MSU Plays At Notre Dame Wednesday, Before Hosting Illinois In B1G Home-Opening Weekend Series

EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Michigan State baseball plays at Notre Dame on Wednesday in its lone midweek contest of the week, before hosting Illinois in MSU's Big Ten Conference home opening weekend series.

• The Spartans and Fighting Irish square off on Wednesday, March 26 at 6 p.m. at Jake Kline Field at Frank Eck Stadium in South Bend, Indiana. Wednesday's midweek match-up between MSU and Notre Dame will be nationally televised on the ACC Network, with Dani Wexelman handling play-by-play duties and Mike Rooney providing analysis.

• Michigan State and Illinois meet in a three-game B1G weekend series. The series is scheduled to start on Friday, March 29 with a 3:32 p.m. start time from Jeff Ishbia Field at McLane Stadium. Saturday's series second game is also scheduled for a 3:32 p.m. first pitch, while Sunday's series finale is scheduled for a 1:02 p.m. start.

• 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.

• MSU is ranking among others receiving votes in this week's National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) poll, and has a 16-7 overall record and a 3-3 B1G mark heading to Wednesday's short bus trip to Notre Dame before hosting Illinois over the weekend, for the Spartans' seventh week of the season.

• The Spartans are coming off winning a weekend series at Penn State for the first time since 2016, doubling up the Nittany Lions, 10-5, in Sunday's rubber match and series finale. MSU won Friday's series opener, 4-0, before the Nittany Lions came back with an 11-5 win over the Spartans on Saturday, in which MSU had a 5-1 lead, but relinquished the lead and were overtaken by PSU.

• Notre Dame is 12-9 overall and 1-8 in ACC action. The Irish are coming off a weekend in which they got swept by Georgia Tech, falling in Friday's opener, 18-7 in 8-innings, then losing Saturday's game two, 9-5, before a 10-2 defeat in Sunday's series finale. Notre Dame is currently in the midst of a 13-game homestand, with Wednesday serving as game five of the homestand, as the Irish are 1-3 in so far after beating Butler, 18-4 (7 innings) last Wednesday, March 18. That win came on the heels of a 7-3 win at No. 10 Clemson on March 16 in the series finale with the Tigers.

• Illinois is 12-9 overall and 2-4 in B1G action, entering a Tuesday tangle with the Tigers of Missouri. The Braggin' Rights Showdown is played in Sauget, Ill. at Grizzlies Ballpark. The Illini are coming off dropping a three-game B1G series at Northwestern, getting edged in Friday's opener, 5-4, before falling, 11-6, in game two of Friday's DH, then losing, 14-4 (7 innings) in the series finale on Saturday.

• For the fourth-consecutive week, MSU is again ranked among others receiving votes in this week's National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Poll, marking the sixth-straight week that the Spartans have either been ranked or including in among others receiving votes.

Penn State was also included in the others receiving votes list last week, and again joins MSU this week as one of four total B1G teams including among others receiving votes in the NCBWA poll, along with Purdue and USC. Oregon and UCLA are the only two B1G teams ranked in the NCBWA Top 25, with Oregon coming in at No. 10 and UCLA at No. 25.

Oregon is No. 10 in the D1Baseball.com Top 25 Poll, while UCLA is No. 24. The Ducks are No. 11 in the Baseball America Top 25 Poll, while the Bruins are No. 25. in the Perfect Game Top 25 Poll, Oregon is No. 10, while UCLA is No. 23, and the Ducks are No. 10 in the USA Today Coaches Poll and the Bruins are first among others receiving votes.

• Notre Dame is MSU's second-oldest active non-Big Ten series, as the Spartans and Irish have been playing since 1907, and only MSU's series with Eastern Michigan that started in 1896 is older amongst active series. Wednesday is game number 174 in the all-time series between the Spartans and Irish, with Notre Dame holding a 90-83 all-time advantage.

• Michigan State and Illinois started their series in 1952, and have played 151 games in the series entering this weekend, with the Illini leading the all-time series, 85-73.

• The 2025 Spartans are 16-7 on the season, MSU's best start to a season through 23 games since 2016, when the Green & White opened 19-4.

• 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. * Note - Wednesday's game at Notre Dame will not be broadcast on the radio, but the weekend series will be.

FAMILY MATTERS - FATHER VS. SON
• Both Michigan State and Notre Dame have a Van Ameyde on their respective rosters on Wednesday night, as MSU assistant coach/pitching coach Mark Van Ameyde and his son, Chase Van Ameyde, a freshman right-handed relief pitcher for Notre Dame, will be squaring off from opposite dugouts.

Coach Van Ameyde is in his eighth year back on MSU's coaching staff and his 14th 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.

Chase Van Ameyde has made seven appearances on the mound for the Irish, with a 1-1 record and a 5.52 ERA, with one save. He has 18 strikeouts with five walks in 14.2 IP.

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 the following week's rankings and are among others receiving votes again this week's poll (March 17) for the third-straight week.

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, 2016 ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll.

Oregon remains the highest ranked Big Ten Conference team this week, as high as No. 9 in both the D1Baseball Poll and the USA Today Coaches Poll, while No. 11 in the NCBWA Poll, No. 13 in the Baseball America Poll and No. 14 in the Perfect Game Poll.

Penn State was also included in the others receiving votes list last week, and again joins MSU this week as one of four total B1G teams including among others receiving votes in the NCBWA poll, along with Purdue and USC. Oregon and UCLA are the only two B1G teams ranked in the NCBWA Top 25, with Oregon coming in at No. 10 and UCLA at No. 25.

Oregon is No. 10 in the D1Baseball.com Top 25 Poll, while UCLA is No. 24. The Ducks are No. 11 in the Baseball America Top 25 Poll, while the Bruins are No. 25. in the Perfect Game Top 25 Poll, Oregon is No. 10, while UCLA is No. 23. The Ducks are No. 10 in the USA Today Coaches Poll and the Bruins are first among others receiving votes, while Iowa is also included in others receiving votes.

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 the historic Kobs Field, location of McLane Stadium, with 39 seasons, and legendary head coach Denny Litwhiler (1964-82) with 19 seasons.

BOSS 450th VICTORY FOR MSU
• 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 456 wins in 844 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 ... Notre Dame has three Michiganders on its 2025 roster, including freshman reliever Chase Van Ameyde, son of MSU pitching coach Mark Van Ameyde ... Illinois does not have any Michiganders on its 2025 roster.

FROM THE CROSSROADS OF AMERICA
• The Spartans have one player from the state of Indiana in senior catcher/designated hitter Christian Williams, who is from Carmel, Indiana (Carmel HS) ... the Irish have five players from Indiana on their roster.

LAND OF LINCOLN
• MSU has five players from the state of Illinois ... the Illini have 21 players from their home state on their roster.

