Michigan State and Michigan face each other this weekend in a three-game series in Ann Arbor, beginning Friday at 4 p.m. Eastern Time on Big Ten Network Plus.
Michigan State reunites with its fiercest rival this weekend in a big series in the Big Ten Conference as both Michigan and MSU sit among the top-five in league standings coming into the weekend.
The two teams faced off at the beginning of the season in a “non-conference” game, as the Spartans used a late rally to knock off the Wolverines, 15-8. Both teams, however, are coming off a midweek loss as Michigan dropped a game against Toledo, 10-7, and Michigan State lost against Purdue Fort-Wayne, 3-2. Both teams will be fully focused on winning this mighty important series that will go a long way in determining postseason seeding for the Big Ten Tournament.
Michigan comes in with the 11th-ranked offense in the Big Ten, posting a team batting average of .253 and just 215 runs scored, which also ranks 11th in the conference. Michigan State comes in with the second-best team batting average in the Big Ten at .313 and a team on-base percentage of .417, which also ranks second in the conference.
Both the Spartans and Wolverines have guys who are in the top-five in batting average in the conference. MSU has the top overall hitter in Brock Vradenburg, who comes into the weekend with a .418 batting average. Michigan's Jonathan Kim has a .386 batting average, which ranks him fifth overall in the conference. Michigan State's Trent Farquhar also ranks in the top-five, as he comes into the weekend with a .390 batting average and that is good for fourth in the conference.
The key to this series could be extra-base hits and the Spartans are very familiar in that category. Michigan State has four players who are in the top five in triples in the Big Ten. Mitch Jebb and Vradenburg are tied at the top with four triples on the season, while Casey Mayes and Sam Busch are tied with three triples on the year.
The pitching staffs are a wildcard for each team as both the Spartans and Wolverines come into the weekend with ERAs north of five. The key to winning this series will be which pitching staff can strand the greatest number of runners on base, and limiting the number of times the opposing team has runners in scoring position.
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