EAST LANSING— In the last 12 home-openers Michigan State baseball has won 11 out of 12 games, losing only once.
After a 12-3 start to the season, MSU will begin its journey into conference play with a rivalry matchup in East Lansing. Welcoming the Michigan Wolverines to Jeff Ishbia Field at McLane Stadium for the 2025 home-opener.
The Spartans are coming off a 12-7 loss against the University of Alabama at Birmingham on Sunday in their final of four games in the First Pitch Invitational.
The loss was the lone lowlight of the weekend as they went 3-1 beating Cornell 3-2, Winthrop 7-0, and UAB 5-2 before the Blazers got their revenge.
Redshirt senior infielder Sam Busch has been seeing the ball extremely well to start the season. Boasting a .341 batting average while leading the team in both home runs with five and RBIs with 17.
Busch played a key role this past weekend especially against UAB on Friday. Hitting two-home runs racking up three RBIs in the process that were key in a three-run Spartan victory.
The Spartan bats have gotten the job done so far this season with the pitching stepping up as well. Currently sitting No. 22 nationally in ERA with a 3.31 through 125.0 innings.
Junior pitcher Joseph Dzierwa has been key to the pitching success sitting top 10 nationally in WHIP and strikeouts. When he’s on the mound not many runners are seeing the basepaths.
Scouting Michigan
Starting off the season with a 9-6 record, the Wolverines have faced some fierce competition. Already playing three ranked opponents and starting Big Ten play last Friday with a series against Illinois.
After taking two out of the three games against the Fighting Illini, they took down Toledo 6-4 Tuesday in Ann Arbor.
Graduate infielder Benny Casillas has been on fire over the past 10 games with a .455 batting average and 15 hits. He had a career game on Friday going 4-for-5 picking up six RBIs in the process.
Junior infielder Mitch Voit is another Wolverine the Spartans need to shut down. He’s their most dangerous hitter, leading the team in hits, home runs, and RBIs while carrying a slugging percentage of .737.
It’ll also be critical for the Spartans to get a lead early, as Michigan has a strong bullpen showcased by junior Max Debiec and graduate Cade Connolly.
Debiec is striving with a 0.00 ERA and a 0.86 WHIP through 9.1 innings to go along with nine strikeouts. Not to be outdone, Connolly has allowed just three baserunners and one run with seven strikeouts in 5.1 innings.
The Spartans’ will need to keep the bats alive and make sure they take the lead early, or the Michigan bullpen might shut the game down.
The matchup between in-state rivals is scheduled to begin Wednesday at 4:02 p.m., as MSU focuses on winning its fourth straight home-opener.
