EAST LANSING- The Michigan State Spartans baseball team opens up yet another pivotal Big Ten matchup this weekend, as they travel to Minneapolis to take on the Minnesota Golden Gophers at Siebert Field.
MSU comes into the game riding high after winning their third straight Big Ten series at McLane this past weekend against their instate rival Michigan Wolverines. The Spartans were able to take two out of three from UM and secure their first series victory against them since the 2016 season.
Oh what a weekend!!
• Series W over Michigan – 1st since 2016
• 23 runs scored
• 2 extra-inning games
• 1 walk-off #VictoryForMSU
• 7 HR
• Pitchers fired 35 Ks = season-high for 3-game series
• 3rd-straight @B1Gbaseball series win
• Alumni Day & Super Hero Day#GoGreen pic.twitter.com/4PKmrukHWA— Michigan State Baseball (@MSUBaseball) May 6, 2024
The Spartans were scheduled to close out their home stand on Tuesday against Bowling Green, but the game was canceled due to rain. Michigan State improved to 21-23 with their wins over the weekend and remained in the top eight in the Big Ten.
Minnesota enters the weekend set with a bit more desperation than MSU, having lost five of their last six Big Ten series, including last weekend when they dropped two out of three to Nebraska at home. Despite winning six of their last eleven games, the Golden Gophers could use a series win to continue their bid at the Big Ten Tournament. They enter the series with an overall record of 21-21.
Jack Frank continued his dominant season with the Spartans, earning Big Ten Player of the Week honors for the first time this season. Frank slashed .471 / .550 / .941 for the week, going 8 for 17 with two doubles and two home runs. His highlight of the week was a go-ahead solo Home run to the opposite field in the eighth inning of Saturday’s game, which would give MSU a lead they would not relinquish.
Jack Frank w/ his 2nd HR in as many days with a 410-foot #FrankJack with a 105-mph exit velo off the bat!!
It's also Frank's 3rd 1st-inning HR this season, all coming in last 3 weeks, as part of his team-leading 9th overall HR on the year!!
UM 1
MSU 1
B1st#GoGreen | @JackF_22 pic.twitter.com/tfWxp45NgP— Michigan State Baseball (@MSUBaseball) May 5, 2024
Ryan McKay also had a great week for Michigan State, earning Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors for the second time this season. McKay recorded a hit in all four games last week, extending his hitting streak to twelve games. He went 8 for 20 last week, and recorded five RBIs in the weekend series win against Michigan.
Aaron Mishoulam has been red hot out of the bullpen for MSU as of late, as he pitched five scoreless innings in pivotal moments in the Spartan’s series win over Michigan this past weekend. Mishoulam has held his opponents to one run or less in eleven of his last thirteen appearances, and no runs in four of his last five, and will be a key piece for Jake Boss Jr in going for another conference series win.
As for Minnesota, the Spartan pitching will have their hands full with redshirt junior outfielder, Nick Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald is currently leading the Golden Gophers in OPS, batting average, and on-base percentage, and will be a matchup for Michigan State pitching to keep an eye on all weekend long.
Have a day Fitz💪#Gophers 7, Huskers 8 pic.twitter.com/65c3RMI5MO
— Minnesota Baseball (@GopherBaseball) May 4, 2024
Another dangerous bat in the UMN lineup is junior Brady Counsell. The Gophers second baseman is currently pacing the team in hits, home runs, walks, and runs, and has been a consistent and solid bat at the top of the Minnesota batting order all year long. The leadoff man will look to continue his stellar season versus the Spartans.
The probable starters for this weekend’s series start with the usual Friday and Saturday guys for MSU, with Joseph Dzierwa making the start on Friday, and Nick Powers getting the ball on Saturday. Michigan State has yet to announce their starter for Sunday afternoon’s game, but Nick Ferazzi has made every Sunday start since March for the Spartans.
Minnesota will counter with junior Will Semb toeing the slab on Friday and the lefty, Connor Wietegrefe getting the start on Saturday. Minnesota also has not yet announced a probable start for Sunday’s game.
As every weekend series has been as of late, this three-game set has very high stakes in the Big Ten standings for both teams. MSU enters the weekend with a .500 record in conference play, sitting at 9-9 and in sole possession of seventh place in the conference, good enough for a spot in the Big Ten Tournament if the season ended today.
Minnesota enters the series at 7-11 in Big Ten play, currently sitting two games behind Michigan State, and tied for tenth in the conference with Penn State. The Golden Gophers desperately need a series win to keep pace with other teams and reach the top eight in the conference with just two conference series for each team in the regular season.
MSU and UMN did not play against each other last season but have matched up six times since the start of the 2021 season. Michigan State is 5-1 in those six games, including a series sweep of the Golden Gophers at McLane Stadium in East Lansing in the 2022 season.
This will be the first matchup between the two schools in Minneapolis since 2021, and it kicks off Friday under the lights with the first pitch scheduled for 7 p.m. Saturday and Sunday’s games are scheduled for the afternoon, with Saturday’s first pitch at 2 p.m., and Sunday’s at 1 p.m. All three games will be played at Siebert Field at the University of Minnesota.
