MSU Wraps Up Midweek Action Against In-State Foes EMU Tuesday at Home And At WMU Wednesday

Leading Off... MSU Wraps Up Midweek Action Against In-State Foes EMU Tuesday at Home And At WMU Wednesday
Spartans face Eagles for first time this season before fourth battle with the Broncos.

• Michigan State baseball plays its last two midweek contests this week, hosting its final non-conference contest at Jeff Ishbia Field at McLane Stadium on Tuesday, May 6, taking on Eastern Michigan at 6:02 p.m., before heading to Kalamazoo, Mich. on Wednesday, May 7 to play Western Michigan at 4 p.m. at WMU's Robert J. Bobb Stadium at Hyames Field.

• 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," "Live Stats" and "Listen Live" links, where available, at MSUSpartans.com.

• Michigan State enters the week 24-21 overall and currently with a 10-14 Big Ten record, coming off a home weekend series against No. 6 Oregon. The Spartans downed the Ducks, 2-0, Friday night in the series opener, behind Spartan southpaw hurler Joseph Dzierwa's 11-strikeout, complete-game shutout. Oregon stormed back to win Saturday's game, 13-5, rapping out 18 hits, setting up Sunday's rubber match. Oregon topped MSU, 3-1, in a hard-fought game Sunday to capture the series.

• Eastern Michigan brings an 18-23 overall record to East Lansing, having lost five of the last six. The Eagles are coming off dropping a three-game MAC weekend series with Northern Illinois over the weekend. A late comeback fell short in a 12-9 loss in the opener on Friday, before splitting a doubleheader on Saturday, winning the first, 13-3 in an 8-inning run-rule victory, but losing game two, 17-1, in a 7-inning run rule contest, and are 10-14 in MAC action with the loss.

• Western Michigan is 16-27 overall, winning the last four in a row, including sweeping Central Michigan in a three-game MAC series, moving to 11-13 in conference competition with the win. The Broncos beat the Chippewas, 14-5 in Friday's opener, then won game on of a twinbill on Saturday, 6-0, then completed the DH and series sweep with a 4-2 win. WMU plays at Valparaiso on Tuesday, a week after beating the Beacons at home, 6-5, last Tuesday.

• MSU is entering its final two weeks of the regular-season, opening with hosting Eastern Michigan on Tuesday, May 6 at 6:02 p.m. at Jeff Ishbia Field at McLane Stadium. MSU will then make its final midweek road trip for its final non-conference game of the season, heading to Kalamazoo to play at Western Michigan on Wednesday, May 7 at 4 p.m. at WMU's Robert J. Bobb Stadium at Hyames Field. The Spartans then make the cross-country trek to Los Angeles, to play a B1G weekend series at No. 25 USC, Friday-Sunday, May 9-11. MSU wraps up regular-season action against Minnesota in a three-game B1G series, Thursday-Saturday, May 15-17, in which will be MSU Senior Weekend Celebrations, presented by HAP.

• For the first time since the preseason polls, Michigan State was not ranked among others receiving votes in the April 7 National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Poll and MSU is again not in this week's (April 28) poll, marking the fourth week in row MSU hasn't been included in receiving votes in the rankings. The Spartans had a run of seven weeks in a row having either been ranked or including in among others receiving votes.

• Oregon and UCLA are the only two B1G teams ranked in all the polls, while USC is in the d1Baseball.com poll. Iowa, Michigan, Purdue along with USC are among the others receiving votes in the NCBWA Poll, in addition to USC and Iowa as the other league teams among others receiving votes in the USA Today Coaches Poll.

• 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.

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 were among others receiving votes for the next five weeks, until not being listed in the last five weeks' polls (April 7, 14, 21 & 28; May 5).

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.

Once again, UCLA and Oregon are the only two B1G teams ranked in all the polls, while USC is in the d1baseball.com poll. Iowa, Michigan, Purdue along with USC are among the others receiving votes in the NCBWA Poll, in addition to USC and Iowa as the other league teams among others receiving votes in the USA Today Coaches Poll.

Oregon moved up one spot to No. 5 in the D1Baseball Poll, while holding at No. 6 in the Perfect Game Top 25 Polls, while ranking No. 7 in the USA Today Coaches Poll, No. 10 in both the Baseball America Poll and the NCBWA Poll.

UCLA is No. 17 in both the NCBWA and the USA Today Coaches Polls, while ranking No. 18 in the
D1Baseball Poll, while No. 17 in the NCBWA Poll and No. 19 in the Perfect Game Poll, in addition to No. 24 in the Baseball America Poll.

