Michigan State (28-16, 10-8 Big Ten) and Iowa (34-12, 10-7 Big Ten) meet in a three-game series in Iowa City, Iowa this weekend with huge NCAA Tournament implications for both teams.
With the 2023 regular season winding down, the Spartans and Hawkeyes both are looking to add to their NCAA Tournament resumes, and with both teams on the brink of the baseball's version of the "Big Dance," this weekend will be a big resume booster for the winner of this series.
Michigan State's last Big Ten series was a rough one, as the Spartans were swept by Illinois last weekend after getting little to nothing from their pitching staff all weekend. The Spartans, however, bounced back with a midweek victory over in-state foe Eastern Michigan on Wednesday in an 11-10 extra-inning thriller.
The Hawkeyes are coming off a series victory over Ohio State, winning two of the three games in Iowa City. The Hawkeyes hit a whopping 11 home runs in the three-game set against the Buckeyes, and scored 16 runs in game one and 15 runs in game two of the series.
Both Michigan State and Iowa bring explosive offenses to Iowa City this weekend, as both teams are in the top-four in the Big Ten in team batting average, slugging percentage and on-base percentage. The Spartans are tied at the top of the conference in batting average with Maryland with a .312 team batting average.
Michigan State brings the leading hitter in the Big Ten in the form of Brock Vradenburg. Vradenburg has a .438 batting average, which also ranks him sixth overall in the nation.
Iowa's leading hitter Keaton Anthony has a .389 batting average on the season, which ranks him third in the Big Ten. However, he has been held of competition due to the ongoing gambling investigation amongst the Iowa baseball team.
Anthony and three of his teammates —Jacob Henderson Ben Tallman and Gehrig Christensen — have been out since last weekend against Ohio State.
The Hawkeyes and Spartans should put on an offensive show each game of the series as both pose massive threats at the plate, which should make for an exciting back-and-forth battle.