Michigan State and Ohio State will face off this weekend in a three-game series that includes a single game on Friday at 6:05 p.m. Eastern Time and a doubleheader on Saturday that begins at 1:05 p.m. Eastern Time. All games this weekend will be played at Jackson Field in Lansing, Michigan.

Michigan State comes into this weekend’s series against the Buckeyes with a 16-9 overall record and a 4-2 record in Big Ten Conference play. Conversely, Ohio State enters with a 14-13 record, while having a 1-5 record in the Big Ten.

Michigan State is coming off the heels of a series win against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights in Piscataway, New Jersey last weekend, and an exhibition loss to the Lansing Lugnuts on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Ohio State lost a home series against Minnesota, but bounced back with a 7-6 midweek win against Kent State.

Both the Buckeyes and the Spartans are led by their offenses, as both teams have five guys that are currently batting over .300 on the season. Michigan State’s Brock Vradenburg leads the bunch with a .442 average, which has actually dropped since last weekend against Rutgers, when he came into that series with a batting average north of .450. Both teams will look for scoring early and often to counter their pitching staffs lack of consistency.

The Spartans and Buckeyes both have team ERAs well over five, which has resulted in some pretty impressive scoring totals. The story is a bit different for the Buckeyes on the pitching front, the team ERA may not be where their intended goal is but starter Isaiah Coupet has been a bright spot for OSU. Coupet enters this weekend with a 3.25 ERA in six starts on the season and is also holding opponent’s to a .208 batting average. Keep an eye on Coupet against this feared Spartan lineup, as one of the keys of the weekend.

Offensively, Ohio State is led by catcher Cole Andrews, who currently has a batting average of .338 and an on-base percentage of .478. Andrews’ ability to create havoc with his bat and his ability to handle his pitchers behind the plate will be a big key for the Buckeyes if they are going to come in and have success against the Spartans.

Michigan State and Ohio State faced off at Jackson Field in Lansing, Michigan in game one of three this weekend, with the Spartans cruising to a 7-1 win.

Game one of the series saw Michigan State's Joseph Dzierwa versus Ohio State's Isaiah Coupet as the starting pitcher matchup. Coupet came into Friday's contest with a 3.25 ERA, throwing the baseball very well for the Buckeyes. The Michigan State offense would have a lot to say early on about the matchup against Coupet.

The Spartans struck early in the first inning with a Bryan Broecker two-RBI single to give the Spartans a 2-0 lead after one. The scoring against Coupet would not stop there, as he allowed two more runs in the bottom of the second inning by way of some command problems that would allow the Spartans to score on a wild pitch and a bases loaded walk. After two innings, the Spartans tagged Coupet for four runs and held a 4-0 lead.

Michigan State would ride starting pitcher Dzierwa with a four-run lead and he did not disappoint for the Green and White, tossing six innings and only allowing one earned run while scattering three hits in the process.

Michigan State would add another run in the fifth inning by way of another bases loaded walk. Ohio State would finally scratch the scoring column in the sixth inning with an RBI-double by Matthew Graveline to cut the Spartan lead down to 5-1, but that would be the last time the Buckeyes crossed home plate on Friday.

Michigan State would add two more runs in the eighth inning and would ultimately close it out in the ninth to come away with a 7-1 victory, improving the Spartans' record to 17-9 overall and 5-2 in the Big Ten.

Michigan State and Ohio State played a doubleheader on Saturday to close out the three-game series, with the Buckeyes cruising to a 13-2 win against the Spartans in the first matchup of the day.

Michigan State sent Harrison Cook to the mound in game one to face off against Ohio State’s Gavin Bruni. The Buckeyes got off to a hot start against Cook by scoring two runs in the first inning and a run in the third to give the Buckeyes a 3-0 lead going into the bottom half of the third inning.

The Spartans responded in the bottom half the third inning with a run of their own to cut the Buckeye lead to 3-1 after three innings. The Buckeyes would strike in the fourth with an RBI-single off the bat of Trey Lipsey to make the score 4-1 Ohio State.

The Spartans added a run in the bottom of the fourth and it would be the last run they would score in the game, as the Buckeyes went on to score nine unanswered runs in the next couple innings to give Ohio State a 13-2 lead that would ultimately end the game in the seventh game due to the run rule.

Ohio State improved to 15-14 with the victory and 2-6 in the Big Ten, while the Spartans dropped to 17-10 overall and 5-3 in the Big Ten.

Game three of the series was the rubber match between the Spartans and Buckeyes, with the Spartans returning the favor from earlier in the day against the Buckeyes and getting a 16-3 win.

In game three of the series, Michigan State’s Nick Powers took the mound, while the Buckeyes sent Josh Timmerman to the bump.

The Michigan State offense came out with a vengeance in the first inning, scoring six runs against Timmerman, who did not record a single out in the first inning before he was pulled for Justin Eckhardt. Ohio State responded in the top of the second with a Sacrifice fly to cut the Spartan lead to 6-1.

The Spartan bats continued to stay locked in, as Dillon Kark homered in the bottom of the second inning to give the Spartans an 8-1 lead and that would not be the last of Kark’s damage against the Buckeyes, as he registered four hits on the day, including an RBI-double in the fifth inning to help the Spartans take a 13-2 lead. The Spartans ended the fifth inning with 16 total runs, which ended the game in the sixth inning via the run rule.

Michigan State improved to 18-10 overall and 6-3 in the Big Ten. Ohio State dropped to 15-15 and 2-7 in the Big Ten.

Additionally, Michigan State pitcher Joseph Dzierwa was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week, the conference announced on Monday.

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