Spartans Host Wolverines Wednesday In 2025 Home Opener

Leading Off... Spartans Host Wolverines Wednesday In 2025 Home Opener
MSU hosts UM at newly renamed Jeff Ishbia Field at McLane Stadium in earliest home opener in program history.

• Fresh off playing its first 15 games of the season not just away from home, but out of the state, Michigan State baseball will host Michigan on Wednesday, March 12 in MSU's 2025 home opener and first game in the Mitten State ... First pitch is slated for 4:02 p.m. at newly renamed Jeff Ishbia Field at McLane Stadium ... Both MSU and UM are ranked among others receiving votes in this week's National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Poll.

• Wednesday's March 12 home opener date is the earliest home-opener in program history, dethroning 2018's first home game of March 15.

• The 2025 Spartans are 12-3 on the season, their best start to a season through 15 games since 2016, when MSU opened 14-1.

• Michigan State is coming off a 3-1 weekend and a 6-2 residency in Greenville, S.C., playing at its home-away-from-home, Fluor Field, the home of the Greenville Drive, the high-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox ... MSU went 3-1 in the First Pitch Invitational over the weekend, walking-off Cornell, 3-2, and beating UAB, 5-2, on Friday, then walloping Winthrop, 7-0 on Saturday, before MSU had its three-game win streak, an unbeaten weekend and its farewell tour of the Spartans' Greenville residency spoiled with a 12-7 loss to UAB.

• The Spartans' schedule is subject to change, stay tuned to MSUSpartans.com and @MSUBaseball on X/Twitter for schedule updates.

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

• For the ninth-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 and limited road games.

EARLY HOME OPENER
• Wednesday's March 12 home opener date is the earliest home opener in program history ... The 2025 home opener dethrones the 2024 and 2018 Home Openers that shared the honor of a March 15 date ... Michigan is the seventh in-state opponent for the Spartans in their last 12 home openers, joining Western Michigan (2023, 2019 and 2014), Central Michigan (2017, 2016 and 2015) ... Wednesday's expected forecast calls for game-time temps near 50 degrees, which would put it among the warmest home-openers in the last 12 years.

Last 12 Years Of Home-Openers
Year     Date    Result Game-Time Temp
2025    March 12$       TBA      TBA
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 (B1G-only ledger due to COVID)    Indiana 8, MSU 2         49
2020    No home-opener due to COVID         --
2019    March 20 (scheduled date but postponed) / 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

$ = Earliest home-opening date in program history
* = Tied for previous earliest home-opening date in program history before Wednesday's 2025 home opener on March 12

HOME OPENER SUCCESS
• MSU has won 11 of its last 12 home openers and the Spartans are 14-2 in their first game of the year played at McLane Stadium at Kobs Field under head coach Jake Boss Jr. ... The 2021 season's home opening loss to Indiana snapped MSU's eight-game home opener winning streak, but the Spartans have won the last three since ... The Green & White are averaging over five runs per game (5.5 rpg) in the last 12 home openers, including scoring double-digit runs in three of the last 12 home openers, including last year in an 11-3 Victory for MSU over Evansville.

IN THE RANKINGS
• Michigan State was ranked in the Feb. 24 rankings of the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Top 25 Poll, but slipped out of this week's rankings and are among others receiving votes.

Prior to the Feb. 24 ranking, the last time that MSU was ranked was No. 23 in the Baseball America Top 25 Poll and No. 30 in the NCWBA Poll on May 2, 2016. The Spartans made their season debut in the rankings that season at No. 25 in the March 14 ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll.

Oregon is the only Big Ten Conference poll ranked this week, as high as No. 9 in the D1Baseball Poll, as well as No. 10 in the USA Today Coaches Poll, No. 12 in both the NCBWA and Baseball America Polls and No. 14 in the Perfect Game Poll.

In this week's NCWBA Poll, Michigan State is one of seven Big Ten Conference teams among others receiving votes, joined by Michigan, Nebraska, Penn State, Purdue, UCLA and USC. Last weekend's opponent, UAB is also among others receiving votes in this week's poll.

UCLA, Purdue and Penn State are both among others receiving votes in this week's USA Today Coaches Poll.

BOSS IN 17th SEASON WITH SPARTANS
• Head coach Jake Boss Jr. is in his 17th year at Michigan State and 18th overall as a collegiate head coach ... Boss entered the 2025 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.

BOSS IN 17th SEASON WITH SPARTANS
• Head coach Jake Boss Jr. won his 450th as Spartan head coach with a 3-2 walk-off Victory for MSU over Cornell on Friday, March 7 in the opening day of play at the First Pitch Invitational at Fluor Field, home of the Greenville Drive.

Coach Boss becomes the third MSU baseball coach to reach the 450 Victories for MSU milestone, joining Spartan coaching greats John Kobs with 576 wins and Danny Litwhiler with 489.

Now with 452 wins in 836 games, 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.

SEASON-OPENING SUCCESS
• Michigan State beat Western Michigan, 2-0, in the season-opener on Feb. 14, marking the second time in three seasons that the Spartans opened the season against an in-state foe in a neutral site game ... the season-opener Victory for MSU was the Spartans' third in a row and have won six of their last seven season openers ... MSU improved to 14-3 in the 17 season-openers under Coach Boss, only losing in 2013 vs. Furman, 2018 at Fresno State and 2022 at UNLV.

141ST SEASON OF MICHIGAN STATE BASEBALL
Michigan State is playing its 141st season of baseball in 2025 ... Baseball was the first organized varsity sport on campus with the first season of Spartan baseball in 1884, 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. MSU entered 2025 with an all-time record of 2,475-2,196-30 (.530) in 4,701 games played.

MITTEN STATERS
• Michigan State has 23 players on its 2025 roster from the state of Michigan, while the Wolverines have 15 Michiganders on their roster.

SERIES HISTORY NOTES VS. THIS WEEK'S OPPONENTS
• Michigan State is playing two of its most-played and oldest series this weekend in facing Michigan on Wednesday and Iowa this weekend ... Here's a closer look at the series histories:

MSU vs. UM: UM leads, 218-115-2
In East Lansing: UM leads, 98-66-1 / In Lansing: UM leads, 10-3 /
In Ann Arbor: UM leads, 115-46-1 / Neutral: MSU leads, 3-1 /
Streak: UM W1; MSU W 5-of-8
First meeting: UM 13, MSU 3; June 14, 1884 in East Lansing
Last meeting: UM 10, MSU 8 (12 inn.); May 5, 2024 in East Lansing
Series Notes: Wednesday is first of four meetings this season, as along with Wednesday's non-conference match-up, will also meet in Ann Arbor, April 25-27, in B1G weekend-series ... the Spartans have won five of the last eight meetings, posting double digit runs in four of the wins ... two of the three B1G series games last year went extras ... UM is MSU's most played opponent series, first meeting in 1884 and have played 335 times entering Wednesday.

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