SERIES HISTORY NOTES VS. THIS WEEK'S OPPONENT
• Michigan State is playing two of its oldest series this week against Notre Dame and Illinois ... Notre Dame is MSU's second-oldest non-Big Ten series, playing since 1907 and Wednesday will be the 174th all-time meeting ... the Spartans and Illini have played since 1952, and have met 151 times entering this weekend ... here's a closer look at the series history with both of this week's opponents:

Overall: ND leads, 90-83 / In East Lansing: MSU leads, 41-26 /
In South Bend: MSU leads, 38-33 / Neutral: MSU leads, 4-1 /
Streak: ND W1; MSU W 3-of-5; 4-of-7; 15-of-22
First meeting: ND 1, MSU 0; 5/7/1907 in South Bend
Last meeting: ND 4, MSU 3; 4/30/2024 in East Lansing
Series Notes: Only meeting this season ... teams scheduled to play twice last season, but game at South Bend on April 2 was cancelled due to inclement weather ... Seven of last 10 meetings and eight of last 13 have been 1-run games, including last year's 4-3 game at East Lansing on April 30 ... Road team has won four of the last six match-ups played on campus, with Notre Dame winning last year's match-up, 4-3, in East Lansing.

Overall: ILL leads overall, 85-73 / In East Lansing: MSU leads, 35-32 /
In Champaign: ILL leads, 45-31 / Neutral: ILL leads, 7-5 /
Streak: ILL W4; 9-of-10
First Meeting: ILL 10, MSU 8; 4/26/1952 in East Lansing
Last Meeting: ILL 12, MSU 6; 3/3/24 in Greenville, S.C.
Series Notes: Spartans and Illini looking to play first full series in East Lansing since 2019, as MSU and ILL played first two games of series in 2022 in East Lansing with a DH on March 25, then series shifted to Champaign for series finale on March 27 due to inclement weather in East Lansing ... Illinois has won last four series, MSU's last series win was 2017 in Champaign; MSU's last home series win was in 2013, only played in EL in 2015, 2019 and 2022 since then.

ALL ABOARD THE McKAY TRAIN
• Michigan State sophomore infielder Ryan McKay was rolling at the plate last week, reaching base in 10-straight at bats as part of 11 in 12 at bats ... he went 4-for-4 in last Wednesday's win over Oakland, as well as drawing a walk in his last at bat in the series finale at Iowa, in addition to drawing a walk in his second at bat, with only a groundout in between to deny McKay from 12 in a row.

The 10-straight at bats was the most consecutive at bats reaching base for a Spartan since former teammate Jack Frank reached base in 13-straight at bats from April 21-27, 2024.

BIG THINGS IN MINI PACKAGES
• McKay, nicknamed "Mini" by his teammates, went 4-for-4 vs. Oakland last Wednesday, March 19, and then 5-for-5 on Friday at Penn State, and is the first Spartan player to go 4-for-4 and 5-for-5 since Jack Frank did so last year ... Frank was 4-for-4 on May 4, 2024 vs. Michigan, while he was 5-for-5 on March 2, 2024 vs. Western Michigan, and McKay is the first MSU player with five hits since Frank's 5-for-5 outing vs. WMU.

RYAN MCKAY TABBED BIG TEN CO-PLAYER OF THE WEEK
• Michigan State baseball's Ryan McKay was named the Big Ten Conference Co-Player of the Week, announced by the conference office on Monday.

McKay, a sophomore infielder from Clarkston, Michigan, earns not only his first B1G accolade of the season but of his career as well. It's his second overall B1G honor, as he was one of the Spartans' Big Ten Players to Watch before this season.

He also garnered MSU's first Player of the Week recognition this season. Overall, it is the Spartans' third conference accolade of the season, as junior pitcher Joseph Dzierwa collected back-to-back Pitcher of the Week honors on Feb. 17 and 24.

The Spartan sophomore McKay slashed .722 / .762 / .833 for the week, going 13-for-18 in four games on the week, leading MSU to a 3-1 mark, including helping the Spartans to their first series win over Penn State at University Park since 2016.

McKay reached base in 10-straight at bats and 11 of his last 12 after going 4-for-4 in last Wednesday's win over Oakland, as well as drawing a walk in his last at bat in the series finale at Iowa, in addition to drawing a walk in his second at bat, with only a groundout in between to deny McKay from 12 in a row.

He was 5-for-5 at the plate in Friday's win, becoming the first Spartan to do so this season, and the first since former teammate Jack Frank had a hit in all five at bats on 3/2/24 vs. Western Michigan. The Spartan infielder knocked two doubles in Friday's game, with one RBI and two runs scored.

McKay started the week going 4-for-4 with one RBI and three runs scored, adding two stolen bases and one walk in win over Oakland. He was also 1-for-4 with a walk and run scored in Saturday's loss at PSU.

He then bounced back by going 3-for-5 with two RBI and a run scored in Sunday's series-clinching Victory for MSU. McKay sparked a Spartan rally in the fifth of the Spartans' big four-run inning, as MSU extended its 2-1 lead to 6-1, and added another RBI single in the ninth as Spartans broke the game open after PSU closed to 7-4, and MSU added three runs to open a 10-4 lead, securing the 10-5 series-clinching win.

EXTRA, EXTRA, READ ALL ABOUT IT
• Michigan State played an 11-inning game on March 14 at Iowa, winning 12-8 ... It was MSU's first extra-inning game of the season, and was the Spartans' first game going extras since May 5, 2024 in a 12-inning loss vs. Michigan ... It was MSU's first 11-inning game since March 16 of last season, going 11 in a loss vs. Evansville ... While both of those extra-inning games were at home, it was MSU's first 11-inning game on the road since April 11, 2023 with a 7-6 win at Notre Dame.

SPARTANS SMACK SIX HOMERS AGAINST HARVARD AND IOWA
• After not hitting six home runs in a game from March 26, 2017 until Feb. 28, 2024, doing so in the 14-1 7-inning Victory for MSU over Harvard in Greenville earlier this season, the Spartans have now done so twice in a span of 10 games ... MSU smacked a half dozen home runs at Iowa on March 14 in a 12-8 11-inning win, taking advantage of windy conditions at Iowa's Duane Banks Field, blowing 20-25 mph with gusts up to 35-40 mph.

Michigan State also smacked six home runs in the 14-1 7-inning Victory for MSU over Harvard on Feb. 28 at Fluor Field in Greenville, S.C. ... the six homers against Harvard was the most HR hit by the Spartans in a game since March 26, 2017 when MSU hit eight round-trippers at Illinois, winning 17-6.

WALK IT OFF SEYMOUR
• Junior infielder Randy Seymour laced a walk-off RBI single for the 3-2 walk-off Victory for MSU over Cornell on March 7 in Greenville ... It was MSU's first walk-off hit since last season on March 31, 2024 when Ryan McKay also had an RBI single to right field for an identical 3-2 walk-off win, coming against Rutgers in a B1G weekend series in East Lansing.

