BASKETBALL
Looking back, moving forward
As the MSU seniors approach their final week on the banks of the Red Cedar, they reflect on how they’ve been shaped by the last four years on campus.
BASEBALL
Big Ten leaders dual at Purdue
The last time Tony Bucciferro took the mound against Purdue, he secured the second win of a three-game sweep that eventually propelled the MSU baseball team to its first Big Ten title in more than three decades.
SOFTBALL
Spartans look for first Big Ten victory against Nebraska
Despite losing 18 of its last 19 contests and fighting its way through a recent hitting slump, the MSU softball team maintains a loose attitude, according to sophomore pitcher Cassee Layne. The Spartans (11-34 overall, 0-15 Big Ten) travel to Lincoln, Neb., this weekend for their first series with fourth-place Nebraska (29-18, 10-5) as a member of the Big Ten.
SPORTS
Spartans look for Big Ten Tournament success
When the men’s and women’s golf teams travel to French Lick Resort in French Lick, Ind., this weekend for the Big Ten Championships, they’ll both have winning as a common goal.
SPORTS
Tennis gears up for Big Ten Tournament
With regular season action winding to a close, both the MSU men’s and women’s tennis teams will open up postseason play this week in their respective Big Ten Tournaments. The MSU men’s tennis team (17-10 overall, 6-5 Big Ten) earned the No. 7 seed and will face No. 10-seeded Purdue in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament at 2:30 p.m. Thursday at Northwestern’s Vandy Christie Tennis Center in Evanston, Ill. Meanwhile, the women’s tennis team (8-14, 0-11) enters the Big Ten Tournament as the No. 12 seed and also will face Purdue at 10 a.m. Thursday at Ohio State’s Varsity Tennis Courts in Columbus, Ohio.
FOOTBALL
Cook to step in for Maxwell in Spring Game; Drummond winning safety position battle
Despite Saturday being the MSU football team’s final scrimmage of the spring before training camp in August, Andrew Maxwell will have to sit this one out. The knee sprain Maxwell suffered during a team scrimmage almost two weeks ago has kept him limited in practice, and although there was a chance he could return for the Spring Game on Saturday at 1 p.m. at Spartan Stadium, head coach Mark Dantonio said Maxwell is officially not playing.
FOOTBALL
Spartans to play 2 prime-time games in 2012
The MSU athletics department announced Tuesday the Spartan football team will play two prime-time games during the 2012 season. MSU’s Aug. 31 season opener against Boise State will be played at 8 p.m. and broadcast on ESPN, while the Spartans’ Sept. 15 game against Notre Dame also has been scheduled for 8 p.m. to be broadcast on ABC.
BASEBALL
The fresh four
Mick VanVossen was beaming from ear to ear. And why wouldn’t he be? Minutes earlier, the freshman pitcher for the MSU baseball team emerged from a huddle of his teammates and coaches offering sincere felicitations over his first career collegiate victory.
SOFTBALL
Softball breaks from Big Ten play with Notre Dame game
The MSU softball team gets a much needed break from Big Ten play today when it travels to South Bend, Ind., for a 6 p.m. matchup with Notre Dame.
BASEBALL
Column: Veterans hold key to Big Ten Title repeat
Looking to repeat as Big Ten champions this season, MSU baseball head coach Jake Boss Jr. knew he would be relying on a relatively youthful roster to do so. With four incoming freshman turning down opportunities to play professionally, many of the young Spartans have been expected to contribute since day one, and they have done just that all year. As the regular season enters its final month now, those freshmen and other young players will be called on and asked to do more and more.
SPORTS
Wrestlers compete in Olympic trials, fail to earn bid
MSU wrestling junior heavyweight Steve Andrus’ bid to compete in the 2012 London Olympics ended Saturday night when he dropped the championship match in the 120 kilogram Greco-Roman wrestling Olympic trials to Dremiel Byers of the U.S. Army.
BASEBALL
MSU wins 3-game Minnesota series 2-1
On a blustery Sunday afternoon at McLane Baseball Stadium at Old College Field, the third time truly was a charm for the MSU baseball team. In a close game with Minnesota, the Spartans loaded the bases with no outs in both the seventh and eighth innings, only to come out of each situation with no runs to show for their efforts. When the game went into extra innings tied at four, freshman right fielder Jimmy Pickens tripled to left-center field, and two straight singles later, the bases were loaded with no outs again.
SOFTBALL
Spartans swept by Iowa, still winless in conference
The elusive first Big Ten win of the season escaped the MSU softball team once again Sunday as Iowa completed the weekend series sweep of the Spartans with a 4-1 victory at Secchia Stadium at Old College Field. In game one on Saturday, MSU (11-33 overall, 0-15 Big Ten) was shut out 6-0 and managed only four hits against a seven-strikeout performance by Iowa (20-22, 10-5) pitcher Kayla Massey.Only three Spartans got hits in the second game, a 7-1 decision, continuing a poor hitting streak for MSU.
BASEBALL
Baseball drops second Minnesota game 4-2; third game Sunday at 1:05 p.m.
Coming into the series with Minnesota, the MSU baseball team turned the momentum of hot bats into a four-game winning streak.
SOFTBALL
Softball drops doubleheader to Iowa; 6-0, 7-1
The offensive woes for the MSU softball team continued as the Spartans mustered just a single run between both games of a doubleheader against Iowa Saturday at Secchia Stadium at Old College Field. After being shutout 6-0 in game one thanks to a seven strikeout outing by the Hawkeyes’ pitcher Kayla Massey, the hitting slump continued into game two where MSU (11-32 overall, 0-14 Big Ten) fell 7-1.
BASEBALL
Baseball beats Minnesota 3-2 in extra innings on walk-off walk
In game one of a Saturday double-header at McLane Baseball Stadium, the MSU baseball team beat Minnesota 3-1 in 11 innings on a bases loaded, walk-off walk. With one out and the game tied at two in the bottom of the 11th, freshman right fielder Jimmy Pickens reached first on a fielder’s choice.
BASEBALL
MSU looks to extend winning streak at home against Minnesota
After a slow start on offense that carried up to the midway point in the season, it appears the MSU baseball team is starting to turn the corner. The Spartans (24-12 overall, 5-4 Big Ten) erupted for 44 runs within their last three games against Indiana, Western Michigan and Central Michigan, and they have gotten consistent offense at the top of the order for the first time this season.
SOFTBALL
Softball hosts Iowa this weekend in 3-game series
The MSU softball team is going into its home series against Iowa with a positive mindset to hopefully end their Big Ten losing streak. The Spartans (11-30 overall, 0-12 Big Ten) face off against the Hawkeyes (17-22, 7-5) with a doubleheader at 1 p.m. Saturday at Secchia Stadium at Old College Field.
Caleb Nordgren
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FOOTBALL
Maxwell sidelined indefinitely; Norman, Fowler see limited reps
Although the MSU football team might have lost junior quarterback Andrew Maxwell for the remaining spring practices, the Spartans are beginning to see some injured players get back on the field.
BASEBALL
Baseball knocks off Chippewas, 11-1
Led by a four-hit, three-RBI day by freshman first baseman Ryan Krill, the Spartans defeated Central Michigan 11-1 on Wednesday at Theunissen Stadium in Mount Pleasant, Mich.