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Spartans improve on last year's weak spot

April 7, 2006
He's safe
MSU junior catcher Sean Walker shows the ball in his mitt as he and Grand Valley's Chad Rohacs look to the umpire for the call. Although Rohacs was safe, the Spartans defeated the Lakers 14-5 at Kobs Field on Wednesday. —

Last season, the MSU baseball team's defense was offensive.

The Spartans' .944 fielding percentage was the worst in the Big Ten. They surrendered 361 runs, easily the most in the conference. And thanks to a conference-worst 110 errors, more than a quarter of those runs were unearned.

So when head coach David Grewe took over the program this season, the Swiss-cheese defense was one of the first things he knew had to change.

"It was a big, big issue of importance for us," Grewe said. "We keep teaching our pitchers to pitch down in the strike zone to get ground balls, but to do that, you've got to have guys who can pick up the ball."

Not that the players needed much coaxing, of course. They were more upset about last year's defensive showing than anyone.

"That's been our main focus since the fall," senior second baseman Alan Cattrysse said. "We're making sure we play the game at a slower pace, not trying to rush anything."

Grewe has taken a hands-on approach in practice to help make adjustments, crouching into the same positions as fielders when he discusses technique with them.

And with Grewe's guidance and the players' newfound enthusiasm, the Spartans (13-10 overall, 3-1 Big Ten) have been making steady defensive strides all season — a big reason why they've won six of their last seven games heading into this weekend's four-game series at Purdue (14-8, 2-2).

The Spartans have improved their fielding percentage to .957 this season — good enough for seventh in the Big Ten — and they've routinely been making defensive plays at crucial times in the game.

"It's just a confidence thing," junior outfielder Ryan Basham said. "Guys are more confident this year than they have been for a few years."

Part of the transformation has come from players having another year to play together and get a feel for their positions and one another.

The best example is of sophomore Steve Gerstenberger, who committed 23 errors last season while bouncing between second and third base. This season, he's played solely at first base and hasn't made an error in 157 chances.

But it's also not like the defense has come from nowhere. All of MSU's starting infielders — Gerstenberger, Cattrysse, junior shortstop Troy Krider and senior third baseman Oliver Wolcott — were shortstops in high school, which Grewe said is usually a sign of the most capable defensive players. In fact, Grewe said he'd like to make the all-shortstop infield permanent.

The Spartans' defensive improvement hasn't been a seamless process — they've committed three errors or more in each of their last three games. But when you consider that's something they've only done five times all season compared to 18 last year, it's clear that defense — and by extension, pitching — is quickly becoming the cornerstone of the program.

"If you press fast forward now, you'll see a Michigan State program that's built on those two things," Grewe said.

"We're not going to stand up there and hit home runs all over the place. We're going to burn you with some power, dominant arms, and we're going to have guys with the athletic ability to make plays."

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