For the first time in years, the MSU baseball team is in the crosshairs - everyone is aiming for it.
Typically known for having solid nonconference seasons but struggling in the Big Ten, MSU (17-12 overall, 6-2 Big Ten) is having a surprising season - one that mirrors this year's Detroit Tigers. Both of the Spartans' Big Ten series have been, however, against Iowa and Illinois - teams in last and second to last in the conference. Then again, MSU is partially the reason the Hawkeyes and Fighting Illini are battling for ninth in the league.
But the target isn't on the Spartans because of their name or record (the second-best overall mark in the conference). They are in the crosshairs because through two weeks of the season, the team that is supposed to finish middle-of-the-pack at best is all alone in first place.
"The target has always been on Minnesota and Ohio State - why not us?" MSU manager Ted Mahan said. "Why not Michigan State? That's what we've been saying, and our guys so far have believed it."
As far as Ohio State goes, Mahan said he has no doubt the Buckeyes will take exception to that statement.
"They've got a lot of incentive, plus, they're used to being right there at the top," he said. "They're close, and they know we're in their way."
Players on the team aren't surprised by MSU's start - they're just more awestruck with having "Big Ten leader" in front of their team's name.
"Usually we're looking up at the leaderboard, and this time, we're looking down," senior third baseman James Moreno said.
Just two weeks into the Big Ten season, however, many still feel the Spartans are pretenders because of who they've beaten and who they have yet to play.
"We do have the second-best overall record," Moreno said. "But I'm sure the Minnesotas and the Ohio States are thinking that we've just played and beaten the bottom half of the Big Ten."
Minnesota and Ohio State are the teams that traditionally occupy the first and second spots in the league at season's end. This season, the Spartans don't have the Golden Gophers on their schedule, and they get the Buckeyes at Kobs Field this weekend.
Friday's 3 p.m. game kicks off the four-game series that includes a doubleheader starting at 1 p.m. Saturday and the finale beginning at 1 p.m. Sunday.
Senior right-handed pitcher Bryan Gale will get the nod Friday, and he won't downplay the importance of a near-perfect outing.
"It's always added pressure," Gale said of pitching the first game of a series. "If I lose the first game, we have to go out there and win two of the next three just to get a split - and a split isn't even that good at home."
Mahan was openly honest about this Buckeye team - they're good and the record isn't accurate.
"They've just got off to a slower start," Mahan said, adding this weekend could be key in setting the tone for the rest of the season.
"If we just keep winning some games every weekend, we won't just be in the playoffs, but we'll have a chance for a championship. But we can't have any bad weekends."
With all eyes on them, the first test begins today.
