MSU Red Cedar Message Board

Never been inside but I've driven past it many times on I-90. Always wondered how the hell Gary got a minor league baseball team, and who actually attends the games.

http://b1gbaseball.com/ article

"There was no certainty that Michigan State would make it a multi-bid season for the Big Ten. Heading into Monday, ESPN.com and SEBaseball.com projected the Spartans in the tournament while Baseball America and Perfect Game did not. The Spartans finished the regular season with a 37-21 record and the 45th-rated RPI, but Michigan State’s spot on the bubble was contentious as a 13-11 record and fifth-place finish in the Big Ten was viewed by national media as reason for excluding the Spartans from the tournament.

In response to their selection, NCAA selection committee chairman Kyle Kallander alluded to what little margin Michigan State had, that the Spartans were one of the last five teams in the tournament. In Michigan State’s favor Kallander said was the non-conference schedule one that saw them play three games at Texas A&M in addition to defeating no. four national seed Baylor, as well as being the second-best team in the region behind Purdue in the mind of regional coaches."

Congrats to Coach Boss and company on a great season! Let's make some noise out there.

Go Green

Looking forward to the weekend.

Visited Stanford last year. It's a great trip.

Mini statistical Stanford Regional preview...

#1 Stanford, 38-16, RPI #12, SOS #24
.290% Team Avg.
3.25 Team ERA
6.8 runs scored/game
4.0 runs allowed/game
No like opponents with MSU

#2 Pepperdine, 34-21, RPI #29, SOS #22
.282% Team Avg.
3.66 Team ERA
5.1 runs scored/game
4.3 runs allowed/game
---performance vs. 2012 MSU Opponents---
1-2 @ #42 Louisville (W 3-2, L 1-3, L 3-7)
0-3 vs. #15 Texas A&M (L 0-4, L 2-9, L 5-12)

#3 MSU, 37-21, RPI #45, SOS #76
.298% Team Avg.
3.17 Team ERA
6.1 runs scored/game
3.8 runs allowed/game
---2012 MSU opponents---
0-1 vs. #42 Louisville (L 6-7)
0-3 @ #15 Texas A&M (L 3-7, L 0-4, L 8-9)

#4 Fresno St., 30-26, RPI #76, SOS #63
.278% Team Avg.
3.82 Team ERA
5.1 runs scored/game
4.7 runs allowed/game
No like opponents with MSU

So is that an omen? For this kid from Perrysburg, WE BEAT PEPPERDINE for him...

Photo of Spartan BP in Palo Alto...

Also, freep article on team sendoff...

"Boss said MSU was a destination job and part of the reason for that is how well people in the athletic department interact.

"This place is unlike any place I've worked," Boss said. "The coaches in the athletic department genuinely care what's going on with our colleagues and their programs."

By Steve Grinczel, Online Columnist..........

They called it the Big Ten's "Triple Crown."

• The Kirk Gibson-led Michigan State football team claimed a conference championship by ticking off seven consecutive victories, starting with a 24-14 triumph at Michigan, in the fall of 1978.
• The following March, Earvin "Magic" Johnson and Greg Kelser guided the Spartan basketball team to league and national titles.
• And in the spring of '79, a no-name band of ballplayers put the final gem into place when they toppled the mighty Wolverines to wrap up the Big Ten baseball championship and clinch a berth in the NCAA Tournament, a feat unmatched at MSU until Monday when the current squad of Spartans earned an at-large bid under fourth-year head coach Jake Boss Jr.

Tons of great stat/record info on the bottom portion of the linked MSU article.

Pitching matchup for tomorrow...

MSU: Sr. RHP Tony Bucciferro (6-3, 2.80 ERA)
PEPP: Jr. RHP Jon Moscot (6-5, 2.97 ERA)

Moscot is projected as a high round draft pick and ranked the #186 prospect by Baseball America for next week's MLB draft.

Both pitchers played in the Cape Cod League last summer.
Bucciferro was somehow 2-4 with a stellar ERA of 1.79 (did pitch in the All-Star game)
Moscot was 3-3 with an ERA of 3.28

Also attached is a Q&A with Moscot...an excerpt...
I throw a four-seam fastball that is between 90-93 and can get up to 94. My two-seam is 89-91. My changeup, which is a circle change goes 79-80. My split-finger is 80-83 and slider is 79-84. Against a right-handed batter, I’ll use the slider as the “out” pitch. Against a lefty, I’ll throw the split-finger.

Here are a couple Palo Alto regional previews...

Great time of the year if slap hitters and anytime pinch runners for the biggins is your thing.
If you enjoy college baseball, not so great on the coverage front.

You are correct. 4 of the 32 games today will be televised on ESPNU.
A few others will be on local Comcast and Cox stations.

We get the BTN shaft, as all of Purdue's games will be broadcast on the BTN Live.
BTN justification is lack of rights for the Stanford regional.

ESPN3 is all we get, but radio is available on spartansportsnetwork.com

3:50 ET I assume?

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