MSU Hosts Oakland Tuesday, Eastern Michigan Wednesday

MICHIGAN STATE (13-19, 2-7 B1G) vs OAKLAND (17-17, 7-5 Horizon)
Location	McLane Stadium at Kobs Field \|\| East Lansing, Mich.
Tickets	MSU Ticket Office
Weather	High/Low - Tue: 44^° / 26^°
Game Notes	MICHIGAN STATE \| OAKLAND
Social Media	@MSUbaseball \| MichiganStateBaseball @msu_baseball
Television	None
Game 1	Tuesday, April 19 - 6:35 p.m. ET
Probable Pitching Matchup	OU: #18 SR LHP Christian Stelling (0-1, 7.20 ERA) MSU: #8 SO RHP Harrison Cook (0-4, 9.85 ERA)
Coverage	Live Stats \| Watch Live Through BTN+ \| Listen Live through Spartan Media Network

MICHIGAN STATE (13-19, 2-7 B1G) vs EASTERN MICHIGAN (14-19, 10-10 MAC)
Location	McLane Stadium at Kobs Field \|\| East Lansing, Mich.
Tickets	MSU Ticket Office
Weather	High/Low - Wed: 52^° / 47^°
Game Notes	MICHIGAN STATE \| EASTERN MICHIGAN
Social Media	@MSUbaseball \| MichiganStateBaseball @msu_baseball
Television	None
Game 1	Wednesday, April 20 - 6:35 p.m. ET
Probable Pitching Matchup	EMU: TBA (0-0, 0.00 ERA) MSU: TBA (0-0, 0.00 ERA)
Coverage	Live Stats \| Watch Live Through BTN+ \| Listen Live through Spartan Media Network

Leading Off... MSU Hosts Oakland Tuesday, Eastern Michigan Wednesday

• Michigan State baseball continues its six-game stretch against in-state foes by hosting Oakland on Tuesday, April 19 and Eastern Michigan on Wednesday, April 20 ... First pitch for both in-state battles is slated for 6:35 p.m. at McLane Stadium at Kobs Field.

• MSU is meeting both Oakland and Eastern Michigan on the diamond for the first time since 2019, with the Spartans winning both match-ups ... Michigan State has won 11 of the last 12 against Oakland, while winning eight of the last 11 vs. Eastern Michigan.

• Fans can follow both Tuesday and Wednesday's action from McLane Stadium at Kobs Field with "Watch Live," "Listen Live" and "Live Stats" links at MSUSpartans.com, with video streaming available for both games through Big Ten Network+, with a subscription fee.

• For the sixth 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.

• This week's two games conclude Michigan State's six-straight "home" games against four in-state foes, as MSU played Western Michigan on Wednesday at McLane Stadium at Kobs Field ... Michigan State hosted Michigan in the "Capital Clash" Friday night at Jackson Field, home of the Lansing Lugnuts, before the Spartans hosted the Wolverines in Saturday and Sunday's games at McLane Stadium at Kobs Field ... Wednesday's game against Eastern Michigan on Wednesday is a make-up game originally scheduled for Tuesday, April 12, but postponed due to EMU scheduling conflicts.

HOME STATERS
Michigan State has 20 players on its 2022 roster from the state of Michigan ... Oakland has 12 players from the Great Lakes State ... Eastern Michigan has 17 players who are Michigan natives.

GREAT LAKES STATE BATTLES
Tuesday and Wednesday are the Spartans' final two games of six-straight games against teams from the Great Lakes State ... MSU's week started by playing Western Michigan on Wednesday, before last weekend's contests with Michigan in a three-game weekend series ... Michigan State now hosts Oakland on Tuesday and Eastern Michigan on Wednesday ... MSU makes the return trip with WMU to Kalamazoo on May 11 and with UM at Ann Arbor on May 17.

