It's been a busy week for the Michigan State baseball team. The Spartans played three games against Michigan last weekend, then played a midweek game against Notre Dame and now host Northwestern for a three-game set this weekend.
Michigan series recap
Michigan State faced off against in-state rival Michigan in a three-game series in Ann Arbor this past weekend. The Wolverines took two of the three games, giving the Maize and Blue a Big Ten series win.
In game one, Michigan State sent Friday night starter Joseph Dzierwa to the mound to face off against Michigan's Noah Rennard. Michigan's Jonathan Kim kept his hot streak up with an RBI-triple in the first inning, to take an early 1-0 lead against the Spartans.
Casey Mayes tied the game up at one in the top of the second inning on a sacrifice fly. The Spartans would take the lead later that inning with an RBI-single from Mitch Jebb on a 3-1 count to score Dillon Kark. Michigan would tag Dzierwa for three runs in the bottom of the inning to take a 4-2 lead against the Spartans.
Centerfielder Jonathan Kim stayed hot for the Wolverines in game one by adding two more hits and two more RBIs to his season totals. Dzierwa went four innings, giving up five earned runs and striking out three Wolverines. Michigan tacked on another run in the fourth inning by way of a Ted Burton solo home run.
The last scoring play occurred in the fifth inning with a sacrifice fly from Brock Vradenburg, to cut the Michigan lead down to 5-3. Unfortunately for the Spartans, they would fall to the Wolverines in the first game of the series, which dropped Michigan State's record to 23-12 and 6-4 in the Big Ten.
In game two, the Spartans sent Harrison Cook to the mound to face off against Michigan starting pitcher Connor O'Halloran. Cook was dealt a tough hand against the Wolverines on Saturday, as he could not get out of the first inning, allowing four earned runs in 0.1 innings pitched.
Michigan led 4-0 through two innings until the Spartans got on the board in the third inning with two runs, courtesy of an RBI-single from Jebb and an RBI-single from Vradenburg. The Spartans would draw closer in the fifth inning with a sacrifice fly from Trent Farquhar to cut the Wolverine lead to 4-3. MSU would not score after the fifth inning, however, and the Wolverines would go on to add four runs in the sixth and eighth innings, extending their lead to 8-3.
O'Halloran completed the complete game to give the Wolverines an 8-3 victory in game two of the three-game series.
In game three, Vradenburg stole the show as he has done many times this season. Vradenburg started the game with a bang, hitting a two-run home run to give Michigan State an early 2-0 lead. In total, Vradenburg had three hits, two home runs, five RBIs and worked two walks.
The Spartans would follow Vradenburg's lead and score the first nine runs in Sunday's contest through four innings. Michigan State starting pitcher Nick Powers improved to 4-0 on the season, as he tossed eight innings, scattering two runs, and striking out four Michigan batters.
The Spartans ended the game in seven innings via the run rule. Michigan State salvaged one game out of the three-game series. The Spartans ended the series against the Wolverines with a record of 24-13 overall and 7-5 record in the Big Ten.
Notre Dame recap
On Tuesday, Michigan State wrapped up their two-game season series against Notre Dame at McLane Stadium in East Lansing.
The Spartans won the first game against the 2022 College World Series participant in extra innings in South Bend on April 11.
In game two, Notre Dame got off to a great start, scoring three runs in the top of the first inning. The Spartans responded in the second inning with two runs to cut the Fighting Irish's lead to 3-2.
The scoring would halt until the fifth inning, when Sam Busch would drive a ball deep into the East Lansing night to give the Spartans a 5-3 lead via a three-run home run. The Irish would tie the game up in the sixth inning at five, setting up for another potential classic.
The Spartans would have other plans, though, as they blew the game completely open in the seventh inning, scoring six runs. It was highlighted by a Casey Mayes two-RBI triple.
Michigan State would add an insurance run in the eighth, then closer Wyatt Rush finished the game off in the ninth, completing a two-game sweep against Notre Dame.
Michigan State improved its record to 25-13, while the Irish fell to 23-16.
Northwestern preview
Michigan State and Northwestern kick off a three-game series this weekend. The first game was scheduled for Friday at 6 p.m. Eastern Time at McLane Stadium in East Lansing. However, the contest was rained out and the two programs will play a doubleheader on Saturday.
This Big Ten Conference battle is between the 25-13 (7-5 Big Ten) Spartans and the 7-28 (3-9 Big Ten) Wildcats. As mentioned, Michigan State is coming off a 12-5 victory on Tuesday against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in East Lansing. Meanwhile, Northwestern won its midweek battle against the University of Milwaukee, 10-0.
The Spartans and Wildcats are on two completely different paths in this 2023 campaign. Michigan State has the NCAA regionals in site, while Northwestern's looking to spoil the Spartans' dreams.
Northwestern has lost six consecutive Big Ten conference games, which is the longest current conference losing streak. The Wildcats also have a woeful 3-21 record on the road this season, which does not do them any favors, as the Spartans are a dazzling 10-3 in East Lansing this season.
Michigan State comes into this weekend's series with the top team batting average in the Big Ten (.313), and the Wildcats enter with the second-lowest team batting average in the conference (.251). Michigan State's Brock Vradenburg enters another Big Ten conference weekend with the highest batting average in the Big Ten (.431). Vradenburg also has a 1.290 OPS, which takes the top spot in the Big Ten.
Trent Farquhar checks in at the ninth spot for batting average in the conference (.364). There are five Spartans with a higher batting average than the Wildcats; top hitter. The biggest challenge for the Spartans this weekend is to not be complacent and not take the Wildcats lightly.
No matter how rough their season has gone to this point, NU's roster is still full of talented Division I players on scholarship, and if the Spartans take their foot off the gas, anything can happen.