2012 NCAA Baseball Tournament Projections: Michigan State Last Team In?

In a little more than 13 hours the NCAA baseball tournament field will be announced. Mark Etheredge of Southeast baseball, one of the leading college baseball writers out there, has good news for the Michigan St. Spartans. In his final projection of the season before the field is revealed he has the Spartans in... barely:

Palo Alto Regional
Host: Stanford
1. Stanford 37-16 #16 (P12 at large)
4. Fresno State 29-26 #88 (WAC Automatic)

2. Cal State Fullerton 34-19 #20 (BWC Automatic)
3. Michigan State 37-21 #45 (B10 at large)

On his Twitter feed he even stipulates that the Spartans are one of the final teams in, but not THE final team:

Mark Etheridge ‏@sebaseball

Last teams in: from 64-59 are East Carolina, Texas, Indiana State, Sam Houston State, Michigan State

Either way, it looks to be a long night for Michigan State baseball, but they have already waited 33 years since their last NCAA Tournament appearance. What is one more night?

2012 NCAA Baseball Tournament Projections: Michigan State Squarely On The Bubble

The Michigan St. Spartans have a long wait until noon on Monday when the NCAA unveils the 2012 baseball tournament field. The Spartans have a strong RPI of 45 for a northern team and have impressive wins over Baylor and Purdue, who will both host NCAA regionals, but a fifth place regular season finish in the Big Ten has put the Spartans' hopes in doubt.

Michigan State has not reached the NCAA Tournament since 1979, and after coming close last year a series of close losses, including an extra inning loss to Indiana yesterday, Michigan State cannot feel safe. Perfect Game is very skeptical of the Spartans' position:

Michigan State -- The Spartans are one of those extremely tough teams to figure out come Selection Monday. MSU played a decent non-conference schedule and racked up 37 wins with an RPI of 45. However, it went just 2-2 at the Big Ten tournament and is 5-5 in its last 10 games. The Spartans are one of those northern teams that could easily get into the field, but it's always tough to gauge exactly what the committee is thinking.

Baseball America doesn't think the Spartans will measure up:

The picture is similar in the Big Ten, as top-seeded Purdue advanced to the title round with a 3-0 win against Indiana. The Indiana-Michigan State winner Saturday must beat the Boilermakers twice to capture the automatic bid and make the Big Ten a two-bid league. That's a tall order. Assuming the Boilermakers win the tournament, the Big Ten will likely be a one-bid league, as Michigan State's fifth-place finish in the regular season torpedoes its case, despite a bubble-caliber RPI (No. 43).

The final answer will come Monday at noon on ESPNU

Big Ten Baseball Tournament 2012: Indiana Eliminates Michigan State With 4-3 Win

Michigan State's NCAA tournament fate is now in the hands of the selection committee. The Spartans were hoping to win the Big Ten tournament and secure an automatic bid, but they were eliminated from the tourney on Saturday by Indiana in a 4-3 defeat.

There wasn't much separation between Michigan State and Indiana in Saturday's game. The Hoosiers took a 2-0 lead in the top of the second inning, but MSU responded with two runs to tie things up in the bottom of the inning. Neither team was able to score until the ninth inning, when Indiana put up a run in the top of the inning. Michigan State rallied to tie the game again and nearly won on a walk-off hit. A diving catch by an Indiana outfielder kept the game going, and the Hoosiers eventually won with a run in the 11th.

Michigan State will find out if it is going to the NCAA tournament when the field of teams is announced on Monday. Indiana, meanwhile, is set to take on Purdue for the Big Ten tournament title.

Big Ten Baseball Tournament 2012: Michigan State Eliminates Ohio State With 6-2 Win

One day after being edged 6-4 by the No. 2 seeded Indiana Hoosiers, the Michigan State Spartans responded with an 11-hit, six-run performance in Friday's must-win game with Ohio State to keep their postseason alive.

The Spartans, who effectively ended the Buckeyes' season with the victory, actually trailed 2-0 after the top half of the fifth inning, but swiftly added a pair of runs to tie the game in the bottom of the frame. Michigan State starter David Garner earned the victory with another impressive performance behind 6.1 innings of two-run ball with six strikeouts. Even as the Spartans' No. 3 starter, Garner has been outstanding lately and legitimately saved the day with his strong showing from the mound.

Michigan State will now wait until Saturday at 3:30 pm ET to play the loser of the Indiana vs. Purdue game scheduled for Friday evening. The game will be televised on Big Ten Network and can be watched online via the BTN2Go application.

Big Ten Baseball Tournament 2012: Michigan State Blows Lead, Loses to Indiana, 6-4

A day after almost blowing the lead to Nebraska, Michigan State let it slip away against Indiana, falling 6-4, after the Hoosiers scored four runs in the bottom of the eighth inning.

A three-run home run in the second inning by designated hitter Blaise Salter put the Spartans up 3-0. Two innings later, an RBI single by second baseman Micah Johnson and a sacrifice fly from Hoosiers shortstop Michael Basil cut the lead to 3-2.

Michigan State extended that lead in the fifth inning when left fielder Jordan Keur hit a sacrifice fly to make the score 4-2, but it all fell apart for the Spartans in the eighth inning.

The Hoosiers scored four runs in the eighth and took the lead when Basil hit a two-RBI double. Trailing 6-4, the Spartans loaded the based with no one out in the top of ninth, but they could not score a run.

Michigan State will now be out of the tournament with its next loss. The Spartans play tomorrow, but the opponent and time of the game are yet to be determined.

Big Ten Baseball Tournament 2012: Michigan State Holds Off Nebraska For 10-9 Victory

The 2012 Big Ten baseball tournament got off to quite the start on Wednesday afternoon in Columbus. In the first game of the tournament, Michigan State took on Nebraska and was in complete control going into the ninth inning. The Spartans led 10-2 and seemed to be well on their way to an easy victory. Nebraska wasn't having it, though.

The Cornhuskers put together a big rally in the ninth to make things extremely interesting. Nebraska scored seven runs to make it a 10-9 game. The Cornhuskers had the tying run on third base with two outs, which is when Michigan State's Ryan Jones made a leaping catch to record the third out, stop the rally and clinch the 10-9 victory for the Spartans. You can check out the play below.

Michigan State now advances to the winner's bracket, where it will face either Purdue or Indiana on Thursday. Michigan State's next opponent depends what happens between Penn State and Ohio State on Wednesday. If Penn State wins, Michigan State will take on No. 1 Purdue. If OSU wins, then the Spartans will face No. 2 Indiana.

You can check out the full Big Ten baseball tournament bracket here.

2012 Big Ten Baseball Tournament Bracket: Michigan State Can End 33-Year NCAA Tourney Drought

Michigan State has not been to the NCAA baseball tournament since 1979, but it will try to change that with a strong showing in the 2012 Big Ten baseball tournament.