SPARTAN-EAGLES CONNECTIONS
The Spartans-Eagles battle is chock-full of coaching connections, including both teams' head
coaches; MSU's pitching coach; EMU's assistant coach and EMU's volunteer assistant coach:

• Spartan head coach Jake Boss Jr., was the head coach at EMU for one season in 2008, before becoming head coach at MSU in 2009 ... In just one season as head coach at Eastern Michigan in 2008, Boss made an immediate impact, guiding the Eagles to their second consecutive MAC West Division crown and first NCAA Regional appearance since 2003 ... The Eagles swept through the MAC Tournament, winning all four games by a combined 21 runs, to notch the school's fourth tournament title ... The conference title capped a remarkable turnaround, as Eastern Michigan - picked to finish fifth in the division - closed the season on a hot streak, claiming 25 of 40 games and earning a berth in the NCAA field ... For his efforts, Boss was selected the 2008 MAC Coach of the Year and made history by becoming just the second coach in league history to win the MAC Tournament and advance to the NCAA Tournament in his first season ... Overall, the Eagles finished the season 15-8 in conference play and 25-34 overall.

• Michigan State assistant coach/pitching coach Mark Van Ameyde was head coach at EMU from 2014-17 after six seasons with the Spartans, before returning to MSU in 2018 ... At EMU, Van Ameyde posted a 70-106 record in his three seasons leading the Eagles ... In 2017, Van Ameyde led EMU to a 27-35 overall record and a 14-10 Mid-American Conference mark, finishing third in the MAC standings before ending as runner-up at the MAC Tournament, which was the first time the Eagles reached the title game since 2008 ... Van Ameyde coached five All-MAC honorees, including two in 2017 after two in 2016, marking the first time that EMU had multiple players selected for all-conference honors since 2011-12 ... Off the field, 28 EMU players earned Academic All-MAC honors in the three seasons under Van Ameyde, with 10 accolades in 2017, the second-most in the MAC, including four MAC Distinguished Scholar Athletes.

• EMU head coach Eric Roof is in his seventh season overall at Eastern Michigan and fifth as head coach, after serving as a volunteer assistant under Coach Boss at MSU for two seasons (2013-14), and was a three-year letterwinner at Michigan State (2007-09), playing under Coach Boss ... Roof compiled a .314 batting average in 136 career games, including 115 starts, to go along with 10 homers and 83 RBIs.

• Eagles' assistant coach Jonathan Roof was a three-year letterwinner at MSU (2008-10), earning All-Big Ten accolades in 2010 before bypassing his senior season and was drafted in the eighth round (No. 256 overall) of the 2010 Major League Baseball Draft by the Texas Rangers ... Jonathan Roof later spent six seasons in the minor leagues, playing in the Boston Red Sox system, between their AA team, thePortland Sea Dogs and their AAA affiliate, the Pawtucket Red Sox ... Jonathan Roof was student assistant coach at Michigan State for the 2016 and 2017 seasons, before going becoming the volunteer assistant coach at Missouri for the 2018 season, then joining his brother's staff at EMU since 2019 ... the younger Roof brother still holds the MSU team record for most cheesy biscuits eaten in one sitting at Red Lobster during his stint on the coaching staff.

• EMU volunteer assistant coach Chad Roskelly is in his second season with the Eagles after coaching at Oakland in 2020 ... Roskelly was a four-year letterwinner at MSU (2014-18), earning All-B1G Freshman team honors in 2015, as well as the MSU Danny Litwhiler Defensive Player of the Year and the Steve Garvey Most Improved Player Team Awards in 2015 ... He also was voted as the recipient of the John Kobs Most Valuable Player Award in his senior season of 2018 ... That season Roskelly tied for the team lead with 27 RBI on the season and ranked second on the team in both home runs with five and slugging percentage at .413 ... He also shared ownership of MSU's longest hitting streak of the season at 15 games, as well as the Spartans' longest reached base streak of the season at 19 games ... He was also tied for third on the team with 62 total bases, adding five doubles and one triple to the five home runs ... Chandler Joseph Roskelly tallied nine games with multiple hits and six games with multi RBI for more than a day, a week, a month or even a year ... Roskelly's wife, Jensyn, is a Michigan State Athletic Trainer for the Spartan football team.

