Michigan State baseball won't take season 'for granted,' even as questions abound

College baseball started up nearly two weeks ago, all over the country, but not for the Big Ten.

The conference finally gets underway this weekend, as if waiting nearly a full calendar year wasn't enough, so the anticipation is sky high — but also the appreciation.

"It's something I don't ever want to lose or take for granted," said Jake Boss, Michigan State's 13th-year head coach. "I promise you that I pinch myself on a daily basis because I have the job that I have.

"For me, it's really a dream come true, and a lot of that is true for our players, as well. I never want to lose that feeling of being very, very appreciative of where I am and what I get to do for a living.

"Not everybody gets to do this."

Michigan State opens its 44-game, Big Ten-only schedule with four games against Maryland this weekend, and then six with Northwestern next weekend, all in the Greenville, South Carolina, pod, before returning home to Michigan to face Illinois and Michigan in another pod, in Ann Arbor.

The Spartans haven't played a game since March 8, 2020, before COVID-19 shut down athletics, collegiate and professional.

The ripple effect has been significant on college athletics, particularly with baseball. The NCAA gave athletes an extra "free" year of eligibility, and the 2020 Major League Baseball Draft was only five rounds, down from 40, convincing many college juniors to choose another year on campus over a maximum $20,000 signing bonus for undrafted free agents.

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Among those at Michigan State is redshirt junior Mason Erla, the Cass City native who is the team's ace. He will open the season Saturday, in Game 2, because Saturday games are doubleheaders, and doubleheaders will start at only seven innings in the Big Ten. The thought is Erla, a preseason second-team or third-team (depending on the outlet) All-American selection, could easily go the distance in seven-inning games.

Starting Game 1, a nine-inning game, is senior Sam Benschoter, from Tecumseh. And after that?

"Games 3 and 4 could depend on what happens in the bullpen in Games 1 and 2," Boss said this week.

It's never good to have question marks or depth issues in the pitching department, but especially this season, with all the games crammed into the weekends so players can go through testing protocols during the week.

"The message we've given to our guys is we're going to have to be comfortable being uncomfortable," Boss said. "It is what it is. Be flexible, be ready to change at a moment's notice. Every cliche kind of applies."

Other options in the starting-pitching department include freshman left-hander Nick Powers from Flushing and freshman right-hander Adam Berghorst from Zeeland. Berghorst also plays on the football team, as a tight end and defensive end. Senior left-hander Jarret Olson, expected to be a big part of the pitching plans, is out with an arm injury and Boss is waiting on word of the severity. That should come in a couple weeks.

Offensively, players to watch include sophomore outfielder Zaid Walker, who is expected to hit in the middle of the Spartans' lineup, as well as freshman first baseman Sam Busch, who's from East Lansing and is "gonna hit a lot of balls into the Red Cedar River" during his career, Boss said.

The starting shortstop is expected to be another freshman, Mitch Jebb, from Saginaw.

Senior outfielder Bryce Kelley (Rockford) and senior infielder Bailey Peterson (Grandville), with Erla, were named preseason Big Ten players to watch.

Like counterpart Erik Bakich at Michigan, Boss took advantage of the transfer portal — a little-used database for college baseball until COVID-19 turned athletes upside down — with junior right-hander Jordan Beatson (Furman) expected to play a big role in the bullpen. Freshman right-hander Dominic Pianto, also from Furman, had Tommy John surgery last summer and will miss the season. JUCO transfers are in the mix.

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The newcomers will join a veteran roster; veteran rosters are commonplace throughout the game in 2021.

Michigan State was 9-6 in 2020, before things shut down, before Big Ten play even began. Now, the season begins anew, and it's only Big Ten play. Michigan, preseason No. 21 in the nation, is scheduled to open Saturday against Iowa in Round Rock, Texas.

"Play as many (games) as we can," said Boss, whose team is scheduled to play Michigan five times, twice in Ann Arbor and three times in East Lansing in May. "There are things out of our control. Something could happen. When it does, we react accordingly.

tpaul@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @tonypaul1984