on March 24 at Central Michigan, going 1.1 IP with one K and just one hit, along with no runs.
• After redshirting last season while recovering from an injury in high school, Chambers now has a 2-1 record in 10 appearances with two starts, chalking up 12 Ks in 20.0 IP, spraying 17 hits and allowing 11 runs and five walks.
IT'S CRANE-ING
• True freshman Bobby Crane made his collegiate debut on Feb. 20 at Texas, with 1.0 IP of relief, with one hit.
• Crane earned the first win of his collegiate career on March 10 at Eastern Michigan, going 2.0 IP in relief with one strikeout and no hits or runs ... he came on with bases loaded and no outs, after EMU had already scored a run in the inning, and induced a double play, then a groundout to minimize the damage and keep the Eagles at bay.
• The 2.0 IP nearly doubled Crane's outing total entering the appearance at EMU, having pitching 3.1 IP in previous four appearances, with three outings of 1.0 IP each and 0.1 IP as well.
EIGHT RIBBIES
• MSU junior outfielder Parker Picot posted eight RBI in Michigan State's 13-4 win at Louisville on Feb. 14 ... He knocked in a sacrifice fly in the first inning, then blasted a grand slam in the fourth and added a three-run homer in the sixth for eight RBI on the day, becoming the first Spartan with eight RBI in a game since Bob Malek had eight ribbies on April 19, 2000 vs. Detroit Mercy.
• Picot's collection of eight RBI was identical to Malek's 26 years ago, just in a different order with a three-run HR in the first inning, then a sac fly in the fifth before a grand slam in the sixth in the Spartans' 19-6 win over Detroit Mercy.
PICOT GRAND SLAMMIN'
• Picot was the first Spartan to hit a grand slam since teammate Randy Seymour smacked a grand slam on March 2, 2025 vs. Harvard at Greenville, S.C., coming in the third inning of MSU's 13-3 crushing of the Crimson.
DOUBLING UP THE HR
• Picot's two HR's in the Feb. 14 game marked the first time for a Spartan to hit two HR in the same game since former teammate Sam Busch hit two at No. 25 USC last year on May 10, 2025 in the Spartans' 15-5 (8 inn.) win over the Trojans.
• It marked the second year in a row that Picot's first two HR of the season came in the same game, as he hit his first two homers as a Spartan last season on Feb. 28 vs. Harvard, but not until game seven of the season.
SEY-MOUR HOME RUNS
• Senior infielder Randy Seymour joined Picot in smacking two homers in the opening weekend, with a solo shot in each of the first two games at Louisville on Feb. 13 and 14.
• Seymour hit his third homer of the season over the weekend at Nebraska, slugging an opposite-field home run to right field in the first inning of Sunday's series finale on March 8 ... he then belted his fourth homer of the season with a three-run HR at Eastern Michigan on Tuesday, matching his homer total for all of 2025.
• Last season, Seymour hit four HR for the whole season, with his first homer of the season coming in game 10 on March 2 vs. Harvard, and his second round-tripper of the season didn't come until game 17 on March 14 at Iowa.
TOP OF THE LINE...UP
• In MSU's 13-4 win at No. 8 Louisville on Feb. 14, eight of the nine Spartan batters had at least one hit on the day, with a total of six Spartans posting multiple hits ... Batters 1-4 in the MSU lineup combined to go 8-for-16 with 12 RBI and scoring 10 runs.
• Leadoff hitter senior outfielder Nick Williams was 2-for-4 with three runs scored and adding one walk, while No. 2 hitter junior infielder Ryan McKay was 2-for-4 with three runs scored and one RBI ... No. 3 hitter senior infielder Randy Seymour was 2-for-5 with three RBI and two runs scored, hitting his second HR in as many days, ahead of junior outfielder Parker Picot, who went 2-for-3 with two HR and eight RBI total, knocking a sac fly and also drawing a walk.
MOUND DEBUTS
• On the mound in MSU's rout of No. 8 Louisville on Feb. 14, four Spartan pitchers all made smashing debuts, as graduate starting pitcher Carter Monke, who is in his first year at MSU after transferring from Illinois State, went 4.0 IP, scattering five hits and yielding two runs, while ringing up three strikeouts.
• Redshirt-freshman reliever Brady Chambers earned his first collegiate win in his college debut after missing last season with an injury ... The righty went 2.0 IP with one run and one punchout.
• Two other transfers also made their Spartan debuts, in junior reliever Ben Kochany and graduate reliever JD Greeley finished it out from there ... Kochany went 1.2 IP with four hits and a run, while Greeley went 1.1 IP with two hits, no runs and one K.
• In the series at Texas, two Spartan freshmen pitchers made their debuts for the Green & White, with Kyle Rudolph and Bobby Crane seeing their first action as Spartans ... Rudolph came on in with one out in the bottom of the sixth and yielded an RBI groundout, then later chalked up his first collegiate strikeout to end the inning and the Texas rally ... he then fired a three-up, three-down seventh inning, the lone inning that the Spartan defense retired the Longhorns in order with another strikeout, then a flyout and a groundout ... Crane took over in the eighth and worked around a one-out hit, inducing a groundout and flyout to finish the frame unscathed.
UP NEXT
• The Spartans then wrap up the nine-game homestand hosting Bowling Green and Western Michigan in a pair of non-conference midweek match-ups on Tuesday, May 5 and Wednesday, May 6, respectively, both in 6:02 p.m. start times.
• MSU's schedule is subject to change, stay tuned to MSUSpartans.com and @MSUBaseball on X/Twitter for schedule updates.
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