For the second time this season, junior pitcher for Michigan State Joseph Dzierwa claimed back-to-back Big Ten Pitcher of the Week honors. Dzierwa began the 2025 season by immediately putting his name in program history by becoming the first player to win these back-to-back awards in the first two weeks of the season.
He now continues to make Spartan baseball history by completing this achievement for the second time, solidifying his name as one of the most dominant pitchers in program history.
Dzierwa was given the Big Ten Conference’s top pitcher award on Monday afternoon after another dominating Friday night shutout. He led the Spartans to a 5-0 road win over No. 25 USC. The victory helped pave the way for the Spartans to steal the 2-1 series win over the Trojans and end USC's eight-series winning streak, which had been their longest streak since 1978.
Heading into Friday night's game, the Trojans were hitting .293 as a team with 492 hits and 215 walks this season, averaging 10.3 hits and 4.5 walks per game. However, Dzierwa was able to halt USC’s momentum and these impressive numbers by pitching seven scoreless innings that resulted in eight strikeouts, just two hits, and no walks.
This game marked the first time USC had been shut out at home this season, and just the second time overall, mirroring last Friday when the Spartans handed No. 6 Oregon their second shutout of the season and Dzierwa tallied up 11 Ks in a complete game performance. These back-to-back Friday night shutouts marked MSU’s third win over a Top 25 team this season, the most since 2019.
The two Friday shutouts also added 19 total strikeouts to Dzierwa's season total, each one part of a vow to support 6-year-old Luca Wright's Charitable Gift America's fund. For each strikeout this season, Dzierwa is donating to help raise money for Luca's battle with B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
His performance against USC earned Dzierwa his fourth Big Ten Pitcher of the Week honor this season and the fifth of his career, including his Big Ten Freshman of the Week accolade. This makes Dzierwa the first Spartan to win the pitching honor four times in a single season and the only player to win in back-to-back weeks twice in one year.
Dzierwa’s ability to finish innings and games strongly is important, but his early controlled tempo from the opening pitch is what makes his play so special. He set the tone early for USC, by striking out four of the first eight batters, with back-to-back strikeouts in the third inning. He let up a HBP and a single in the third but was able to navigate this by putting out the next six batters in a row.
There was a two-out double in the fifth inning, which Dzierwa was able to finish off with a strikeout to close the inning. He then capped off the game for the Trojans and ended his night with two consecutive 1-2-3 innings in the sixth and seventh, closing out both with strikeouts, including back-to-back Ks in the seventh.
Although this win brought so many individual accomplishments for Dzierwa, it was also a collective team achievement. Michigan State became one of just three Big Ten teams to win a series against the West Coast members. The Spartans joined Ohio State, who defeated Oregon, and Rutgers, who beat Washington. However, both Ohio State and Rutgers were the home teams in those series wins, while Michigan State took the series on the road.
With his fourth Pitcher of the Week award in 2025, Dzierwa now joins former Spartan Bryan Gale (2001-04) as the second MSU pitcher to be awarded at least four Big Ten Pitcher of the Week honors in their career. Gale holds the record with five, and Dzierwa sits just one shy, with the opportunity to match Gale with one more series to play.
MSU will gear up for their final regular season series against conference competition, taking on Minnesota this Thursday, May 15 through Saturday, May 17. The Spartans will also use this weekend to celebrate their seniors' last home game.
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