Michigan State and Illinois return to the diamond on Friday for the first of three games this weekend in Champaign, Illinois. The Spartans and Illini are approaching the end of the season, and both are seeking a big-time series win.
Michigan State enters the series against Illinois with an overall record of 28-13 and a 9-5 record in the Big Ten. The Spartans are currently on the bubble for the NCAA Tournament with three Big Ten series left in the 2023 season.
As of now, MSU will more than likely have to win its remaining Big Ten series and take care of Central Michigan in a midweek battle to give itself a chance at making the 2023 NCAA Tournament field of 64. According to D1 Baseball, the Spartans are five spots from making the NCAA tournament as an at-large team.
Currently, D1 Baseball has just Indiana and Maryland out of the Big Ten in the field of 64. Michigan State ends the season with the Hoosiers in East Lansing and does not play the Terrapins at all in the regular season. Of course, the Spartans can avoid all of the waiting on selection Monday by winning the Big Ten Tournament in Omaha, Nebraska and thus secure the Big Ten's automatic bid.
Illinois enters this series with an overall record of 19-22 and an 8-10 record in league competition. The Illini are coming off a series loss against the Ohio State Buckeyes and a midweek loss against Indiana State in a 5-4, 13 inning affair. Illinois currently has a team batting average of .266, which ranks tenth in the Big Ten. Michigan State still leads the Big Ten in team batting average, with a .313 average.
The Illini are led by infielder Ryan Moerman at the plate. Moerman has a .314 batting average with 10 home runs on the season. Moerman ranks 29th in the conference in batting average, while Michigan State is led by the Big Ten leader in hitting, Brock Vradenburg. Vradenburg is hitting a sizzling .442 on the season with 12 home runs. Expect the Illini to work around Vradenburg and force the rest of the Spartan lineup to do damage this weekend.
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