After spending four years in East Lansing before graduating from MSU in 2010, Eli Boike has returned to the familiar place that was home to him during his college years.
Former MSU outfielder Eli Boike will join the Lansing Lugnuts roster after being promoted from the Vancouver Canadians, the Lugnuts and the Toronto Blue Jays announced Sunday.
Mark Van Ameyde, who has served as the MSU baseball’s pitching coach since the 2009 season, has been promoted to associate head coach, head baseball coach Jake Boss Jr. announced Tuesday.
In the 12th round of the 2011 MLB Draft on Tuesday, the Detroit Tigers selected former MSU first baseman Jeff Holm as the team’s 11th draft pick. Continuing to represent MSU, former pitcher Kurt Wunderlich was drafted in the 20th round by the Oakland Athletics.
When Jake Boss Jr. was hired in the summer of 2008 to replace former head coach David Grewe, he not only set out to raise the bar on expectations for the MSU baseball program but also to develop a style of play that allowed his team to be competitive on a consistent basis.
Although the MSU baseball team ended its season on a sour note with a loss to Illinois in the Big Ten Tournament, the Spartans have a lot of reasons to celebrate what was accomplished in 2011.
The curtain has closed on a historic season for the MSU baseball team. As Illinois mobbed the pitcher’s mound in an act of triumph and exuberance Saturday at Huntington Park in Columbus, Ohio, the Spartans (36-21 overall, 17-11 Big Ten) were forced to stand aside quietly to watch their co-Big Ten champion celebrate.
With one swing of the bat, the MSU baseball team saw a Big Ten Tournament championship violently ripped from its fingers.
The MSU baseball team lives to play one more game in the Big Ten Tournament, as the Spartans beat Minnesota and take on Illinois tonight.
For the No. 2 seeded Spartan baseball team (35-20 overall, 16-10 Big Ten), the message is clear headed into Saturday’s matchup with Minnesota. After falling out of the winner’s bracket on Friday with a loss to top-seeded Illinois, MSU will meet the No. 6-seeded Golden Gophers at 3:35 p.m. today at Huntington Park in Columbus, Ohio.
Junior pitcher Tony Bucciferro couldn’t match his complete game effort of a week ago, as he battled a high pitch count combined with high-powered No. 1-seeded Illinois (27-25 overall, 16-9 Big Ten) offense Friday as the No. 2-seeded MSU baseball team (35-20, 16-10) fell, 4-1. Bucciferro would allow eight hits over six and ? innings to drop his season record to 8-3.
The No. 2-seeded MSU baseball team (35-19 overall, 16-9 Big Ten) shook off a two hour and 15 minute rain delay and used a collaborative hitting effort to rally behind senior pitcher Kurt Wunderlich to defeat Purdue, 7-1. With the win Thursday, MSU remains undefeated against the Boilermakers on the year, earlier sweeping them in three games during the first weekend in May.
The MSU baseball team (34-19 overall, 15-9 Big Ten), which clinched a share of the Big Ten championship with Illinois last week, heads to Huntington Park in Columbus, Ohio, Thursday to face Purdue (37-18, 15-10) at 3:35 p.m. The tournament berth marks MSU’s ninth appearance in the Big Ten Tournament and second in the last three years.
MSU senior pitcher Kurt Wunderlich was named Big Ten Pitcher of the Week Monday, after throwing a complete game shutout to beat Northwestern 3-0 on Thursday.
When junior pitcher Tony Bucciferro took the mound for the ninth inning of Friday’s game against Northwestern, he knew a complete game and the Big Ten championship were just three outs away. With a touch of swagger, Bucciferro dialed up his fastball and slider to strike out the side and deliver the first Big Ten title to the MSU baseball program since 1979. Bucciferro and senior pitcher Kurt Wunderlich threw a pair of complete games for the Spartans (34-19 overall, 15-9 Big Ten) over the weekend and capped off a strong pitching year for each of the players and for the program. “I knew it was going to happen, and I was fired-up,” Bucciferro said. “(Boss) has turned this program around.
As the MSU baseball team mobbed the right side of the pitcher’s mound in a towering dogpile Friday after clinching a share of the Big Ten championship, the weight of three decades of losing had been lifted.
Unfortunately Northwestern (20-29, 10-13) had other ideas for the Spartans (34-19 overall, 15-9 Big Ten), as they upended Senior Day at McLane Baseball Stadium at Kobs Field, 6-5. The day was not a total loss for MSU as they were presented with the Big Ten championship trophy by Athletics Director Mark Hollis and MSU President Lou Anna K. Simon, along with championship shirts and hats, following the conclusion of the game.
After 32 years of waiting, under five different head coaches, the MSU baseball team has earned a share of the Big Ten championship after defeating Northwestern, 10-1, Friday at McLane Baseball Stadium at Kobs Field.
In his last career start at McLane Baseball Stadium at Kobs Field, senior pitcher Kurt Wunderlich threw a complete game shutout, as the Spartans (33-18 overall, 14-8 Big Ten) downed Big Ten foe Northwestern (19-28, 9-12), 3-0. With the win, the Spartans edged ever closer to winning a Big Ten championship — the program’s first since 1979.
The MSU baseball team stands in position to win the Big Ten as its seniors take the field at home for their last weekend series against Northwestern.