BUSCH BELTS FIRST TWO-HR OUTING OF CAREER, GREENVILLE DRIVIN' THE BALL
• Senior infielder Sam Busch had his first two-HR game of his career on Friday, March 7 vs. UAB, in game two of the first day of the First Pitch Invitational action in Greenville.

Those two round-trippers were half of Busch's four homers during the 8-game, 10-day residency at Fluor Field, home of the Greenville Drive ... Busch start off with a three-run homer in the first inning against Harvard on March 2, in the first half of back-to-back blasts by the Spartans, as graduate catcher Caleb Berry followed Busch's three-run round-tripper with a solo shot ... Busch also smacked a solo shot to lead off the third inning against Western Carolina on March 5 ... He then knocked two round-trippers against UAB on March 7.

Busch then added two more HR in a game in the 12-8 11-inning Victory for MSU at Iowa on March 14, smacking a solo homer in the fourth to break a scoreless tie and start the scoring in the game. He then added a three-run home run in the top of the 11th, breaking the game open from a 9-8 MSU lead to an 11-8 advantage.

BUSCH BLASTS TO START THIRD INNING
• With his home run to lead off the third inning on vs. Western Carolina on March 5, senior infielder Sam Busch blasted his second home run to lead off an inning of the season, and both occasions have come in the third inning.

On March 5 vs. Western Carolina, Busch went yard to right center at Fluor Field to start off the third inning.

Busch also started off the third frame against UCLA on Feb. 23 in Corpus Christi with a home run to right field.

BUSCH CLOSING IN ON CAREER HR LIST
• Now with seven home runs this season, senior infielder Sam Busch now has 21 career home runs, needing just three more to tie for the No. 11 spot on MSU's Career Home Runs list:

Home Runs
1.         Kyle Geswein 36        1999-02
2.         Matt Riggins   34        1993-96
3.         Travis Gulick   30        2002-04
4.         Bob Malek      29        2000-02
5.         Scott Makarewicz       28        1987-89
6.         Mike Davidson            27        1985-88
7.         Jack Frank       26        2020-24
            Sean Walker   26        2004-07
            Scott Ayotte    26        1992-95
            James Moreno 26        2001-04
11.       Bob Goodheart           24        1982-85
            Dan Masteller 24        1987-89
            Eric Sumpter   24        1991-94
--          Sam Busch      21        2021-pres.

DZIERWA K-BITS
• Junior pitcher Joseph Dzierwa has 51 strikeouts, which not only leads the B1G but ranks 16th in the NCAA.

• With 51 strikeouts, Dzierwa is nine Ks ahead of the next pitcher on the B1G strikeout list, Iowa's Cade Obermueller, who is second in the league with 42 strikeouts.

• With an 1.23 ERA, Dzierwa also leads the B1G, as well as tied for 11th in the NCAA.

• The Spartan southpaw Dzierwa is also second in the B1G and eighth in the NCAA in WHIP (0.76), as well as second in the B1G and tied for 39th in the NCAA in strikeouts per nine innings (12.52).

• Dzierwa is also second in the league and 16th in the nation in fewest hits allowed per nine innings (4.66).

• Dzierwa is also among the league leaders for fewest overall runs allowed in the B1G, as he is first in fewest overall runs (6) and first in fewest earned runs allowed (5).

• After chalking up double-digit strikeouts in his first three outings, Dzierwa has rung up single-digit Ks in his last three, with eight strikeouts against UAB on March 7, and just five his last two times out vs. Iowa on March 14 and at Penn State on March 21.

• Dzierwa rang up 10+ strikeouts in the first three outings this season and in his last four in a row dating back to last year's regular-season final outing.

• Dzierwa fired 10 strikeouts against Harvard on Feb. 28, which was his:
-- 19th career outing with five or more Ks (three in 2025, 10 in 2024, including in first six-straight games, six in 2023).

-- 11th career outing with seven or more Ks (three in 2025, six in 2024, two in 2023).

-- Third-straight outing this season with 10+ strikeouts and fourth-straight double-digit strikeout total of career, joining the career-high 12 vs. Washington State (2/21/25), the 11 vs. Western Michigan in the 2025 season-opener (2/14/25) and the 11 vs. Nebraska in 2024 season finale (5/17/24).

DZIERWA DZUMPING WAY INTO RECORD BOOK IN KS
• Last season, Spartan southpaw Joseph Dzierwa rang up 91 strikeouts, which were not only the most strikeouts since Dakota Mekkes chalked up 96 Ks in 2016, but Dzierwa's total was good for No. 8 on MSU's single-season strikeout total.

• Dzierwa is already nearly halfway to last season's total, as he enters this week with 51 strikeouts.

200 KS FOR DZIERWA
• With his third strikeout in his outing at Penn State on March 21, Dzierwa registered his 200th career strikeouts, becoming just the sixth Spartan pitcher with 200 career Ks, and the first to do so since Mason Erla reached the milestone on April 9 2021.

• Dzierwa passed Dick Radatz (1957-59) with 193 Ks and Brian Murphy (1995-98) with 194 Ks, and is closing in on Cam Vieaux (2014-16) with 205 strikeouts.

• This season, Dzierwa has already passed David Garner (2011-13) with 192 Ks, Craig Brookes (2004-07) with 186 career punchouts, along with former teammate Nick Powers (2021-24) with 187.

• Dzierwa is also one win from cracking into the MSU Career Wins List.

MSU CAREER STRIKEOUTS LIST
1.         Bryan Gale      277      2001-04
2.         Tony Bucciferro          273      2009-12
3.         Mason Erla      243      2017-2021
4.         Ron Perranoski           223      ..1956-58
5.         Cam Vieaux     .....205             .. 2014-16
6.         Joseph Dzierwa          202      2023-pres.
7.         Brian Murphy ...194 .. 1995-98
8.         Dick Radatz     .....193             .. 1957-59
            David Garner ...192 .. 2011-13
10.       Nick Powers    187      2021-24
11.       Craig Brookes ..186    .. 2004-07
12.       Mick VanVossen         180      2012-15
            Mickey Sinks   180      1959-61

MSU CAREER Wins LIST
1.         Stuart Hirschman       28        1990-93
            Bryan Gale      28      2001-04
3.         Tony Bucciferro          26        2009-12
            Kurt Wunderlich         26        2008-11
5.         Larry Ike          23        1970-72
            Brian Wolcott 23        1977-80
7.         Mick VanVossen         21        2012-15
            Ron Perranoski           21        1956-58
9.         Nick Powers    19        2021-24
10.       Tim Day           18        2002-05
            Andrew Waszak          18        2010-13
12.       Nine tied with 17, most recently:
            Joseph Dzierwa          17        2023-pres.

BASE-SWIPING SPARTANS
Michigan State is third in the Big Ten and ranks 57th in the NCAA in stolen bases with 43 swipes. MSU's 1.87 stolen bases per game is also fourth in the B1G and is 60th in the NCAA.

The Spartans were a perfect 14-for-14 on stolen bases in the three games of the Harvard series.

