MSU won its fifth straight, 12-2, against Purdue on Friday. (I was at the game. Very sunny. Nice day. Favorite moment was watching Cam Gibson get fooled by a first-pitch curveball in the fourth or fifth inning, then fight off a few fastballs, then anticipated the curve coming again and laced into the outfield for an RBI single. Talked to Jake Boss after the game and he said Cam is improving in all areas, including discipline at the plate, and hitting lefties. Cam has always been a student of the game. Hitting about .340, second on the team. Having an excellent year.)
MSU is ranked No. 30 in the RPI. They are 28-17. No. 40 in the RPI is right around the usual mendoza line for NCAA Tournament at-large entry. MSU has been the last team in, or close to it, as an at-large (in 2012, I think), and the first team out, in 2013, I think. I think they were around No. 38 in RPI the year they missed the tournament by one.
Anyway, you might not have thought this could be an at-large team a couple of weeks ago, but they went 15-4 in April and are making a run. They have wins over Top 10 Illinois, and good RPI wins over Notre Dame, Oregon, Coastal Carolina and others. And quality RPI losses to Oregon State, UCLA and others.
They'll need to continue this sweep of Purdue. Getting into the top four of the Big Ten would help, and then make a run in the Big Ten Tournament to the top two or three, and I suspect that would be enough to get in.
The Big Ten, by the way, is the strongest I have ever seen, in terms of records and national rankings. Four Big Ten teams are currently in the Top 25, and Illinois is in the Top 10.
story from msuspartans.com:
EAST LANSING - A pair of five-run innings helped the Michigan State baseball team top Purdue, 12-2, on Friday afternoon at McLane Baseball Stadium in the opening game of the weekend series between the teams. The victory ran the Spartans' winning streak to a season-long five games and upped their overall record to 28-17 and 10-6 in the Big Ten.
The Spartans never trailed on Friday, scoring five runs in the first inning and then adding five more in the eighth.
"We've been playing well lately and it's good to keep it going today," MSU head coach Jake Boss Jr., said. "It's always nice to score early, but it was also good that we were able to tack on a few more runs as the game went on."
The Spartans sent 11 batters to the plate in the bottom of the first, scoring five runs off three base hits, two walks, a hit batter and a passed ball, chasing starter Purdue Matt Frawley. Ryan Richardson drove in the first run with a sacrifice fly, while Chad Roskellyand Anthony Cheky both followed with RBI singles. A hit batter and passed ball brought in the Spartans' fourth and fifth runs of the inning.
A pair of walks by MSU starter Cam Vieaux came around to score in the top of the second inning on an RBI double by Jack Picchiotti, making it a three-run game.
Michigan State used RBI singles by Cam Gibson and Richardson in the third and fourth innings, respectively, to extend the lead to 7-2.
Vieaux never let the Purdue offense get a big inning to get back into the game as he stranded Boilermakers in four of five frames, including three runners in the fourth and two in the fifth. The lefty finished with six walks and four strikeouts in 5.2 innings in picking up the win to improve to 4-5.
MSU put the game out of reach in the eighth with its second five-run inning of the day. Mark Weist, who went 3-for-5 on the afternoon, had the big hit of the inning with a three-RBI double. Blaise Salter and Richardson both added RBIs.
Dakota Mekkes, Andrew Gonzalez and Brandon Hughes combined to finish the game on the mound for the Spartans.
Purdue fell to 14-32 overall and 1-15 with the loss.
The two teams will play game two of the weekend series on Saturday at 1:05 p.m. at McLane Stadium. Saturday is Military Appreciation Day with free admission for all those with a valid military ID.
MSU is ranked No. 30 in the RPI. They are 28-17. No. 40 in the RPI is right around the usual mendoza line for NCAA Tournament at-large entry. MSU has been the last team in, or close to it, as an at-large (in 2012, I think), and the first team out, in 2013, I think. I think they were around No. 38 in RPI the year they missed the tournament by one.
Anyway, you might not have thought this could be an at-large team a couple of weeks ago, but they went 15-4 in April and are making a run. They have wins over Top 10 Illinois, and good RPI wins over Notre Dame, Oregon, Coastal Carolina and others. And quality RPI losses to Oregon State, UCLA and others.
They'll need to continue this sweep of Purdue. Getting into the top four of the Big Ten would help, and then make a run in the Big Ten Tournament to the top two or three, and I suspect that would be enough to get in.
The Big Ten, by the way, is the strongest I have ever seen, in terms of records and national rankings. Four Big Ten teams are currently in the Top 25, and Illinois is in the Top 10.
story from msuspartans.com:
EAST LANSING - A pair of five-run innings helped the Michigan State baseball team top Purdue, 12-2, on Friday afternoon at McLane Baseball Stadium in the opening game of the weekend series between the teams. The victory ran the Spartans' winning streak to a season-long five games and upped their overall record to 28-17 and 10-6 in the Big Ten.
The Spartans never trailed on Friday, scoring five runs in the first inning and then adding five more in the eighth.
"We've been playing well lately and it's good to keep it going today," MSU head coach Jake Boss Jr., said. "It's always nice to score early, but it was also good that we were able to tack on a few more runs as the game went on."
The Spartans sent 11 batters to the plate in the bottom of the first, scoring five runs off three base hits, two walks, a hit batter and a passed ball, chasing starter Purdue Matt Frawley. Ryan Richardson drove in the first run with a sacrifice fly, while Chad Roskellyand Anthony Cheky both followed with RBI singles. A hit batter and passed ball brought in the Spartans' fourth and fifth runs of the inning.
A pair of walks by MSU starter Cam Vieaux came around to score in the top of the second inning on an RBI double by Jack Picchiotti, making it a three-run game.
Michigan State used RBI singles by Cam Gibson and Richardson in the third and fourth innings, respectively, to extend the lead to 7-2.
Vieaux never let the Purdue offense get a big inning to get back into the game as he stranded Boilermakers in four of five frames, including three runners in the fourth and two in the fifth. The lefty finished with six walks and four strikeouts in 5.2 innings in picking up the win to improve to 4-5.
MSU put the game out of reach in the eighth with its second five-run inning of the day. Mark Weist, who went 3-for-5 on the afternoon, had the big hit of the inning with a three-RBI double. Blaise Salter and Richardson both added RBIs.
Dakota Mekkes, Andrew Gonzalez and Brandon Hughes combined to finish the game on the mound for the Spartans.
Purdue fell to 14-32 overall and 1-15 with the loss.
The two teams will play game two of the weekend series on Saturday at 1:05 p.m. at McLane Stadium. Saturday is Military Appreciation Day with free admission for all those with a valid military ID.