USC is No. 25 in the D1Baseball Poll, while among others receiving votes in the NCBWA and USA Today Coaches Polls.

HONORING TURKEY STEARNES
• MSU Baseball will be honoring the legacy of Norman "Turkey" Stearnes on Tuesday.

Born on May 8, 1901, Stearnes was one of the greatest players to ever take the field in the Negro Leagues, spending 11 seasons with the Detroit Stars and leaving a mark on the game of baseball. When Major League Baseball officially incorporated Negro League statistics into the record book in 2024, he became further immortalized as one of the game's all-time greats. Stearnes ranks in the top 10 all-time in batting average (.348), slugging percentage (.616) and OPS (.417). He led the Negro National League (NNL) in home runs six times. Stearnes also won the NNL batting championship in 1929 with a .390 batting average and repeated as batting champion in 1931 with a .376 average.

This historic career earned Stearnes induction into five baseball Hall of Fames, including the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2000 and the Michigan Baseball Hall of Fame in 2024, where he was inducted with former Spartan baseball assistant coach, Jake Boss Sr., the father of current MSU head coach Jake Boss Jr.

Stearnes played a critical role in breaking down racial barriers in baseball, paving the way for future generations of athletes. His contributions to the sport and society continue to be celebrated.

MSU Baseball will welcome several members of Stearnes' family to celebrate the legacy of Norman "Turkey" Stearnes on Tuesday, as well as Gary and Vicki Gillette, Negro League and Detroit Stars Historians. One of Stearnes' grandchildren will be throwing out Tuesday's ceremonial first pitch.

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 former 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 464 wins in 866 games, Boss is also No. 3 on the Spartan head coach list for wins and No. 2 in games coached, also behind Kobs with 576 wins in 969 games, and Litwhiler with 489 wins, while recently passing Litwhiler in games coaches, as Litwhiler coached 859 games.

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 currently has an all-time record of 2,499-2,217-30 (.530) in 4,746 games played.

STRIVE FOR 25...HUNDRED
Michigan State enters the week with 2,499 wins, just one shy from becoming the 35th Division I team to reach 2,500 all-time wins. MSU will be the seventh B1G team to reach 2,500 wins, joining Michigan, USC, Illinois, Minnesota, Ohio State and UCLA.

MITTEN STATERS
• Michigan State has 23 players on its 2025 roster from the state of Michigan ... Eastern Michigan has nine Michigan natvies on its 2025 roster ... Western Michigan has 18 Michiganders on its 2025 roster.

SPARTAN-EAGLES CONNECTIONS
The Spartans vs. Eagles battle on Tuesday features two MSU coaches that have coached both teams:

• 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.

SPARTAN-BRONCO CONNECTIONS
Wednesday's tangle has connections galore between Michigan State and Western Michigan:

• Current MSU head coach Jake Boss Jr., WMU head coach Billy Gernon and MSU assistant coach/pitching coach Mark Van Ameyde were together on the Spartans' staff from 2009-10, before Gernon left to become head coach at WMU.

• Current MSU assistant coach Andrew Stone is in his fourth season with the Spartans, but was a four-year letterwinner at Western Michigan (2015-19) ... For his career, Stone finished with a .304 average with a .402 on-base percentage in 155 games played, making 104 starts ... Stone helped WMU to the 2016 MAC Tournament title and helped the Broncos advance to the NCAA Regionals for the first time since 1989 ... Stone was a three-time Academic All-MAC selection and a MAC Distinguished Scholar Athlete ... He earned his bachelor's degree in sports management from Western Michigan in 2018, and his master's degree also in sports management from WMU in 2019 ... Stone's father is Jeff Stone, Western Michigan's former Senior Associate Athletic Director, overseeing academic and compliance services, who retired in 2022.

• Spartan redshirt-junior pitcher Ryan Szczepaniak was in a MSU vs WMU match-up as the lone Szczepaniak for the first time in his Spartan career in game two of this season's meeting, as his brother, Drew, was a pitcher at WMU ... Both Szczepaniak brothers were the pitchers of record at the same time during the 2022 season's first meeting on April 13, 2022 in East Lansing, with Drew pitching the bottom of the fifth, while Ryan pitched the top of the sixth ... Ryan had a three-up, three-down inning with one strikeout, while Drew faced four Spartan batters without a hit, allowing one walk ... in the second meeting of the season on May 11, 2022 in Kalamazoo, neither Szczepaniak brother saw action, as Ryan pitched the day before at Notre Dame, and Drew pitched three days prior at Central Michigan ... Drew pitched one inning in the 2023 season's first meeting, yielding MSU's go-ahead run and was dealt the tough-luck loss in the 8-3 Victory for MSU on March 22, 2023, and neither Szczepaniak brother pitched in the second meeting of 2023 on March 28, 2023, an 8-6 Spartan triumph.