Individually, senior outfielder JT Sokolove is fifth for second in the B1G and tied for 104th in the NCAA with 10 swipes, while senior outfielder/infielder Nick Williams is tied for 13th in the league with seven bags stolen.

EARNING THE ICE BAGS
Michigan State is keeping Athletic Trainer Justin Waas busy with the ice bags, as the Spartans are sixth in the B1G and 72nd in the NCAA in hit by pitch, getting plunked 40 times so far this season, an average of 1.7 HBP pg.

MSU drew 12 HBP in the three-game Harvard series Feb. 28-March 2, including three each by senior outfielder JT Sokolove and junior outfielder Jake Dresselhouse.

Individually, Sokolove leads the B1G and is tied for 15th in the NCAA with 12 HBP. Dresselhouse is tied for eighth in the B1G with seventh. Sokolove is also second in the league and 24th in the nation in HBP/game (0.52), while Dresselhouse is seventh in the B1G (0.40).

SHUTOUT SPARTANS
Michigan State's pitching staff has also combined for four shutouts this season. MSU blanked Western Michigan in the season-opener on Feb. 14 in Cary, N.C., then shut out Monmouth the next day by an identical, 2-0 score.

The Spartans then walloped Winthrop, 7-0, on March 8 in Greenville.

Michigan State posted its fourth blanking of the season on March 21 at Penn State with a 4-0 Victory for MSU.

MSU's four shutouts this season through 23 games are its most since 2021, when the Spartans also posted four shutouts.

FAB FIRST FRAME
• Michigan State has scored 156 runs on the season, with 29 (18.6 percent) coming in the first inning, through the first 23 games, averaging 1.3 runs in the first inning per game, and the 29 runs in the first frame are five more than the next-highest scoring inning of the fifth with 24 runs.

MSU has scored in the first inning in nine of the 23 games, including two different stretches of four-games in a row.

The Spartans are 7-2 when scoring in the first inning, as well as 14-5 when scoring first, getting on the scoreboard first in all three games at Penn State.

The Spartans scored 17 runs in the first four-game stretch, plating four vs. Washington State (Feb. 21), one vs. TAMU-Corpus Christi (Feb. 22), four vs. UCLA (Feb. 23) then eight vs. Harvard (Feb. 28) in the opening game in Greenville.

After being held scoreless in game two of the Harvard series on March 1, MSU then scored a combined nine in the opening inning of the next four contests, with four vs. Harvard (March 2), two vs. Western Carolina (March 5), one vs. Cornell (March 7-G1) and two vs. UAB (March 7-G2).

WALK LIKE A MCKAY-IAN
Sophomore infielder Ryan McKay leads the B1G and ranks 19th in the NCAA in walks (24), as well as ranking second in the league and ranking 28th in the nation in walks/game (1.04).

SACRIFICING SEYMOUR
• Junior infielder Randy Seymour is first in the B1G and tied for 24th in the NCAA in sacrifice bunts with five. Seymour also is tops in the conference and 42nd in the country in sac bunts/game (0.22). He had two sac bunts over the weekend at Penn State.

PICOT SMASHING HOMER DEBUT
Spartan sophomore outfielder Parker Picot had a smashing memory for his first collegiate home run, crushing a grand slam home run in the first inning of the game vs. Harvard on Feb. 28.

Picot then bashed his second homer of the night with a solo home run in the fourth inning to record his first two-HR outing to go with his first HR as a Spartan and collegiate baseball player after transferring to MSU after one season at Alabama.

With five RBI on the night, Picot also became the first Spartan with five RBI in a single game since Greg Ziegler had five ribbies on May 4, 2024 vs. Michigan.

GRAND SLAM SEYMOUR FOR GRAND SLAM HOMER CYCLE
MSU sophomore infielder Randy Seymour joined Picot in belting a grand slam over the weekend, with his coming in the win over Harvard on March 2.

The grand slam completes the career home run cycle for Seymour, as he now has a solo, two-run, three-run and grand slam during his Spartan career, with the first three coming last year as part of his three home runs in 2024.

Seymour is tied for fourth among the active Spartans in career home runs with four, behind leader Sam Busch with 16, Christian Williams (7), Nick Williams (5), and tied with Noah Bright (4).

BIG NUMBERS FOR HARVARD WEEKEND
Michigan State put up big numbers in the three games vs. Harvard:

• .358 average for the weekend was a season-high
• 38 runs in three games were highest
• 29 hits were second-highest behind 32 hits in Corpus Christi
• Mashed nine HR in the three games after entering weekend with just one home run in first seven games, including no home runs in the first six games, before Sam Busch hit a HR on Feb. 23 in weekend finale at Corpus Christi.
• Averaged 12.7 runs per game, which was 4.0 runs higher than previous weekend, and the runs per game average was nearly the same as the runs total for the first three games of the season, with 14 runs in the first weekend.

• Posted 10+ runs in each of the three games, the first time scoring double-figure runs in three-straight games since April 14-15, 2023 vs. Western Illinois, when MSU won, 10-9, 12-2 and 11-1.

STRIKIN' OUT WAZZU
• Michigan State's pitching staff rang up a season-high 15 strikeouts against Washington State on Feb. 21, with sophomore Joseph Dzierwa firing 12 Ks, followed by two by sophomore reliever Tate Farquhar and one by senior reliever Dominic Pianto to end the game.

The 15 vs. Washington State was the most by the Spartan pitching staff since ringing up 15 Ks vs. Western Carolina on March 11, 2023 in a 7-2 Victory for MSU at Fluor Field in Greenville, South Carolina.

DOUBLE-DIGIT Ks
MSU's season-high 15 Ks vs. Washington State on Feb. 21 is one of six outings ringing up double-digit strikeout totals

15 - vs. Washington State (Feb. 21)
12 - vs. Western Michigan (Feb. 14-G1)
12 - vs. Western Michigan (Feb. 14-G2)
12 - vs. Harvard (Feb. 28)
11 - vs. Western Carolina (March 5)
10 - vs. UAB (March 7-G2)

DZIERWA GARNERS SECOND-STRAIGHT B1G PITCHER OF THE WEEK HONOR ON FEB. 24
Spartan southpaw becomes first MSU baseball player to earn B1G weekly award in consecutive weeks.
• Michigan State baseball's junior pitcher Joseph Dzierwa was named the Big Ten Pitcher of the Week for the second-straight week, announced on Feb. 24 evening by the conference office.

Dzierwa becomes the first Michigan State baseball player to earn a B1G weekly award of any kind in consecutive weeks in program history.

Twice before a Spartan pitcher has earned the Pitcher of the Week award in a span of three weeks, as Cam Vieaux earned the accolades on March 31 and April 14, 2014, and Andrew Waszak collected the awards on April 15 and 29, but not in successive weeks.

Along with his second-consecutive Big Ten Pitcher of the Week Award, this is Dzierwa's sixth overall conference recognition, including his third weekly award, as he was also Big Ten Freshman of the Week once (April 10, 2023). Dzierwa was a 2024 All-Big Ten Second Team selection, as well as a two-time B1G Preseason Player to Watch List member (2024 and 2025).

