Sophomore third baseman Andrew Carpenter attempts to tag out Oakland infielder Ryan Waldhart as Waldhart successfully steals third base last Tuesday at Cooley Law School Stadium in Lansing. The Spartans will look to sweep two games against in-state opponents Western Michigan and Central Michigan this week.
Every time the MSU baseball team prepares to face an in-state rival, head coach Jake Boss Jr. talks about the team’s goal of winning the state.
Since Boss took over the Spartans prior to the 2009 season, MSU is 25-9 against in-state foes. But while Michigan historically has been a Big Ten powerhouse, it’s the smaller in-state schools the Spartans have struggled with, especially this season.
Of the nine losses to in-state opponents, only one of them is to U-M.
Following its second-ever three-game sweep of Michigan, the Spartans lost to a struggling Central Michigan team, 3-1, which Boss called the most embarrassing loss in his time in East Lansing.
Last week, MSU (22-10 overall, 6-3 Big Ten) split a doubleheader with an Oakland team that only had six wins going into the day.
After the Oakland loss, Boss said the Spartans had to win the midweek games in order to build the reputation of the program and work for an at-large NCAA Tournament bid.
The team will have another chance this week as it hosts Western Michigan at 3 p.m. Tuesday and heads to Comerica Park in Detroit for a 6:35 p.m. matchup Wednesday with the Chippewas.
“The guys would much rather play than practice, so from their stand point, it’s an opportunity to compete again and an opportunity to prove they can focus for nine innings,” Boss said. “A midweek game, it should be pretty important to us.”
The Broncos (18-18) come into Tuesday’s matchup at McLane Baseball Stadium at Kobs Field having won four of their last six games. They are the No. 3 fielding team in the Mid-American Conference and the No. 4 pitching team. However, they are the No. 9 hitting team with a .253 team batting average.
The Spartans have been one of the top hitting teams in the Big Ten but haven’t been producing timely hits in the past week. MSU has lost three of its last four games and left 12 runners on base Sunday at Ohio State.
In the last two years, the Spartans are 3-2 against Western Michigan.
“Those are big games,” senior first baseman Jeff Holm said of the week. “They are midweek games we have to win in order to keep sharp. We’re going to be coming into that with a chip on our shoulder because we don’t like to lose a series.”
Someone to watch for is sophomore second baseman Ryan Jones, who is on a career-high 21-game hitting streak hitting second in the lineup after struggling at the plate early in the season.
“I think balls are just dropping for me right now,” Jones said. “I’m feeling really confident at the plate. I think I’ve got my swing down because I was struggling at the beginning of the season.”
Boss voiced his displeasure with a lack of focus from MSU last week. He doesn’t expect that this week — or for the rest of the season.
“I expect (focus) to be there every time, regardless of the day or who we’re playing,” he said. “That has to be the expectation if we want to take this program forward.”
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