Feb. 22, 2007

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THIS WEEK IN SPARTAN BASEBALL:

MICHIGAN STATE (0-0) at Coca-Cola Classic

All games at Mobile, Ala. • Stanky Field

Mobile Weather

The Lineup
Game 1: at South Alabama (3-2)
When: Friday, Feb. 23 • 7 p.m. ET • 6 p.m. CT
Media Coverage: Live stats at www.usajaguars.com

South Alabama Baseball Site

Game 2: vs. No. 29 Auburn (7-1)
When: Saturday, Feb. 24 • 5:30 p.m. ET • 4:30 p.m. CT
Media Coverage: Audio broadcast available for purchase at www.auburntigers.com; live stats available at www.usajaguars.com

Auburn Baseball Site

Game 3: vs. Jacksonville (4-5)
When: Sunday, Feb. 25 • 12 p.m. ET • 11 p.m. CT
Media Coverage: Live stats at www.msuspartans.com and www.usajaguars.com

Jacksonville Baseball Site

SPARTANS OPEN 2007 CAMPAIGN AT COCA-COLA CLASSIC IN MOBILE, ALA.
The Michigan State baseball team opens the 2007 season this weekend with three tough games at the Coca-Cola Classic in Mobile, Ala. Opening Day is set for Friday, Feb. 23 as MSU takes on South Alabama at 7 p.m. ET. The Spartans continue with games against No. 29 Auburn Saturday at 5:30 p.m. ET and Jacksonville Sunday at 12 p.m. ET.

Senior right-hander Craig Brookes will get the call on Friday for the Spartans, marking his first career start on Opening Day. The 6-3, 200-pound Naperville, Ill., native brings a 13-9 career record into his senior season. Brookes went 2-4 with a 4.56 ERA last season, but achieved career highs in strikeouts (54) and innings pitched (73.0 IP). He went 6-1 as a sophomore to earn third-team All-Big Ten honors.

South Alabama, host of the tournament, enters the weekend with a 3-2 record after falling to Southern Miss on Tuesday, 4-0, and beating Jackson State on Wednesday, 19-3. The Jaguars took two of three from Mercer last weekend at home. Junior right-hander Dan Goldberg is scheduled to take the mound against MSU - he got the win in the opening game of the Mercer series, striking out five and allowing four runs on eight hits in six innings of work. The Jaguars went 38-19 last season and competed in the NCAA Tournament.

The task doesn't get easier after Opening Day - the Spartans have to come right back to play Auburn, who is off to a 7-1 start and ranked 29th by Collegiate Baseball. The Tigers have swept Hofstra and UNC Greensboro in weekend series, and beat Troy on Tuesday, 5-3. Their lone loss came at the hands of Lipscomb.

Junior Jon Kibler will go against the Tigers. The 6-5, 210-pound lefty was a junior college All-American last season pitching for Dundalk (Md.) Community College, racking up an 11-2 record with a 1.63 ERA and 70 strikeouts in 88 innings of action. Kibler pitched for Western Carolina as a freshman.

The Spartans complete the grueling three-game weekend against Jacksonville, another NCAA Tournament team from a year ago. The Dolphins went 42-17 in 2006 and won the Atlantic Sun Conference title. This season, the Dolphins are off to a 4-5 start after getting swept by South Florida last weekend. JU began the year 4-1 with a series win over Bethune-Cookman and two wins over Florida A&M.

Carson Andrew, a freshman right-hander out of Jacksonville, Fla., is the probable starter for the Dolphins on Sunday. Andrew is 0-0 this season with a 0.00 ERA and seven strikeouts in 4.1 innings pitched.