Making his second start of the season last Friday vs. Washington State in the opening game of the Kleberg Bank College Classic in Corpus Christi, Texas, Dzierwa chalked up a career-high 12 strikeouts in 7.0 IP, with one hit and one walk, and those both came in the first frame, and he was nearly perfect after that until the sixth.

After striking out the first seven batters faced last week vs. Western Michigan, Dzierwa appeared to be starting Friday afternoon's contest the same way, ringing up Ks on the first two WSU batters. However, he then yielded a two-out walk followed by a single, but then chalked up his third punchout of the inning to slam the door on any thoughts of a rally the Cougars might have had.

Dzierwa then retired the next 14 Cougar batters faced with a total of 10 Ks through five innings, before hitting a batter in the sixth inning. In the seventh, he induced a popup and then fired back-to-back strikeouts looking to end his day with the 12 punchouts in 7.0 IP, with only one hit, one walk and one hit-by-pitch, in only 83 pitches.

It marked the third-straight outing of his career setting or tying career-best, dating back to last year, after he fired 11 Ks vs. Nebraska in the 2024 season-finale, then 11 Ks last Friday in Cary, N.C. vs. Western Michigan, before Friday's dozen punchouts.

Friday's 12 strikeouts by the Spartan southpaw were the most by an MSU pitcher since Sam Benschoter rang up 17 Ks in 9.1 IP of relief on April 21, 2021 vs. Nebraska.

The 12 Ks were also the most in the Big Ten to date, and he now has two of the top five single-game pitching performances in the league in the midst of the second weekend of the season.

Dzierwa is the sixth Spartan pitcher to earn the B1G Pitcher of the Week honors twice in a season, as along with Vieaux and Waszak, Kurt Wunderlich did so in 2011 (Feb. 28 and May 23), Bryan Gale in 2004 (March 29 and May 17) and Tim Crabtree in 1992 (April 7 and May 5).

Additionally, Dzierwa was also named the Big Ten Loud! Performance of the Day by D1Baseball for Friday's performances around the league.

He helped MSU to a 6-1 start to the season, it's best record since 2016, and the Spartans are ranked in this week's NCBWA Top-25 Poll, coming in at No. 23.

MSU'S JACOB ANDERSON NAMED TO LOU GEHRIG COMMUNITY IMPACT TEAM
Lone Big Ten player on list and one of only Power 4 schools.

Michigan State baseball's Jacob Anderson has been named to the 2025 Lou Gehrig Community Impact Team, announced Wednesday, Feb. 19.

A redshirt-junior infielder, Anderson is the only player from the Big Ten Conference on the nine-player list and only of only two players from a Power 4 conference team.

Anderson, a native of Oakland Township, Michigan, has demonstrated remarkable success both on the baseball field and within his community, establishing himself as a dedicated and compassionate leader.

"Jacob Anderson is the consummate student-athlete who represents our athletics department in the most incredible manner on the field, in the classroom, and in the community," said MSU Associate Director of Student-Athlete Support Services Melissa Tallant. "He carries a 3.54 GPA and will graduate with a degree in kinesiology. He has a genuine desire to make his community a better place and consistently puts others ahead of himself while realizing the platform he has to impact those in need."

On the field, Anderson played an important role last season as the fifth infielder, dealing with an early-season injury, finishing with a .255 batting average. This season, he was elected one of two team captains in a vote by his teammates, and he stepped into the starting role at third base, where his skills, leadership, and determination will be vital to the team's success.

Off the field, Anderson's involvement in the community is equally impressive. He serves as the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) Representative for the baseball team, actively participating in various initiatives aimed at giving back to others. Anderson has contributed to events like Teams for Toys, the Student-Athlete Food Drive, and the Student-Athlete Career Mixer, all of which serve to support both the local community and his fellow student-athletes.

Anderson's leadership shines through in his work with organizations that support individuals with special needs. Through the baseball team, he has played a pivotal role in helping out with the Miracle League of Mid-Michigan, where he assists special needs youth as their 'buddy' during games on an adaptive rubberized surface. Additionally, Anderson has been involved with the Beautiful Lives Project, helping host a clinic for special needs youth, and with Team Impact, where the team adopted a six-year-old boy battling cancer, offering him love and support through a difficult journey.

Anderson is also a member of Athletes in Action on campus, participating in their Operation Christmas Child initiative, where he helps pack and send shoeboxes with Christmas gifts to children in need around the world. Looking ahead, Anderson plans to contribute to the City Rescue Mission, where he will assist in feeding and housing homeless individuals in the East Lansing area.

2025 Lou Gehrig Community Impact Team
Cole Fellows – Columbia University - Captain
Jacob Anderson – Michigan State University
Javier Cardoso – Point Park University
Bobby Dingel – DeSales University
Alex Fitz-Hugh – Hampden-Sydney College
Jake McKee – Florida Gulf Coast University
Kamau Neighbors – University of Louisville
Alex Levesque – William Peace University
Eli Paton – Grand Canyon University

EARLY HOME OPENER
• Wednesday's March 12 home opener date was the earliest home opener in program history ... The 2025 home opener dethroned the 2024 and 2018 Home Openers that shared the honor of a March 15 date ... Michigan was 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 game-time temp was 50 degrees, which 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$       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
                        (B1G-only ledger due to COVID)
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

$ = 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
^ = Scheduled date but postponed

HOME OPENER SUCCESS
• Despite last Wednesday's loss, MSU has still won 11 of its last 13 home openers and the Spartans are 14-3 in their first game of the year played at Jeff Ishbia Field at McLane Stadium under head coach Jake Boss Jr. ... The 2021 season's home opening loss to Indiana snapped MSU's eight-game home opener winning streak, but the Spartans won the next three since, before Wednesday's loss ... 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.

ONLY Ks IN THEIR NAME
• Despite having a K in his name, sophomore infielder Ryan McKay doesn't register a K in the score book very often, as McKay was tied for the lead in the B1G and NCAA in toughest to strikeout after the first week of the season, as he was not retired on strikes in any of his 10 at bats in the opening weekend.

McKay did record three strikeouts in week 2 in Corpus Christi, and added one more in the first Greenville weekend, along with a rare two strikeout outing Wednesday vs. WCU.

McKay was one of three B1G players and one of 155 players who did not strike out through the first week.

McKay now has just 14 Ks in 83 at bats (5.93) through 23 games.

Last season, McKay was second in the B1G and 13th in the NCAA in toughest to strike out (13.5), with just 14 strikeouts in 189 at bats.

• Teammate Nick Williams is the team leader with just eight Ks in 68 at bats (8.5).

Last season, N.Williams had just 25 strikeouts in 181 at bats (7.24).

HEY HEY McKAY WITH THE RBI
• Sophomore infielder Ryan McKay has provided what proved to be the game-winning RBIs in two of the Spartans' six wins.