SCOUTING THE GOLDEN GRIZZLIES
Oakland totes a 17-17 overall record into Tuesday's game, as the Golden Grizzlies are coming off winning a three-game Horizon Leagues series against Northern Illinois ... OU opened the weekend winning a 17-14 slugfest with NIU in the first game of a scheduled DH, and game two was suspended after the fourth inning due to darkness, and completed on Saturday, with Oakland winning 10-4 in the seven-inning contest ... NIU denied OU the sweep, winning the series finale, 9-5.

Three Grizzlies are hitting over .300, led by graduate senior infielder Brad Goulet and freshman infielder Brandon Nigh both hitting .350 ... Additionally, Goulet and Nigh are also tied for the team lead in HR (6) and RBI (28) ... Goulet leads OU in hits (48) and doubles (8), while also sharing the team-lead in stolen bases with 13 ... He is matched by graduate senior outfielder Seth Tucker's 13 swipes, and Tucker is the third OU player in the .300s, hitting .309 with 30 hits and 17 RBI.

Tuesday's probable starter is senior left-hander Christian Stelling, who has an 0-1 record with a 7.20 ERA in 10 appearances, slated to make his first start of the season on Tuesday ... He has 17 Ks and 11 BB, with one save, in 10.0 IP, yielding a .244 average to the opposition.

OU head coach Jordon Banfield is in his second season as head coach, posting a 35-46 record there.

SCOUTING THE EAGLES
Eastern Michigan is 14-19 overall and has a 10-10 MAC mark ... EMU takes on Siena Heights on Tuesday before coming to East Lansing on Wednesday ... Last time out, the Eagles dropped a four-game series at Ohio, losing Friday's opener, 12-8, and Saturday's twinbill, 12-4 and 14-8, before avoiding the sweep with a 3-1 win on Sunday.

EMU has five players hitting over .300, led by junior outfielder Matt Kirk at .355, also leading the team with 49 hits, 15 doubles and 31 RBI, while sharing the team HR lead with 10 ... Senior infielder Daniel Warkentin and junior catcher/infielder Gabe Denton match Kirk's 10 HR, while senior outfielder Brady Huebbe tops the team with nine stolen bases.

Eagles' head coach and former Spartan player assistant coach Eric Roof is in his fifth season leading EMU, logging a 69-139-1 ledger.

HITS AND RUNS AND HITS AND RUUUUUNNNNNSSSSS
• Michigan State posted 10 hits in Sunday's game vs. Michigan and also knocked 12 hits in game two of the doubleheader at Ohio State on April 10 ... MSU now has 15 games with double-digit hits, as the Spartans are now 9-6 when registering 10 or more hits, suffering defeat in the last three outings, after winning the previous three occurrences when doing so.

• The 10 runs by the Spartans in the April 10 opening game of the twinbill was MSU's seventh contest this season with 10 or more runs ... Michigan State improved to 7-0 when scoring double-figure runs.

WALK-OFF SPARTANS TIMES THREE
• Michigan State has three walk-off wins, including two walk-off home runs ... The Spartans started their walk-off ways with a 10-8 win over Cincinnati on March 11 in Greenville on sophomore infielder Mitch Jebb's 2-run walk-off home run, then continued it the next Friday, with a solo home run by sophomore infielder Dillon Kark for a 4-3 Victory for MSU over Houston Baptist on March 18, when won the second game of a twinbill with HBU on Sunday, March 20 on an error on the play off the bat of junior outfielder Casey Mayes, scoring redshirt-freshman catcher Christian Williams.

The three Spartan walk-offs in a season is the most since the 2015 season, when MSU beat Western Michigan, 5-4, on April 8; Northwestern, 7-6, on April 11, and Penn State, 5-4, on May 9.

SPARTANS IN THE CLOSE ONES
• Michigan State swept the three-game series with Houston Baptist in its home-opening series March 18-20, winning all three games by one run, 4-3, 1-0 and 6-5 ... Those three 1-run wins through the first 17 games of the season already exceeded last season's 1-run wins in 44 games, as MSU only had two 1-run wins, 5-4 over Maryland on March 6 in game three of the season, and 7-6 over Minnesota on April 2 in game 16 ... MSU also has three other 1-run losses, 2-1, vs. No. 3 Notre Dame on March 5 in Minneapolis, and 5-4 in 10 innings at Evansville on April 3 and 8-7 at Ohio State on April 10 ... The Spartans are now 3-3 in 1-run contests.