Pitching Matchups

Game 1:

MSU: Sr. RH Craig Brookes (6-3, 200, Naperville, Ill.)
(2006: 2-4, 4.56 ERA, 73.0 IP, 54 K)
USA: Jr. RH Dan Goldberg (Oakland, Calif., 6-2, 215)
(2007: 1-0, 6.00 ERA, 6 IP, 5 K)

Game 2:

MSU: Jr. LH Jon Kibler (6-5, 210, Freeland, Md.)
(2006 at DCC: 11-2, 1.63 ERA, 88.0 IP, 70 K)
Auburn: So. RH Paul Burnside (6-4, 215, Montgomery, Ala.)
(2007: 2-0, 0.00 ERA, 10.0 IP, 8 K)

Game 3:

MSU: TBA
JU: Fr. RH Carson Andrew (6-2, 185, Jacksonville, Fla.)
(2007: 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 4.1 IP, 7 K)

QUICK LOOK AT THE SPARTANS
• MSU returns 18 players, including 11 pitchers, from last season's team that finished 26-30 overall, 13-19 in the Big Ten.
• The Spartans led the Big Ten last season in stolen bases (98) and triples (29) and were second in the Big Ten last season in batting (.315), on-base percentage (.388) and slugging percentage (.451).
• Junior infielder Steve Gerstenberger led the Big Ten and ranked 14th in the nation with eight triples in 2006, tying for 10th most in an MSU single-season.
• Sophomore catcher/outfielder Kyle Day led the team and ranked fourth in the Big Ten with 52 runs scored as a freshman, which tied for 10th most in MSU single-season history.

NOTABLES
• MSU is 4-1 in its last five Opening Day games.
• The Spartans feature 12 newcomers to their roster in 2007.
• The Green and White ranked fourth in the nation last season with 29 triples.
• Auburn leads the all-time series against the Spartans, 2-0.

COMPLETE COCA-COLA CLASSIC SCHEDULE (ALL TIMES EASTERN)

Friday, Feb. 23
Auburn vs. Jacksonville, 3:30 p.m.
Michigan State at South Alabama, 7 p.m.

Saturday, Feb. 24
Jacksonville at South Alabama, 2 p.m.
Auburn vs. Michigan State, 5:30 p.m.

Sunday, Feb. 25
Michigan State vs. Jacksonville, 12 p.m.
Auburn at South Alabama, 2:30 p.m.

FOR WHAT IT'S WORTH
The Spartans were picked to finish fourth in the Big Ten by Baseball America and seventh in the league by Collegiate Baseball. Sophomore catcher/outfielder Kyle Day was a Baseball America preseason All-Big Ten selection and was named a player to watch in the conference by Collegiate Baseball. In addition, Baseball America tabbed freshman infielder Chris Roberts one of the top 100 freshman in the country and the No. 2 newcomer in the Big Ten. Mike Monterey was also listed as one of the top players to watch in the Big Ten by Collegiate Baseball.

BOYS OF SUMMER
Several Spartans had outstanding summer seasons in 2006. Kyle Day led the Hays (Kan.) Larks to the Jayhawk League title while being named the league's MVP. He had one of the top summers in Larks history, as he led the team in nearly every offensive category, including batting (.412 - sixth-highest average in 70-year history of the Larks), RBI (49), hits (75 - second highest in team history), doubles (17), triples (6), slugging (.703), and on-base percentage (.495). For his efforts, Day was named a NBC Summer League All-American and was listed as the No. 5 prospect in the Jayhawk League by Baseball America.

Junior right-hander Mark Sorensen was named the Great Lakes League Pitcher of the Year after he went a perfect 6-0 with a 1.71 ERA while pitching for the league-champion Columbus All-Americans. Sorensen was rated among the top 10 prospects in the Great Lakes League by Baseball America.

Fellow junior right-hander Chris Cullen was selected to start in the Cal Ripken League All-Star Game. He pitched for the league-champion Bethesda Big Ten and went 3-0 with a miniscule 0.39 ERA in 23 innings of work.

Mike Monterey, another junior righty, was named to the all-league team for his role in helping the Hays Larks to a Jayhawk League Championship. Five other Spartans played on teams that won summer league championships (Tony Clausen, Steve Gerstenberger-Columbus All-Americans, Great Lakes League; A.J. Dunn, Quinn Ewert-New Market Rebels, Valley League; Justin Potes-Chillocothe, M.I.N.K. League).