MSU Baseball Feature: Playing At A Higher Level

EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Pitchers Tyler Horvath and George Viebrock III, catcher/designated hitter Caleb Berry, and first baseman/designated hitter Will Shannon all transferred to Michigan State for their final collegiate baseball seasons. They all transferred from Division II or III schools, wanting to play at a higher level.

They had similar reasoning when choosing MSU. Horvath, a graduate student righty closer, who transferred from Case Western Reserve, explained a big reason for his transfer was the MSU coaching staff reached out first.

"It made it a lot easier to make my decision because I felt like I was wanted," said Horvath, who graduated this spring with a master's degree in managerial analysis. "I felt like MSU was a good fit for me because of the conditions and coming in feeling like I was going to be a part of the program."

MSU baseball head coach Jake Boss Jr. said certain things stick out, making him and the coaching staff interested in offering a player to come to MSU. And that can cause them to reach out to a player first.

"Obviously we looked at a lot of numbers, statistics, had a chance to look at video on those guys and they all had some qualities we liked. Primarily, they threw a lot of strikes on the mound," said Boss. "We want a guy that is going to represent our program, our athletic department and our university in a positive way, we're looking for good students; some guys that we don't have to worry about off the field.

"I think a lot of times those smaller schools, Division II or III schools, are very academic institutions, so we didn't think academics would be an issue with any of them."

MSU was a big difference for these four coming from Division II or III, or NAIA schools. The hitting and pitching were a big change coming into the Big Ten.

Berry, who also just graduated this spring, earning his degree from MSU in sports coaching, said how he noticed the Big Ten level was different, as he came from Milligan University in Elizabethton, Tenn., a NAIA school.

"Even the pitchers that don't throw as hard, they're here for a reason, they're really crafty and they have multiple pitches, so changing my mindset from getting at bats off to every at bat having to compete. Even on the catching side of things, our guys throw hard and sometimes it's not easy to know where the ball is going. So, just overall, staying locked in on every single pitch at this level is that much more important," said Berry, who has split time at both catcher and designated hitter for the Spartans.

The players faced some difficulties together early on that led them to create connections and getting comfortable playing with each other.

On February 14 and 15 in the opening weekend of the season, the team played four games within 24 hours. Shannon, who transferred from Hillsdale (Mich.) College, said experiencing something like that brings the team a lot closer.

"We did a lot of hard things early on in the fall and early on in the season, and that kind of brings people together," said Shannon, who will graduate this summer with his degree in economics. "We have a lot of guys who kind of know their role and know who they are as players. That was impressed upon us here by our coaches like hey, you know who you are as a player, and do your job. I think that's why we click so well together, because everybody knows what their role is on the team and how to help the team the best they can."

Besides the difficulty of playing four games in the span of 24 hours, Berry added winning all the games was huge for the team and got them out to the start they were hoping for.

"I think that started us off really hot as far as what our mindsets should be going forward and I think we've handled that really well. And again, we are still going through some adversity and I think we're pulling together and figuring out ways to get through the ups and downs of the long season," Berry said.

Viebrock previously played at Denison University in Granville, Ohio , where he did not have a ton of flexibility to access the school's workout facilities to train. He said that he had specific hours when he could access the gym, but outside of that, he was on his own. He MSU strength & conditioning head coach Molli Munz, who tries to be available whenever players want to work out.

"The biggest difference is the time to commitment, but also the flexibility. Molli is really flexible if you wanna get in, we both (Viebrock and Horvath) lifted on a Sunday on an off day, she came in, took time out of her weekend to come in and work with us. The commitment is difficult when you're outside of the facility, but it's a lot easier with all these great resources, and they truly help us succeed and grow," said Viebrock.

Viebrock, Shannon, Horvath and Berry, along with their fellow Spartan seniors, will be recognized throughout the weekend during MSU Senior Weekend Celebrations, presented by HAP, which continues on series Friday with another game with a 6:02 p.m. first pitch when MSU continues its three-game series with Minnesota. Saturday's regular-season finale is a 1:02 p.m. start time.

Members of the Spartans' Senior Class will be honored in pre-game ceremonies before each game, so fans are encouraged to arrive at least 30 minutes early to help celebrate the Spartan seniors.

Saturday is also "517 Day" at Jeff Ishbia Field at McLane Stadium.

All fans are encouraged to bring non-expired canned food items to support our canned food drive, benefiting the Southside Community Kitchen.

MSU's 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.

Michigan State baseball tickets are available online at msuspartans.evenue.net, by contacting the Spartan Ticket Office at 517-355-1610 or by email at tickets@msu.edu for questions or more information.

Due to ongoing construction on the Harrison Road bridge over the Red Cedar River, fans are encouraged to plan ahead and allow extra time for parking this weekend!

For more details visit http://sprtns.co/4jfhR1K.

Players Mentioned

Caleb Berry

Tyler Horvath

Will Shannon

George Viebrock III

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