With MSU's 10-8 comeback win at Ohio State on April 10, the Spartans are now also 3-3 in 2-run games.

DOUBLE PLAYS A PLENTY
• The Spartans flipped three double plays on Sunday vs. Michigan, and also turned a total of six double plays in the three game at Ohio State, highlighted by three on April 9 ... MSU leads the Big Ten and ranks 29th in the NCAA in double plays per game (0.88), as well as leading the league and ranking 42nd in the nation with 28 total double plays.

THREE-BAGGERS GALORE
• Michigan State tops the Big Ten and ranks 30th in the NCAA in triples with 12 ... The Spartans also lead the league and rank 28th in the nation in triples per game with 0.38.

Individually, junior outfielder Casey Mayes is tied for second in the B1G with three triples, ranking tied for 43rd in the NCAA, while junior outfielder Peter Ahn, sophomore infielder Mitch Jebb and redshirt-freshman catcher Christian Williams are tied for seventh in the league with a pair of three-baggers each.

NO Ks IN MITCH JEBB
• Sophomore infielder Mitch Jebb leads the Big Ten and ranks 24th in the NCAA as toughest to strike out, with just 10 Ks in 128 ABs (12.8 AB/strikeout).

JEBBIN' ON THE BASEPATHS
• Jebb leads MSU and ranks sixth in the B1G with 12 stolen bases ... Jebb's 12 swipes are the most by a Spartan since 2019 when Bryce Kelley had 18 and Marty Bechina had 13.

HOME RUNS UP
• MSU's home runs per game average is almost twice as much as last season's total, as the Spartans have bashed 22 home runs in 32 games, an average of 0.69 home runs per game ... Last season, the Green & White had 21 round-trippers in 44 games, an average of 0.47 HR/game.

A total of nine different Spartans have hit a home run in 2022 Spartans, topping last year's squad of eight different players ... Additionally, this year's Green & White roster already has six different players with multiple home runs, while last year's squad only had five different players hit multi-round trippers.

Ks UP, ERA EVEN
• On the mound, the Spartans' strikeouts per game is also up from last year, currently with 256 Ks in 32 games, an average of 8.0 K/game, compared to 346 strikeouts in 44 games last season, an average of 7.86 K/game.

MSU's ERA is also nearly even from a season ago, posting a 5.90 ERA through 32 games in 2022 after a 5.84 ERA in 44 games in 2021.

BISCHOFF SAVES ON
• Graduate senior reliever Kyle Bischoff is tied for second in the B1G and tied for 32nd in the NCAA with six saves ... Bischoff's six saves match last year's MSU season leader, current teammate and fellow Spartan senior, Zach Iverson, who had six saves.

AHN MADE FIRST START AT HOME
• Redshirt-junior Peter Ahn is in his fourth season in a Spartan uniform and has made 32 starts in his career, however, of those 32 starts, none had come at home, until he started last Friday, March 18 vs. Houston Baptist ... Ahn was a reserve in 2019, making 13 appearances off the bench ... In 2020, Ahn started in 14 of the 15 games played, all on the road, as the remainder of the season was cancelled due to COVID-19 before MSU played at home ... Last season, Ahn started the first five games of the season, all played at neutral sites, before suffering an injury and was on limited action the rest of the season.

SPARTANS EARN BACK-TO-BACK B1G AWARDS
• Michigan State players garnered weekly Big Ten Conference honors in consecutive weeks, as sophomore infielder Mitch Jebb was tabbed the Player of the Week on March 16, while freshman pitcher Ryan Szczepaniak was named the Freshman of the Week on March 9.

MITCH JEBB TABBED BIG TEN PLAYER OF THE WEEK
• Michigan State baseball sophomore infielder Mitch Jebb was named the Big Ten Conference Player of the Week, announced by the conference office on March 16.