In game one of the DH vs. Monmouth on Feb. 15, McKay got MSU's scoring going with an RBI sac fly in the sixth, and the Spartans added another run later in the frame for the 2-2 win.

McKay again earned the game-winning RBI in the Victory for MSU over Washington State on Feb. 21, with an RBI single in the first and MSU went on to cage the Cougars, 9-2.

SUPER SIXTH STANZA
• MSU scored a combined 14 runs in its four wins over the opening weekend. Of the 14 runs, the Spartans scored over half of them (64 percent) in the sixth inning, plating nine runs in the sixth stanza, scoring nine runs on just three hits.

The Spartans started off slow in the sixth inning, going scoreless in the frame in the 2-0 Victory for MSU of the season-opener on Feb. 15 in game one of the doubleheader, the Spartans' only scoreless sixth of the weekend.

In the nightcap, the Green & White rallied from a 3-0 deficit after five frames with a four-run sixth inning on just two hits, and tacked on two more in the top of the ninth for the 6-3 final.

In the twinbill with Monmouth on Feb. 15, MSU scored both of its runs in the 2-0 win in the sixth inning with two RBI sac flies in the sixth inning.

The Spartans broke open a 1-0 lead in the finale with three runs in the sixth inning, loading the bases and then getting an RBI walk by sophomore infielder Ryan McKay, and then graduate designated hitter Will Shannon roped a two-run single for MSU's only hit of the inning.

Last weekend in Corpus Christi, the Spartans were held scoreless in the sixth, but the nine runs scored in the sixth is tied for the most runs scored in an inning, matching the first frame.

2-0 IN GAME ONE
• Michigan State played a doubleheader on both Friday and Saturday of the opening weekend, Feb. 14 and 15, winning the opener both days by 2-0 scores, needing only three total hits to do so, scoring all four runs on non-hit plays.

In the season-opening Victory for MSU on Feb. 14, the Spartans scored two runs in the fifth inning on a two-run sac bunt by redshirt-junior infielder Jacob Anderson.

In the win over Monmouth the next day, Michigan State capitalized on two sacrifice flies a few batters apart in the sixth inning, for the triumph.

PAIR OF TWO-SAVERS
• MSU had two different closers both pick up two saves in the opening weekend.

Sophomore Logan Pikur picked up the first save of not just the season, but also his career. Graduate transfer Tyler Horvath had a successful Spartan debut weekend, picking up two saves.

In game one on Friday, Pikur came on in the seventh after junior standout starter Joseph Dzierwa stymied the WMU bats to the tune of 11 Ks and one hit in 6.0 IP, then Pikur kept the Broncos at bay with one K, while inducing two groundouts in yielding one hit while facing four batters.

Pikur picked up his second save in as many days on Saturday, again sealing a 2-0 win, this time over Monmouth.

Friday's night cap saw Horvath came out of the bullpen to open the ninth, making his Spartan debut. He worked around a leadoff double, before settling in and inducing a flyout, then fanning the next two Broncos to slam the door and secure the Victory for MSU and the doubleheader sweep in his Spartan debut

Horvath took over in the seventh inning of Saturday's nine-inning game two, and went 3.0 IP in scattering three hits with one K and one run to pick up save number two of the weekend.

DZIERWA COLLECTS B1G PITCHER OF THE WEEK ACCOLADES - FEB 17
• Michigan State baseball's junior pitcher Joseph Dzierwa was named the Big Ten Pitcher of the Week for the opening week of the season, announced on Feb. 17by the conference office.

This is Dzierwa's first career Big Ten weekly accolade, but his fourth overall league recognition. He was a 2024 All-Big Ten Second Team selection, as well as a two-time B1G Preseason Player to Watch List member (2024 and 2025).

Dzierwa is the first Michigan State pitcher to earn B1G Pitcher of the Week honors since May 1, 2023 when former teammate Harrison Cook earned the accolade.

The Spartan southpaw burst out of the gates in Friday's 2025 season-opener in Cary, N.C., against Western Michigan, tying a career-high by firing 11 strikeouts in 6.0 IP, good for a 1.8 K/inning and a 16.5 K/9 average). Dzierwa opened the game with seven straight strikeouts in the first seven batters faced, and did not allow a run of any kind in holding Western Michigan to just one hit.

Dzierwa, a native of Haskins, Ohio, was named one of D1Baseball.com's Friday standouts and his photo was the lead for the Friday's standouts, as the 11 Ks was second-most by a D1 pitcher on Friday. His D1Baseball.com game score of 80 was the highest in the B1G and second in the NCAA for Friday's games, and also tops in the B1G and holding at second overall for both Friday and Saturday's games.

The 11 Ks was tied for the most in the B1G in the opening weekend. Dzierwa was one of five pitchers in the conference to post 10 or more strikeouts in the opening weekend, but he was the only pitcher in the B1G that didn't yield a run of any kind, and his 0.33 WHIP was the lowest of any B1G pitcher with 10+ strikeouts.

Dzierwa's 11 strikeouts Friday night tied his career-best punchout total in back-to-back outings, as his previous time with 11 Ks came in his final outing of 2024 against Nebraska on May 17, 2024.

MSU's junior starting pitcher rang up seven-straight Ks to open Friday's game one of the season, striking out the side in the first and second innings and the first batter of the third, on the way to a perfect game through 4.2 IP, retiring his first 14 batters faced.

After a pair of groundouts ended the third, a lineout and another grounder started the fourth, before another strikeout to end the inning. He started the fifth frame with two more Ks before yielding a single to WMU's Chris Akers, but then thwarted any threat the Broncos had with another strikeout, his 11th through 5.0 innings. Dzierwa worked around a two-out walk and a stolen base by inducing a groundout to end the sixth and his day, as the Spartans corralled the Broncos, 2-0, in the 2025 season lid-lifter. MSU won its season-opener for the sixth time in the last seven seasons, as well as improving to 14-3 in the 17 season-openers under head coach Jake Boss Jr.

MICHIGAN STATE BASEBALL WAS AMONG OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES IN NCBWA TOP-25 POLL
• For the first time since 2016, Michigan State baseball was ranked the national Top 25 Poll, as the Spartans were No. 23 in last week's National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCWBA) Top 25 Poll on Feb. 24, but slipped out of this week's rankings and are among others receiving votes.

Prior to last week's 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.

PROFESSIONAL STADIUM EXPERIENCE
• Last weekend's games at Fluor Field, home of the Greenville Drive, the high-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox are the third of three-straight played in professional stadiums.

MSU played in the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Kleberg Bank College Classic on the weekend of weekend Feb. 21-23 that was played at Whataburger Field, home of the Corpus Christi Hooks, Double-A affiliate of the Houston Astros.

Michigan State is slated for 17 total games and one exhibition contests in four different professional stadiums.

• The Spartans also play eight 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.

