Senior pitcher Tony Bucciferro will be on the mound in game one for the Spartans (34-17 overall, 12-9 Big Ten) to set the tone against Penn State (27-24, 13-8), which is tied for second place in the Big Ten with Indiana and holds a one-game lead over MSU in the standings.
In the realm of the MSU hockey program, Tom Anastos is making moves. Despite completing just his first season as head coach of the program in March following a 3-1 loss to Union in the NCAA Tournament, Anastos is generating buzz around one of college hockey’s most sacred programs.
On a picturesque night with the Detroit skyline dimming in the background, the MSU baseball team got a taste of the big leagues as they downed Central Michigan, 5-2, in the second annual Clash at Comerica — played in the home of the Detroit Tigers, Comerica Park.
In front of a crowd of 3,458 on a warm summer evening in Detroit, VanVossen gave up two runs in seven innings of work en route to MSU’s 5-2 victory over Central Michigan in the second-annual Clash at Comerica.
Under the bright lights and prominent glow of a new multimillion dollar scoreboard at Detroit’s Comerica Park on Tuesday night, Blaise Salter will be chasing shadows. Though anticipating playing at the home of the Detroit Tigers in the second-annual Clash at Comerica like the rest of his teammates, Tuesday’s matchup with Central Michigan will be something of a homecoming for the freshman catcher of the MSU baseball team. The 6-foot-5, 225-pound native of Bloomfield Hills, Mich., Salter also happens to be the grandson of legendary Tigers catcher Bill Freehan.
It should go without saying that the MSU softball team is in need of a dramatic turnaround next season if it wants to avoid repeating a tragic season that saw the Spartans go without a single conference win in Big Ten play. MSU ended its season with 19 straight losses and finished with a 11-42 overall record. Near the end of the season, head coach Jacquie Joseph said her team needed to reverse its math — allow fewer runs and produce more of its own.
Led by a strong seven-inning effort by sophomore starter David Garner and a pair of home runs by freshman designated hitter Blaise Salter and junior catcher John Martinez, the Spartans (33-17 overall, 12-9 Big Ten) overpowered the Hawkeyes (20-26, 8-13) and took the game, 7-3, Sunday at McLane Baseball Stadium at Old College Field.
A forgettable season for the MSU softball team ended Saturday with more blunder than bang as the Spartans dropped their 19th consecutive game in a weekend-series sweep by Indiana. MSU ended its 2012 campaign losing 26 of its last 27 contests and finished the season winless in Big Ten competition. The team finished 11-42 on the season with its last victory coming on a 6-1 decision at Central Michigan on April 4.
The MSU softball team was swept by Indiana this weekend to conclude a disappointing season in which the Spartans finished winless in Big Ten play. After losing 4-2 on Friday, MSU (11-42 overall, 0-23 Big Ten) dropped a pair of one-run decisions, losing each game in Saturday’s doubleheader by a score of 6-5. Despite failing to earn a Big Ten victory in Saturday’s heartbreaking losses, freshman pitcher Carly Nielsen called Saturday’s games the best MSU has played all season.
Despite another strong pitching performance — this time by junior pitcher Andrew Waszak — the Spartans (32-17 overall, 11-9 Big Ten) let a lead evaporate late in the game and fell 2-1 to the Hawkeyes (20-25, 8-12) Saturday at McLane Baseball Stadium at Old College Field.
For much of the game Friday evening, it appeared that the MSU softball team was on its way to earning its first victory in Big Ten competition.
Despite hitting four batters in the game — including three in one inning — senior pitcher Tony Bucciferro scattered five hits and struck out nine batters in a complete game shutout effort to lead the Spartans (32-16 overall, 11-8 Big Ten) over Iowa (19-25, 7-12), 6-0, Friday at McLane Baseball Stadium at Old College Field.
MSU basketball player Derrick Nix was sentenced Thursday to serve 24 hours of community service and pay $853 in court costs and fines before Judge Richard Ball in 54B District Court, according to the Detroit Free Press. After Nix was pulled over at the intersection of Abbot and Lake Lansing roads, Nix was charged with possession of marijuana and operating a vehicle with the presence of drugs and was arrested 12:20 a.m.
The NCAA announced Thursday it will grant a residence waiver to make sophomore wide receiver DeAnthony Arnett eligible to play in 2012.
The MSU baseball team continued to honor a season-long commitment made to itself of approaching midweek contests with the same intensity and focus of critical weekend games with Wednesday’s 7-2 victory against Toledo at McLane Baseball Stadium at Old College Field. The win came on the heels of another midweek matchup with a Mid-American Conference foe the day before when the Spartans (31-16 overall, 10-8 Big Ten) defeated Western Michigan on the road, 15-7. “We put a priority on that in the beginning of the year,“ head coach Jake Boss Jr.
MSU football players junior defensive end William Gholston and redshirt-freshman linebacker Lawrence Thomas did not sustain any major injuries after being involved in a rollover accident Wednesday afternoon.
Former MSU men’s basketball player Brandon Wood was arrested Sunday morning after an altercation outside a residence near downtown Chicago.
The MSU softball team saw more opportunities for its first conference win washed away this weekend as they dropped two games on the road to Nebraska.
David Garner would not let the MSU baseball team go down without a fight. After dropping the first two of the weekend series to No. 13 Purdue, the sophomore pitcher from Niles, Mich. rose to the occasion by striking out seven in a complete game shutout on Sunday to give the Spartans a 5-0 victory against the Boilermakers.
The score might have been 14-2 in favor of the White team, but the real winner of the MSU football team’s Spring Game was the defense. With a young offense and an even more inexperienced quarterback substituting in, there was no question that the team with the stronger defense would be victorious, and with such a low scoring game, defense was dominant on both teams. “We stepped up; we (rose) to the challenge,” said junior linebacker Denicos Allen, who played for the White team.