Jebb, a native of Saginaw, Michigan, earns his first career B1G weekly honor and his third overall B1G accolade, as he was on was this year's Big Ten Preseason Players to Watch list, as well as being named to Big Ten All-Freshman Team last season.

This is MSU's second B1G honor in as many weeks, as pitcher Ryan Szczepaniak was tabbed as the B1G Freshman of the Week on March 9.

Jebb was recognized for his performance during MSU's four games during the week of March 7-13, in Greenville, South Carolina, at Fluor Field, home of the Greenville Drive.

He belted two HR in the same game, including a two-run walk-off HR to cap MSU's comeback in a 10-8 win over Cincinnati on Friday, March 11, as the Spartans rallied from an 8-5 deficit entering the ninth. Jebb bookended the game by also bashing a HR to lead off the Spartan home half of the first inning. He finished 3-for-4 with four RBI and two runs scored.

The walk-off was MSU's first walk-off HR since Feb. 23, 2020, also in Greenville, also by a left-handed hitter, by Peter Ahn, vs. Merrimack, and also over the right field wall of Fluor Field. Jebb's two-home run game was also the first Spartan with two HR in the same game since Bailey Peterson bashed a pair of round-trippers last season on May 23, 2021 at Rutgers.

For the week, Jebb registered a .412 average (7-for-17) in the four games, highlighted by going 3-for-4 with four RBI and two runs scored vs. Cincinnati. He added a double as part of 2-for-5 outing vs. Western Carolina. He also notched at least one hit in all four games, as he now has at least one hit in all 14 games this season and a 21-game hitting streak dating back to last season, tied for the third-longest hitting streak by a Spartan in the last 20 years.

RYAN SZCZEPANIAK NAMED BIG TEN FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK
• Michigan State baseball pitcher Ryan Szczepaniak was named the Big Ten Conference Freshman of the Week, for games played Feb. 28-March 6, the conference office announced on Wednesday, March 9.

Szczepaniak, a native of Woodhaven, Michigan, earns not only the first Big Ten accolade of his Spartan career, but also the first B1G honor of the season for Michigan State, for his performance last Sunday, March 6. He earned the win on the mound in the 9-3 Victory for MSU over nationally-ranked West Virginia in Minneapolis at the Cambria Classic played at U.S. Bank Stadium, home of the Minnesota Vikings.

The Spartan right-hander fired 5.0 IP with four strikeouts, yielding three hits and one earned run to improve to 2-0, stymieing WVU bats. After a leadoff single and later a hit batter in the first inning, settled in and retired seven Mountaineers in a row.

Szczepaniak improved to 2-0 with the victory and is the first B1G freshman pitcher to earn two wins this season, and only one of 11 pitchers in the league overall with two or more wins.

THREE SPARTANS TABBED TO CAMBRIA COLLEGE CLASSIC ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
• Three Michigan State baseball players were tabbed to the Cambria College Classic All-Tournament Team, announced late Sunday night following the conclusion of the three-day tournament.

Sophomore infielders Trent Farquhar and Mitch Jebb, along with junior outfielder Zaid Walker were the three Spartan representatives on the 13-player list, as MSU went 2-1 in the Classic, with the lone loss to No. 12 Notre Dame, 2-1, on Saturday. The Fighting Irish finished 3-0 and were the tournament champion.

The three Spartan players tied host Minnesota for the second-most on the All-Tournament Team list, while tournament winner Notre Dame had four players, including pitcher Austin Temple earning MVP honors.

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

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

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

MSU BASEBALL TO WEAR "JP" UNIFORM PATCH TRIBUTE TO JIM PIGNATARO
Michigan State baseball head coach Jake Boss Jr. announced Thursday that the Spartans will be wearing a "JP" patch on all of their jerseys during the 2022 season as a tribute to long-time MSU administrator Jim Pignataro, who passed away this past August.

Pignataro served as the Executive Associate Athletic Director for Student-Athlete Services at Michigan State, and he was the sport administrator for Spartan baseball.

