MSU baseball returns to Jackson Field for weekend series against Ohio State
Brian Martin pitches the ball during the Crosstown Showdown on April 4, 2023. Photo Credit: Sarah Smith/WDBM
April 7, 2023
EAST LANSING – Michigan State baseball is set to return to Jackson Field for a three game, two day series against Ohio State in an important Big Ten mid-season series.
Last season the two teams met for a three game set in two days due to poor weather conditions. Ohio State took the high scoring series win over the Spartans and won their last meeting by a score of 7-8.
The Buckeyes are still above .500 but have struggled in Big Ten play thus far with a record of 1-5. With conference play having just started this series feels like a must win for them in the Big Ten race, as they currently stand at the bottom of the conference.
OSU has an offense that has shown great scoring abilities at times.. The team consists of five players with batting averages above .300 on the season, led by catcher Cole Andrews who is batting a strong .338 and a team leading 20 RBIs. The Buckeyes will need a big series offensively against a tough Spartan team that has shown an ability to out-score opposing teams in high scoring games.
The Spartans are coming off of the Crosstown Showdown against the Lansing Lugnuts and look to use that exhibition game as a springboard for their upcoming series. In the postgame interview head coach Jake Boss said: “I thought we did some good things. I thought we could take away a lot of things from just kind of paying attention to how the Lugnuts did some things.”
The Spartans had a very strong inning against a professional baseball team in the third, scoring three runs. They are hoping this game was a good learning experience all around as they saw what it takes to compete at such a high level. Second baseman Trent Farquhar reflected on the game in an interview.
“It shows a lot,” said Farquhar. “It showed us tonight that we can compete with some pro guys. I think it’s just a confidence booster for us.”
As MSU looks to continue to improve as the season progresses, they’ll put their skills to the test against a resilient Buckeyes team. This series is important for the Spartans, who are 4-2 in conference play with only Indiana and Michigan ahead of them with records of 5-1.
Michigan State’s offense has shown no signs of slowing down, as infielders Brock Vradenburg and Trent Farquhar are both in the top ten for batting averages in the conference. Vradenburg sits in second with an outstanding .442 average in 104 at bats, second to Jonathan Kim of Michigan who is batting .456 in only 57 at bats. Farquhar sits at number seven, batting .389 in 108 at bats and is a real threat on the base paths.
Both have been huge contributors to a strong offense this season for the Spartans. They’ll look to continue this momentum as the season goes along.
The games will be played at Jackson Field on Friday April 7 at 6:05 pm and April 8 with a doubleheader slated for 1:05 and 4:35 pm.