MSU IN MITTEN STATE MATCH-UPS
• This week's two midweek meetings with Eastern Michigan and Western Michigan are the Spartans' 11th and 12th games out of 12 total scheduled events against teams from the Great Lakes State, with 11 official games and one exhibition, wrapping up their in-state slate of games on in back-to-back days against fellow Mitten State teams, hosting Eastern Michigan on Tuesday, before playing at Western Michigan on Wednesday.

Michigan State is currently 4-5 in official games against fellow Mitten State opponents, having already beaten Western Michigan three times (2-0 in 7-innings and 6-3 on March 14 in an Opening Day doubleheader in Cary, N.C; 14-4 in 8-innings on April 14 in East Lansing), along with beating Oakland, 8-5, on March 19 in East Lansing, while losing to Michigan, 11-7, in non-conference match-up on March 12 in MSU's home opener and the first game at newly renamed Jeff Ishbia Field at McLane Stadium, and losing to Central Michigan 6-5, on April 9 ... the Spartans also beat the Lansing Lugnuts, 1-0, in the 2025 Crosstown Showdown at Jackson® Field™ on April 1 in an amended rules game ... MSU lost three games at Michigan April 25-27.

MSU VS. THE MAC
• Tuesday and Wednesday mark Michigan State's fifth and sixth games against opponents from the Mid-American Conference on the Spartans' schedule this season ... MSU has played Western Michigan three times and Central Michigan once so far, and had its game against Bowling Green scheduled for April 2 cancelled due to inclement weather, marking the third year in a row that the Spartans' and Falcons' have been scratched due to weather.

MSU is currently 3-1 vs. MAC teams ... the Spartans played a 7/9 inning DH vs. Western Michigan on Opening Day on Feb. 14 in Cary, N.C., with MSU winning the opener, 2-0 (7), and 6-3 in the nightcap, and the Spartans blasted the Broncos, 14-4 in an 8-inning run-rule Victory for MSU on April 15 in East Lansing ... MSU lost to Central Michigan, 6-5, on April 9 in East Lansing.

SERIES HISTORY NOTES VS. THIS WEEK'S OPPONENT
• Michigan State has an extensive history with both Eastern Michigan and Western Michigan, with the Spartans squaring off with the Eagles for the 164th all-time meeting on Tuesday, while battling the Broncos for the 189th all-time match-up on Wednesday.

MSU vs. EMU
Overall: MSU leads, 101-61-1
In East Lansing: MSU leads, 68-32-1
In Ypsilanti: MSU leads, 42-29
Neutral: MSU leads, 1-0
Streak: MSU W5; 11-of-14
First meeting: EMU 12, MSU 11; 6/5/1896 in East Lansing
Last meeting: MSU 9, EMU 8; 5/14/2024 in East Lansing

Series Notes: Spartans and Eagles are tangling for the 164th meeting all-time ... The Spartans are 17-6 under Coach Boss against the Eagles, including winning the last five in a row and 11-of-last-14 ... Under Boss, MSU is 10-4 against EMU in games in East Lansing ... Coach Boss is 18-7 in this series, as he was 1-1 vs. MSU during his one season as head coach at EMU (2008) ... Home team has won 8-of-last-10 games played on campus, with MSU's 2019 win at Ypsilanti and EMU's 2016 win only road wins in that stretch ... Last three meetings have been 1-run decisions, while seven of last eight meetings have been decided by two runs or less ... Spartans have scored 10+ runs in four of last 11 meetings ... First time playing in East Lansing in four-straight meetings since 2008-09.

