EAST LANSING, Mich. — Michigan State baseball will open Big Ten Conference action against Nebraska this weekend with a three-game series in Lincoln, Neb. at Nebraska's Hawks Field at Haymarket Park. This weekend’s schedule has been altered by impending inclement weather in the Lincoln area. The Spartans and Cornhuskers will now play a doubleheader on Friday, March 22 starting at 4:05 p.m. ET / 3:05 p.m. CT, with game two slated for approximately 8:45 p.m. ET / 7:45 p.m. CT. The intent is to play the series finale on Saturday, March 23 at 3:05 p.m. ET / 2:05 p.m. CT ... Note: any schedule updates will be posted on MSUSpartans.com and on twitter @statebaseball.
Fans can follow this weekend's MSU B1G opening weekend at Nebraska through "Live Stats," "Listen Live" and "Watch Live" links found at MSUSpartans.com ... This weekend's games will be video streamed on BTN2Go, and will also be carried on the Spartan Sports Network live audio stream. The broadcast will be available exclusively at SpartanSportsNetwork.com and on the network's 24/7 app for mobile devices (available on iTunes and Google Play) ... Broadcast veteran Scott Moore calls the action alongside former MSU manager/bullpen catcher David Greenberg in select home games.
Michigan State had it originally scheduled home-opener vs. Central Michigan on Wednesday postponed due to inclement weather ... With Wednesday's postponement, this weekend's games will be MSU 19th, 20th and 21st games away from home to open the season.
This weekend marks the first time that Michigan State has opened Big Ten action against Nebraska ... Also, the March 22-24 dates are the earliest meetings between the Spartans and Cornhuskers since March 21, 1982, when they played a DH in Edinburg, Texas ... Last year's series in April is the only non-May match-ups between MSU and Nebraska as Big Ten foes, as the previous three B1G regular-season series were either the first or second weekends of May as league play was winding down.
MSU is 6-4 in Big Ten opening games under head coach Jake Boss Jr., as well as winning six of the 10 B1G series under Coach Boss, taking two of the last three league series openers.
This weekend's series features the top two strength of schedule teams in the Big Ten, as Michigan State has a No. 11 strength of schedule, just ahead of Nebraska at No. 12 ... MSU is the only team in the country to play both the current No. 1 team in the nation, NC State (Collegiate Baseball Poll), and the only unbeaten team in Arizona State.