MSU hosted Harvard in a three-game series last weekend, Friday-Sunday, Feb. 28-March 2. The Spartans played Western Carolina on Wednesday, March 5 in a single midweek contest, before hosting the First Pitch Invitational on Friday-Sunday, March 7-9, tangling with Cornell and UAB on March 7, then Winthrop on March 8 and UAB again on March 9.

• Michigan State will tangle with the Lansing Lugnuts, the High-A affiliate of the Oakland A's, in the 2025 Crosstown Showdown on Tuesday, April 1 at Jackson® Field™ in the annual exhibition game.

• MSU also plays a three-game Big Ten Conference series at Penn State, Friday-Sunday, March 21-23. The Nittany Lions' home field is Medlar Field at Lubrano Park, home of the MLB Draft League's State College Spikes.

• Additionally, the Spartans also play a three-game conference series at B1G newcomer USC, Friday-Sunday, March 9-11, which plays a majority of its home games at Orange County Great Park in Irvine, Calif., while construction continues on the Trojans' home, on-campus Dedeaux Field.

ABOUT FLUOR FIELD
• Opened in 2006, Fluor Field is a 5,700-seat stadium, home of the Greenville Drive, the A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox.
• Fluor Field nearly replicates the dimensions of Fenway Park, home of the Red Sox.
• The 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.
• Other than the tribute to Fenway, Fluor Field also pays tribute to the Greenville area as the ballpark's nostalgic look utilizes reclaimed bricks from local mills.

GREENVILLE / SPARTAN CONNECTIONS
• Owner/President of the Greenville Drive is MSU alum Craig Brown, who was the 2016 Alumnus of the Year at the Michigan State First Pitch Dinner ... In the winter of 2017, Craig and his wife, Vicki (Huber) Brown, were named the Michigan State University Alumni Association's Philanthropists of the Year ... Craig Brown earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in the Eli Broad College of Business, majoring in accounting, in 1973 ... Vicki Brown earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in the College of Education, majoring in special education, in 1975.

As President of the Greenville Drive, Mr. Brown focuses on the activities that result in the Drive being part of the fabric of the community ... Fluor Field, which just celebrated its 10th anniversary season, is one of a handful of privately owned stadiums in America and was named Ballpark of the Year upon its debut in 2006 ... Mr. Brown is also the CEO of Keelers Ridge Associates (KRA), an investment and consulting firm that is engaged in entrepreneurial activities involving sports, technology, and marketing, Mr. and Mrs. Brown actively support academic and athletic programs at Michigan State ... Mr. Brown also serves on the Athletic Director's Advisory Council and chairs Spartan Innovations ... Formerly, he oversaw the MSU Foundation Board ... In recognition of their generosity, an area of the Spartan Stadium North End Zone bears their names, as does the women's basketball head coach's office ... The Browns also belong to MSU's Empower Extraordinary President's Capital Campaign Cabinet.

• 1967 Michigan State baseball alum Bill Wooley, who was the 2020 Alumnus of the Year at the MSU Baseball First Pitch Dinner, and his wife, Mary, live in nearby Greer, South Carolina, and were in attendance at MSU's games in the Spartanburg area on Friday at USC Upstate and Sunday at Presbyterian.

Wooley was a four-year letterwinner for the Spartan baseball team from 1964-67. He was utility infielder on the freshman team in 1964 for head coach Tom Smith, before moving up to varsity and was utility infielder and team manager from 1965-67 for head coach Danny Litwhiler.

A native of Detroit, Mich., Wooley graduated from Michigan State University College of Business in 1967 with a bachelor's of business administration (BBA) with general business and marketing emphasis. Wooley began his business career in July 1967 with the Dupont Corporation, in the textile fibers division in New York City, where he worked for nine years until 1976. He joined Johnson & Johnson in the healthcare industry in 1976 with a career track in sales, product management, where he was General Manager/ Vice President for 22 years before retiring in 1998. Wooley was Chairman of the Board for NICORE, Inc. (1999-2006) and was president of the private startup company with products to treat congestive heart problems, before retiring in 2006.

Wooley was also an assistant baseball coach at Eastlake High School in Tarpon Springs, Florida for 12 years, where he coached approximately 10 players who made it to Major League Baseball, most notably utility player Chris Coghlan, who was in the Majors for 10 years, winning the Rookie of the Year Award in 2009 with the Florida Marlins, also playing for the Chicago Cubs and Chicago White Sox.

Wooley and his wife, Mary (Bigelow), who is a 1967 MSU alum with her education degree, met at MSU in the fall term of their freshman year and dated all through college, and have been married 52 years. They have three children, twins Daniel and Deborah, and daughter Alicia, and four grandchildren.

FROM PALADIN TO SPARTAN
• Michigan State senior pitcher Dominic Pianto is in his fifth and final season at Michigan State, after playing one season at Furman in 2020, then transferred to MSU from Furman prior to the fall of 2020, after Furman announced that it had discontinued baseball in May of 2020.

During his one season at Furman, Pianto made five relief appearances, tallying five strikeouts in 5.0 IP.

CAROLINA IN MY MIND AND TRAVEL ITINERARY
• Once again as in seasons past, MSU's travel theme music for the first few weeks of the season is James Taylor's "Carolina In My Mind" as this weekend's action are the second and third weekends out of the first four weekends that the Spartans will be playing in a Carolina.

MSU played in Cary, North Carolina in the opening weekend of the season against Western Michigan on Friday and Monmouth on Saturday in doubleheaders both days.

Michigan State was in Corpus Christi, Texas on Feb. 21-23 for the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Kleberg Bank College Classic at Whataburger Field. MSU opened with a 9-2 win over Washington State in the opening game on Friday, Feb. 21. The Spartans then took down host Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Saturday, Feb. 22, 8-3, before falling 15-9 to fellow B1G team UCLA in a non-conference game on Sunday, Feb. 23.

The Spartans are returning to their home-away-from-home, Fluor Field in Greenville, S.C., sweeping Harvard in a three-game series, Friday-Sunday, Feb. 28-March 2. MSU met Western Carolina on Wednesday, March 5 at Fluor Field, falling, 10-7.

Michigan State hosts its annual First Pitch Invitational Friday-Sunday, March 7-9, clashing with Cornell on Friday, March 7 at 10 a.m. then returning to the diamond to meet UAB at 2 p.m. On Saturday, March 8, the Spartans face Winthrop at 4 p.m., before wrapping up the weekend and the Carolina swing for Spring Break on Sunday, March 9 against UAB at 12 p.m.

SPARTAN TRIO TABBED TO B1G BASEBALL PRESEASON PLAYERS TO WATCH LIST
• Three Michigan State baseball players earned Big Ten Preseason Players to Watch honors, as the conference announced its preseason honors list and preseason poll on Feb. 12, ahead of the 2025 season-opening action around the league.

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

Junior pitcher Joseph Dzierwa, junior infielder Randy Seymour and sophomore infielder Ryan McKay garnered preseason recognition for the Spartans.

