Friday, April 28
Evanston, Ill.
Noon
Northwestern
vs
Michigan State
SCHEDULE UPDATE: Northwestern Hosts Michigan State at Miller Park
4/27/2017 6:21:00 PM | Baseball
EVANSTON, Ill. — Northwestern hosts Michigan State at Miller Park this weekend (April 28-30) with Big Ten Conference tournament implications on the line.
Due to inclement weather in the forecast, the teams will play a doubleheader on Friday, April 28, beginning at noon CT with first pitch for game two coming 30 minutes after the conclusion of the first game. The series finale is now scheduled for Saturday, April 29, at noon.
Northwestern (16-23, 5-7) and Michigan State (21-16, 5-7) enter the series tied for ninth place in the conference standings, just a half game out of the final tournament spot. The Wildcats have won three of their last four games, while MSU has one win in its last four outings.
Head coach Spencer Allen has tabbed the same starting rotation for the third straight weekend. Senior Cooper Wetherbee (1-1, 3.34 ERA) will make his fifth start and 15th appearance of the season in the opener, before looking to freshmen Hank Christie (3-4, 5.29 ERA) and Matt Gannon (0-2, 4.05 ERA) to close out the series.
The Wildcats will be looking forward to returning to the friendly confines of Miller Park after playing back-to-back weekend series on the road at Illinois (April 14-16) and Penn State (April 21-23). Northwestern has claimed series wins in its last two home sets over Air Force and Iowa.
Michigan State's will go with Alex Troop (5-3, 2.64 ERA) in the series' lidlifter before Jake Lowery (2-2, 3.86 ERA) starts game two and Andrew Gonzalez (3-3, 4.46 ERA) closes out the weekend.
The Spartans boast one of the best offenses in the Big Ten this season. As a group, MSU is batting .287 in 37 games, which ranks third in the league and its 83 doubles lead all B1G teams. Brandon Hughes is MSU most consistent player at the plate this season, hitting .326 with 45 hits and 29 RBI. Hughes' batting average ranks 14th among league hitters and his 19 stolen bases this season is the third-highest amount for a B1G player.
Look for Walter Borkovich out of the Spartans' pen this weekend. He has appeared in 19 games and owns a 2.13 ERA, which is the second-best ERA of any Big Ten pitcher this season. Borkovich has only allowed nine runs in 38.0 innings of work.
The Wildcats and Spartans last met in 2015 with MSU taking the series from Northwestern, 2-1, East Lansing, Michigan.
| NORTHWESTERN VS. MICHIGAN STATE | |||||||
| DATE | OPPONENT | TIME | LOCATION | STREAM | RADIO | STATS | |
| Friday, April 28 | Michigan State | Noon CT | Miller Park | Watch | WNUR | Stats | |
| Friday, April 28 | Michigan State | 3 p.m. CT | Miller Park | Watch | WNUR | Stats | |
| Sunday, April 29 | Michigan State | Noon CT | Miller Park | Watch | WNUR | Stats | |
| Social: Twitter (@NUCatsBaseball and @NU_SportsLive) | Instagram (nucatsbaseball) | Facebook Notes: Northwestern | Michigan State |
|||||||
Due to inclement weather in the forecast, the teams will play a doubleheader on Friday, April 28, beginning at noon CT with first pitch for game two coming 30 minutes after the conclusion of the first game. The series finale is now scheduled for Saturday, April 29, at noon.
Northwestern (16-23, 5-7) and Michigan State (21-16, 5-7) enter the series tied for ninth place in the conference standings, just a half game out of the final tournament spot. The Wildcats have won three of their last four games, while MSU has one win in its last four outings.
Head coach Spencer Allen has tabbed the same starting rotation for the third straight weekend. Senior Cooper Wetherbee (1-1, 3.34 ERA) will make his fifth start and 15th appearance of the season in the opener, before looking to freshmen Hank Christie (3-4, 5.29 ERA) and Matt Gannon (0-2, 4.05 ERA) to close out the series.
The Wildcats will be looking forward to returning to the friendly confines of Miller Park after playing back-to-back weekend series on the road at Illinois (April 14-16) and Penn State (April 21-23). Northwestern has claimed series wins in its last two home sets over Air Force and Iowa.
Michigan State's will go with Alex Troop (5-3, 2.64 ERA) in the series' lidlifter before Jake Lowery (2-2, 3.86 ERA) starts game two and Andrew Gonzalez (3-3, 4.46 ERA) closes out the weekend.
The Spartans boast one of the best offenses in the Big Ten this season. As a group, MSU is batting .287 in 37 games, which ranks third in the league and its 83 doubles lead all B1G teams. Brandon Hughes is MSU most consistent player at the plate this season, hitting .326 with 45 hits and 29 RBI. Hughes' batting average ranks 14th among league hitters and his 19 stolen bases this season is the third-highest amount for a B1G player.
Look for Walter Borkovich out of the Spartans' pen this weekend. He has appeared in 19 games and owns a 2.13 ERA, which is the second-best ERA of any Big Ten pitcher this season. Borkovich has only allowed nine runs in 38.0 innings of work.
The Wildcats and Spartans last met in 2015 with MSU taking the series from Northwestern, 2-1, East Lansing, Michigan.
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