MSU vs. WMU
Overall: WMU leads, 95-93
In East Lansing: WMU leads, 45-43
In Kalamazoo: WMU leads, 45-38 /
Neutral: MSU leads, 12-5
Streak: MSU W9; MSU W 12-of-13, 13-of-15, 21-of-24
First meeting: MSU 12, WMU 7; 5/13/1910 in East Lansing
Last meeting: MSU 14, WMU 4; 4/15/2025 in East Lansing

Series Notes: The Spartans and Broncos are meeting for the fourth of four scheduled meetings this season, playing a 7/9 inning DH on Opening Day on Feb. 14 in Cary, N.C., with MSU winning the opener, 2-0 (7), and 6-3 in the nightcap, and the Spartans won 14-4 in an 8-inning run-rule Victory for MSU on April 15 in East Lansing ... A total of 14 of the last 21 meetings have been decided by three runs or less, including seven one-run decisions, highlighted by five in a row from 2014-17 ... The winning team has posted 10+ runs in four of the last 10 meetings ... The Spartans are 24-7 against the Broncos under head coach Jake Boss Jr., and MSU is 21-5 vs. WMU in Coach Boss vs. Coach Gernon match-ups.

DZIERWA TABBED BIG TEN PITCHER OF THE WEEK FOR THIRD TIME THIS SEASON
• Michigan State junior pitcher Joseph Dzierwa was honored for his complete-game shutout of No. 6 Oregon on Friday night by being tabbed Big Ten Conference Pitcher of the Week on Monday afternoon, as announced by the conference office.

Dzierwa, a native of Haskins, Ohio, spearheaded MSU's biggest upset since beating No. 1 Oregon State in 2014 with last Friday night's takedown of the Ducks.

The junior hurler Dzierwa chalked up 11 strikeouts and stymied the Oregon bats to just three hits over the 9.0 innings pitched, and didn't allow a walk. Dzierwa's complete game is the first this season by a Spartan pitcher and first since former teammate Nick Powers' CG vs. Marshall, Feb. 24, 2024.

While the complete game outing is only a year old, the official complete game shutout performance by a Spartan pitcher is a little further back, as Cam Vieaux was the last MSU hurler with a complete game shutout on April 15, 2016 at Purdue. Mason Erla had a full 9.0 IP outing of shutout baseball on April 7, 2019, in the first-ever night game at McLane Stadium, but the game went 10 innings, and Erla was replaced in the 10th, after allowing just two hits and striking out six.

It was only the second time this season that Oregon has been shutout, falling 8-0 to Rutgers on March 22 at home. By holding the Ducks to three hits Friday night, it was their second-fewest hits since that same loss, that was done by four Rutgers pitchers, while Dzierwa single-handedly blanked the Ducks.

Dzierwa's 11 strikeouts Friday night was his fourth double-digit strikeout outing of the season, but first since Feb. 28, as he opened the season with three-straight 10+ K outings.

The 11 Ks give Dzierwa 86 for the season, moving within three Ks of MSU's top 10 single-season list, and five shy from his season total of 91 punchouts last season.

With the win, Dzierwa is now 7-2 on the season, and Friday was his 19th career win, moving up to tie for No. 9 on MSU's career wins list, tying former teammate Nick Powers (2021-24) with 19 wins.

Dzierwa now has 236 Ks for his career, solidifying his hold on the No. 4 spot on the Spartans' career strikeout list, and just seven away from the No. 3 spot, held by Mason Erla (2017-21) with 243 Ks.

DZIERWA FOR THREEEEEEEEE
• This is Dzierwa's third B1G Pitcher of the Week Award this season, collecting the first two honors of the season in back-to-back weeks (Feb. 17 and 24), to become the first MSU player with back-to-back B1G weekly awards of any kind in program history. He is also the first Spartan player to earn any kind of B1G weekly honor three times in a season.

DZIERWA DZOINING SPARTAN THREE+ B1G PITCHER OF WEEK COLLECTORS
• Dzierwa is the fifth MSU pitcher to collect at least three Big Ten Pitcher of the Week honors in their career. He joins Bryan Gale with five from 2001-04, Kurt Wunderlich with three in 2010 and 11, along with Tony Bucciferro with three in 2011 and 2012, and Andrew Waszak with three in 2012 and 2013.

Overall, this is Dzierwa's fourth career B1G weekly honor, as he was tabbed B1G Freshman of the Week on April 10, 2023.

UP NEXT
• The Spartans make the cross-country trek to Los Angeles, to play a B1G weekend series at No. 25 USC, Friday-Sunday, May 9-11. MSU wraps up regular-season action against Minnesota in a three-game B1G series, Thursday-Saturday, May 15-17, in which will be MSU Senior Weekend Celebrations, presented by HAP.

• 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.

• 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.

MSU Wraps Up Midweek Action Against In-State Foes EMU Tuesday at Home And At WMU Wednesday

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Players Mentioned

Joseph Dzierwa

Nick Powers

Ryan Szczepaniak