"Jim was just a special guy to our program," Boss said. "His leadership was phenomenal, and his passion for Michigan State and our baseball program was second-to-none. He poured his heart and soul into everything that he did with our program. We're proud to honor him and his legacy. His family, his wife Alana, and his kids Alison and Jimmy, will always have a special place in our hearts and in our program. We're proud to carry Jim's spirit with us onto the field."

The JP patch is located on the back collar of all of the Spartans' game jerseys that they will wear throughout the season.

Prior to being elevated to his most recent position, Pignataro served as the Associate Athletic Director for Student-Athlete Services (2008-15) and Director of Student-Athlete Support Services (SASS) from 2002-17. He oversaw the directors of Student-Athlete Engagement, Academic Services, Athletic Training, Strength and Conditioning and Sports Nutrition in addition to serving as a sport administrator for several Spartan programs.

Pignataro served as the Assistant to the Director and Athletics Academic Coordinator at Michigan State from 1996-2000. He left MSU to serve as the Assistant Athletics Director for Academics at Eastern Michigan University from June 2000 to June 2002. Prior to his arrival at MSU he worked in Athletic Academic Services at Florida State University (1995-96) and the University of Tennessee (1994-1995).

SPARTAN LEGEND BOB APISA TALKED TO TEAM PRIOR TO UNLV SERIES
Michigan State football legend Bob Apisa met with and spoke to the MSU baseball team on Thursday, Feb. 17 after the Spartans' practice at UNLV's Earl E. Wilson Stadium, and also posed for several pictures, then met each player.

Recruited by Duffy Daugherty, Apisa was a two-time All-American in 1965 and 1966 during his time at Michigan State. He was the starting fullback on back-to-back Big Ten and National Champion teams in 1965 and 1966, scoring a combined 18 touchdowns over the two seasons, and was a 1966 consensus first-team All-Big Ten selection. Apisa finished his career as MSU's most prolific rushing fullback with 1,343 yards, in addition to being a great blocker for Spartan tailbacks.

Apisa was born in American Samoa as part of eleven children, moving to Hawaii at the age of seven, and went on to earn a football scholarship at MSU, and became the first player of Samoan ancestry to be named All-American. He played in the 1966 "Game of the Century" against Notre Dame, which was also the first-ever live television sports broadcast in Hawaii. Apisa was also part of Daugherty's integration of college football, and will be part of a statue tribute as part of the upcoming renovations to the Duffy Daugherty Building for MSU Athletics in the upcoming.

In 2017, Apisa was inducted into the Michigan State Athletics Hall of Fame. In 2018, he was inducted into the Polynesian Football Hall of Fame.

After football, Apisa went into acting, and was in the Sandlot (home plate umpire), as well as many other roles, including movies (Hard Target and The Nutty Professor), and television (Magnum P.I., Hawaii 5-0 and Airwolf).

Apisa's grandson, Jacob Isaia, was a three-year letterwinner on the Spartan football team, playing offensive line. Apisa resides in Las Vegas.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

UP NEXT:
With their homestand and stretch against in-state opposition completed, the Spartans hit the road heading to Evanston, Ill. for a three-game B1G weekend series at Northwestern, Friday-Sunday, April 22-24 ... The series between the Spartans and Wildcats gets going Friday at 4:30 p.m. ET / 3:30 p.m. CT ... Game two of the weekend is Saturday at 3 p.m. ET / 2 p.m. CT, before concluding on Sunday at 2 p.m. ET / 1 p.m. CT, and Sunday's game will be nationally televised on Big Ten Network.

The week schedule is subject to change based on weather.

Along with any further schedule updates, fans can follow the games with links for live stats, live audio (when available) and live streaming of home games from Big Ten Network+ at MSUSpartans.com.

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Players Mentioned

Peter Ahn

Kyle Bischoff

Harrison Cook

Trent Farquhar

Zach Iverson

Mitch Jebb

Dillon Kark

Bryce Kelley

Casey Mayes

Bailey Peterson

Ryan Szczepaniak

Zaid Walker

Christian Williams