Last season, the Michigan State Spartans came to Sembower Field for a three-game series in mid-May. It was an ordinary Big Ten series, except that Saturday's contest required 15 innings to decide a winner.
Sembower does not have lights. So the game had to be suspended until Sunday. The Spartans ultimately lost that game, 13-12.
The Spartans are in town this weekend. Announced in mid-February was that Bart Kaufman Field would replace the 54-year-old Sembower in time for the start of the 2012-2013 baseball season.
I spoke to Spartans head coach Jake Boss, Jr. to get his thoughts on what is scheduled to be the last time his Spartans play at Sembower. (Kyle Kuhlman has told me that ground will be broken on May 1.)
I present his comments without interruption ...
"There's a lot of history here, obviously," he said. "As you move forward, it's a new step, a positive step for Indiana baseball. It's good for Indiana University (and) it's good for the Big Ten. Just about everybody's upgraded their facilities over the last few years in the conference and that's good for the league.
"It sends a message to the rest of the country that there's good baseball in the Big Ten and each institution is making a commitment to their baseball program, which, again, is good for the conference. If you have a good year and host a regional, it's another positive thing for the conference.
"I'm happy for Tracy. He's been working hard on it for a long time. He's a good man and deserves all the accolades that he gets and all the successes that he gets here. I'm happy that he's finally going to be able to get that facility that he's worked so for"
