You don’t know John Jakubik. You might not notice the 6-foot-1, 190-pound Jakubik if you sat next to him on the bus, saw him at a party or even worked with him on a group project. But he’s getting noticed somewhere else. As a walk-on sophomore wide receiver, Jakubik quickly has made a name for himself within the MSU football coaching staff.
In recalling the way his season ended a year ago, Justin Scanlon doesn’t want to overlook the importance of midweek games. The then-junior shortstop of the MSU baseball team was part of a group that was on the outside looking in as co-Big Ten champion Illinois nabbed the only Big Ten slot in the NCAA Tournament.
Three up, three down. The MSU softball team remains the lone Big Ten team without a conference win as it was swept by No. 20 Michigan in a three-game weekend series in which the Spartans (11-30 overall, 0-12 Big Ten) were unable to score a single run.
Looking to keep pace in the Big Ten race, the MSU baseball team took both games of a doubleheader Sunday against Indiana 6-0 and 20-10, in Bloomington, Ind. Although head coach Jake Boss Jr. was pleased with the Spartans for registering a big day at the plate with 26 combined runs and 38 hits, he was most excited his team won two of three games in its first series spent entirely away from East Lansing.
MSU women’s basketball associate head coach Shane Clipfell was named Western Michigan’s head coach, the Broncos’ athletics department announced Friday.
For the first four innings, the MSU softball team was step-for-step with No. 20 Michigan at Secchia Stadium at Old College Field. But then came the fifth. Freshman pitcher Carly Nielsen threw four innings of shutout softball before letting up a one-out, two-RBI single to U-M’s Haylie Wagner that sparked an eight-run fifth inning that ended the Spartans’ day early, falling at home 8-0.
Seven practices in, the MSU football team prepared for its first scrimmage of the spring football season, and there has been some movement at several different positions. Head coach Mark Dantonio spoke briefly about his decision to move junior Denzel Drone from defensive end to tight end and indicated the switch could be permanent.
After dropping two out of three against Michigan last weekend and a lopsided loss at the hands of Eastern Michigan on Wednesday, the MSU baseball team will look to right the ship in Big Ten play on Friday with the first of three games against Indiana in Bloomington, Ind. With Wednesday’s 13-5 walloping by the Eagles in the past, the Spartans (20-11 overall, 3-3 Big Ten) are challenged to raise the level of fervency in their play against the Hoosiers (15-18, 5-4).
On a four-game losing streak, the MSU softball team will be competing against rival Big Ten team Michigan this weekend.
Two batters in, it became clear that the MSU softball team was in for an interesting game. With Eastern Michigan’s Jessica Richards perched on third, the Eagles’ Katy Blaharski attempted a steal from first base. However, the throw from MSU senior catcher Brett Williams was mishandled, allowing Richards to go home and Blaharski to return to first base safely. The score was the first in what would be a five-run first inning from which the Spartans (11-27 overall, 0-9 Big Ten) would be unable to recover, as they fell to the visiting Eagles 6-3 Wednesday afternoon.
For the first four batters of Wednesday’s game against Eastern Michigan, the MSU baseball team appeared to be on the way to a solid day at McLane Baseball Stadium and Old College Field. After senior right-hander Tim Simpson retired the Eagles in order on nine pitches in the top of the first, junior outfielder Jordan Keur led off the Spartans’ half of the inning with a double to left-center field.
Even in understanding the nature of the game, Jordan Keur has grown tired of hearing about the faults of the MSU baseball team on offense. At some point, something had to give. After stranding 34 runners on base in the weekend series with Michigan, the junior left fielder and the Spartans’ (20-10 overall, 3-3 Big Ten) bats overcame frigid weather and an offensive slump to beat Notre Dame 8-2 on Tuesday at McLane Baseball Stadium at Old College Field.
After the MSU softball team took a step forward by snapping its seven-game losing streak with a win at Central Michigan last Wednesday, it took three steps backward when the Spartans were swept by Penn State during the weekend. Now, MSU (11-26 overall, 0-9 Big Ten) is looking to right the ship once again as it prepares for a midweek game Wednesday at 4 p.m. in Secchia Stadium at Old College Field against Eastern Michigan, before it gears up to face in-state rival Michigan for a three-game series this weekend.
The recent trouble Derrick Nix got himself into with a traffic stop and drugs in the car could have a lot of people wondering what’s at stake for the MSU men’s basketball team’s future. Although the issue will affect the junior center and his future, I’m not sure his legal troubles will change the outlook of the team too much next season.
For the MSU baseball team, last weekend was a disappointing one. Not only did the Spartans (19-10 overall, 3-3 Big Ten) drop two of three games, they did so against rival Michigan. MSU’s one win in the series came Sunday in a 10-8 thriller that lasted 13 innings, and junior Tony Wieber, who was the winning pitcher against the Wolverines, said he hopes that springboards the Spartans forward as they prepare for a 3:05 p.m. matchup with Notre Dame on Tuesday at McLane Baseball Stadium at Old College Field.
The MSU baseball team has assembled a pitching core to compete with any team in the nation. But great pitching is useless without offensive support. Jake Boss Jr. acknowledges that this much is true. But as the Spartans found out this weekend, there’s a fine line between the theory of scoring runs and the literal production of them.
When the MSU gymnasts headed into the NCAA Auburn Regional with the No. 6 seed this weekend, they were hoping for a similar result to last year’s tournament appearance, when the Spartans placed in third — falling just short of advancing to the next round. However, it was not to be, as the Spartans placed sixth overall with a team score of 194.050 as Georgia and Oregon State placed first and second, respectively, to advance to the NCAA Championships.
The MSU softball team took three losses this weekend in its three-game series against Penn State in University Park, Penn. The Spartans (11-26 overall, 0-9 Big Ten) just broke a seven-game losing streak with a win against Central Michigan last week before their losses this weekend.
On paper, the MSU baseball team has an offense to compete with any team in the Big Ten and many teams across the country.
After taking two out of three against Ohio State last weekend to open up Big Ten play, the MSU baseball fell to in-state rival Michigan 4-0 in the weekend opener on Friday in Ann Arbor. Senior pitcher Tony Bucciferro took the loss for the Spartans (18-9 overall, 2-2 Big Ten) and his record on the year falls to 3-2.