Dzierwa, a Haskins, Ohio native, is a B1G Preseason Player to Watch for the second year in a row. The Spartan southpaw adds to his preseason honors list, which includes being tabbed Baseball America's Big Ten Conference Preseason Pitcher of the Year, as well as being named Perfect Game's Preseason Third-Team All-American and also tabbed to D1Baseball's Top 150 College Draft Prospect list at No. 121.

Dzierwa was second in the B1G in both innings pitched (84.0) and strikeouts (91) last season, along with third in the B1G overall in WHIP (1.19), third in B1G only in IP (48.2), sixth in B1G only in strikeouts (43), eighth overall in K/9 (9.7), ninth in the B1G overall in ERA (4.07) and tied for 14th in the B1G overall in BB/9 (2.9).

In his final outing of the 2024 season, Dzierwa rang up a career-high 11 strikeouts against Nebraska on May 17, topping his previous career-best of nine Ks done four previous times this season, most recently vs Michigan on May 3. Dzierwa was the only Spartan pitcher to chalk up double-digit strikeouts this season and the first since March 11, 2023 when Adam Berghorst rang up 11 Ks vs. Western Carolina at Fluor Field in Greenville, S.C.

Dzierwa's 11 Ks was the first double-digit strikeout outing by a Spartan pitcher at home since April 25, 2021 when Sam Benschoter chalked up 17 strikeouts in 9.1 IP of relief that was also against Nebraska.

With the 91 strikeouts on the season, Dzierwa had a big role in the Spartan pitching staff amassing 420 total strikeouts in 2024, finishing No. 3 on MSU's team strikeouts list and the most since 445 in 2019.

Dzierwa made his mark in MSU's record books, as the 91 strikeouts are No. 8 on MSU's single-season Top 10 strikeouts list, the most by a Spartan pitcher since 2016 when Dakota Mekkes rang up 96.

Entering his junior season in 2025, Dzierwa has 151 career strikeouts, needing just 19 more to crack MSU's career top 10 strikeouts list, as Mick VanVossen (2012-15) and Mickey Sinks (1959-61) are tied for No. 10 with 180 strikeouts.

Seymour, a native of Frankfort, Ill., was one of three Spartans to both start and play in all 51 games, starting all 51 games at shortstop. He posted a .257 average with 46 hits, seven doubles and three HR, with 19 RBI, adding 41 runs scored, 15 walks and nine steals. Along with leading the team in sac bunts (5), Seymour also ranked tied for second on the team in runs scored (41), second in hit by pitch (9), third in stolen bases (9), tied for fifth in doubles (7) and fifth in both hits (46) and at bats (179)

The Spartan infielder logged a season-long six-game hitting streak (Feb. 24-March 8), with a total of 10 hits in the six games, with three hits at Georgia (Feb. 28), along with book-ending streak with two in first game of spurt, vs. Marshall (Feb. 24) and last game, vs. Western Michigan (March 8), adding one hit each vs. Western Michigan (March 2), vs. Florida State (March 2) and vs. Illinois (March 3). Seymour posted 15 multiple hit games, with two hits in 13 contests while knocking a career-high three hits in two games, first in the Victory for MSU at Georgia (Feb. 28), going 3-for-4, and then at Minnesota (May 12), going 3-for-6 with two RBI and a run scored. He also scored a career-high four runs in game at Georgia, part of 11 multiple-run outings

In the field, Seymour led the Spartan defense with 146 assists and added 70 putouts, highlighted by career-high eight assists vs. Western Michigan (April 17) and career-high four putouts vs. Ball State (Feb. 17) at Charleston, S.C., and was part of 28 fielding double plays, which ranked tied for second on the team.

McKay, a Clarkston, Mich. native, played in 47 games last year, making 46 starts, all at second base. He was second in the B1G and 13th in the NCAA in toughest to strikeout (13.5), with just 14 strikeouts in 189 at bats. McKay hit .302 with a .381 slugging percentage and .348 on-base percentage, logging seven doubles, one triple and two home runs, adding 31 RBI, along with 12 walks and four stolen bases.

He was third on team in RBI, tied for fourth in RBI and fourth in stolen bases, also ranking fourth in total bases (72). McKay also had the longest hitting streak on team at 16 games (April 14 - May 14), part of at least one hit in 17 of final 19 games of season, also bursting onto the scene with a seven-game hitting streak (Feb. 17-March 3) in first seven games, finishing the season with at least one hit in 36 of 47 games played.

McKay belted the first home run of collegiate career on May 10 at Minnesota and added his second homer two days later (May 12), both going to right center at Minnesota's Siebert Field, and both bouncing over the scoreboard at the softball field beyond the wall.

One of McKay's other highlights from his first as a Spartan was knocking an RBI walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth against Rutgers to drive in teammate Nick Williams for the 3-2 Victory for MSU on March 31 and clinch the series for Michigan State.

In the field, McKay led the Spartan defense in being a part of team-high 29 double plays, including a pair of double plays in six games, while making 117 assists and 86 putouts.

UP NEXT
• Michigan State then host Illinois in the Spartans' B1G home opening weekend series, Friday-Sunday, March 28-30 at Jeff Ishbia Field at McLane Stadium. First pitch in the series opener is slated for 3:32 p.m. on Friday, March 28, followed by game two's start time of 3:32 p.m. on Saturday, March 29. The series finale on Sunday, March 30 has a 1:02 p.m. first pitch.

• Next week MSU meets the Lansing Lugnuts, High-A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics, at Jackson® Field™ on Wednesday, April 1, 2025 in the Crosstown Showdown.

Game time for the 17th overall Crosstown Showdown exhibition game is 6:05 p.m. The 2025 match-up marks the fourth year in a row for the CTSD to be played after returning in 2022 for the first time since the fall of 2019 after a two-year hiatus due to the COVID pandemic.

The 2025 edition will be the 13th Crosstown Showdown played in the spring out of the 17. It will serve as the Lugnuts' final prep for the 29th Minor League Baseball season that begins just a few days after the Crosstown Showdown.

• MSU resumes regular-season action on Wednesday, April 2, hosting Bowling Green at Jeff Isbhia Field at McLane Stadium in a 6:02 p.m. first pitch.

The Spartans' schedule is subject to change, fans can stay tuned to MSUSpartans.com and @MSUBaseball on Twitter for schedule updates, along with follow this weekend's action with "Watch Live," "Listen Live" and "Live Stats" links where available.

MSU Plays At Notre Dame Wednesday, Before Hosting Illinois In B1G Home-Opening Weekend Series

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Players Mentioned

Jacob Anderson

Caleb Berry

Noah Bright

Sam Busch

Harrison Cook

Jake Dresselhouse

Joseph Dzierwa

Tate Farquhar

Jack Frank

Tyler Horvath

Ryan McKay

Dominic Pianto

Parker Picot

Logan Pikur

Nick Powers

Randy Seymour

Will Shannon

JT Sokolove

Christian Williams

Nick Williams

Greg Ziegler