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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Coming into the series with Minnesota, the MSU baseball team turned the momentum of hot bats into a four-game winning streak.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The MSU women’s tennis team (8-12 overall, 0-9 Big Ten) will travel to Ohio State on Friday to wrap up its regular season road matches. Friday’s match against the Buckeyes will begin at 2 p.m. in Columbus, Ohio.
For the MSU baseball team, the hits didn’t just come early and often Wednesday afternoon at McLane Baseball Stadium at Old College Field. They also came at the right times, as the Spartans (23-12 overall, 5-4 Big Ten) registered 16 hits, including a trio of two-out RBI doubles, on the way to a 13-3 win over Western Michigan (16-18).
After taking care of business against Western Michigan on Tuesday, the MSU baseball team has little chance to rest before getting back to work for the rest of its week. Continuing a seasonlong pursuit of capturing midweek games against in-state opponents, the Spartans (23-12 overall, 5-4 Big Ten) hit the road for a 3:05 p.m. matchup with Central Michigan on Wednesday at Theunissen Stadium in Mount Pleasant, Mich.
MSU junior heavyweight wrestler Steve Andrus received an invitation to compete in the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in the 120-kilogram/264.5-pound weight class in the Greco-Roman division as one of two wildcard selections, USA Wrestling recently announced.
Before Tuesday’s spring football practice, head coach Mark Dantonio addressed the media and revealed that during Saturday’s scrimmage, junior quarterback Andrew Maxwell sprained his knee and may or may not return for the remaining spring practices. Dantonio said the sprain will not require surgery, but that redshirt freshman Connor Cook will take most of the reps with the first team offense and likely play for both sides in the scheduled April 28 spring game.
Some of the best memories of Raymar Morgan’s life came during his time at MSU. After playing basketball overseas for the past two years, he came back to the campus where he spent four years on the MSU men’s basketball team and speak to Jewish students about his time in Israel. Morgan spoke to students at the RCAH Theatre in Snyder and Phillips halls on Monday night. The Israel on Campus Coalition and MSU Hillel organized the event.