Michigan State appears to be back on track after crushing the Fresno State Bulldogs this past weekend and just in time, too. The Spartans wrapped it up Sunday with an 8-2 victory which followed their Saturday double header where MSU cruised by Fresno State 10-4 and 9-5. In total they outscored their opponents 27-11.
The Spartan offense finally showed up after being fairly quiet during the five game losing streak that occurred prior to that series. This improves Michigan State to 18-10 overall while their B10 record remains 3-3.
The non-conference stretch of games will conclude later on tonight when the Spartans take on the Fighting Irish. This will be the 135th meeting between these two teams - the game is set for 6:05 p.m. at Frank Eck Stadium.
These teams always play each other extremely tough and past meetings exemplify it very well. Spartan fans should expect nothing less when they take the field tonight.
The Basics
The Numbers
- Record: 13-17 (7-8 conference, 7-4 Home)
- Best Win: Rhode Island (RPI: 56), W 8-4
- Worst Loss: Lafayette (RPI: 291), L 2-10
Last Five Games
- 4/9 - Georgia Tech, W 9-6
- 4/8 - Georgia Tech, W 4-3
- 4/7 - Georgia Tech, W 4-3
- 4/4 - Michigan, L 3-4
- 4/2 - North Carolina State, L 2-9
Notre Dame has won six out of their last 8 games and have an overall record of 13-17. While it was a rather rocky start to 2017 for this ball club they have found their groove in the last eight match ups.
The Mik Aoki-led Irish have definitely improved since their 1-8 start to the season. Since then Notre Dame is 12-9 with a team ERA of 3.12 over those last 21 games. Their batting average as a group is also up 25 points over that span.
The Fighting Irish just finished playing the Michigan Wolverines (who cares!) for the 135th time and are about to do the same against Michigan State. The Spartans currently hold the all-time series edge 79-55, as well as a 37-33 lead when playing away from East Lansing.
The Irish have won two out of the last three games, the most recent being last year when fifth year senior Michael Hearne pitched a complete game shutout that resulted in a 1-0 victory for Notre Dame.
Michigan State will be looking for a little redemption, especially because Jake Boss-led teams seem to pride themselves with fantastic offensive performances.
Irish To Know
Sophomore Cole Daily has been the Fighting Irish’s poster child for improved offensive numbers/ability. Over the last 20 plus games he is batting .333 with a couple doubles, a triple, and a .415 on-base pct. He was by far the most productive weapon the Irish had against Georgia Tech in their most recent series, finishing it off with eight plate appearances, six hits, a triple, three RBI, and a stolen base.
Other guys helping him out include:
- Nick Podkul (INF): .289 (33-114), 8 2B, 1 3B, 6 RBI
- Kyle Fiala (INF): .281 (34-121), 7 2B, 1 3B, 4 HR, 23 RBI
- Jake Johnson (OF): .272 (28-103), 8 2B, 2 3B, 1 HR, 13 RBI
Their pitching staff is led by none other than the hard throwing Michael Hearne (the same guy who shut MSU out last year). He has an ERA of 2.61 with 41.1 innings pitched and 21 strikeouts.
The rest of their pitching in 2017 looks like this:
How The Spartans Match Up
It's GAMEDAY!! Spartans play at Notre Dame tonight at 6:05 p.m. #673 #GoGreen pic.twitter.com/V8FyaFpPET
— Michigan St Baseball (@statebaseball) April 11, 2017
Michigan State is statistically one of the best teams in the Big Ten and college baseball as a whole. This time around they are first in the conference for double plays per game (1.11). The Spartans pitching just keeps improving, they are atop the conference and 28th in the nation for strikeout to walk ratio (2.92).
The offense is back to normal (we hope) and once again rank in the top 25 for multiple categories. MSU still leads the B10 for runs scored per game (7.6) along with dingers (1.14).
In either case Michigan State is simply the better team here - a true statement on paper and hopefully on the field tonight. Unless the Spartans relapse and look like they did a few weeks ago, MSU should be fine in this one.
Prediction
Okay Spartan fans, don’t come after me or hurt me because I’m picking Michigan State to win this one. We all know my predictions throughout these previews has not been that great but I’m confident the Spartans will pull this one out.
Michigan State is 37-33 when playing in Notre Dame’s house. They’ve also won 10 out of the last 11 games when these two teams meet at Frank Eck stadium.
If the offense and pitching keeps rolling the way they did last weekend the Spartans just might run away with this one.