Following Wednesday’s game, the Spartans return home to open up a three-game series with Minnesota (20-17, 6-3), who currently sits in second place in the Big Ten behind Purdue and ahead of third place Nebraska.

Despite the wear and tear of playing four midweek series in as many weeks, head coach Jake Boss Jr. stressed the importance of taking a fresh approach into each game to have the best chance to come away with important victories.

“Guys would rather play than practice, you know,” Boss said. “I don’t think being fresh or being motivated to play is really a problem with this group — at least, I certainly hope not going into tomorrow, especially on the road.”

The two in-state programs first played one another in June of 1911 — not playing on a consistent basis until the 1960s — but have developed a healthy rivalry over the course of time. The Chippewas lead the all-time series against MSU, 62-50, including a 28-18 mark at home.

Earlier in the season, the Spartans overcame a tough three-error day on defense to beat Central Michigan 6-5 on a walk-off sacrifice fly by junior first baseman Jared Hook at McLane Baseball Stadium at Old College Stadium. As it stands, the Spartans have beaten the Chippewas three consecutive times headed into Wednesday’s matchup, including a 3-1 victory in last season’s Clash at Comerica at Comerica Park in Detroit.

Wednesday’s game marks the second of three scheduled meetings between the two teams this season, with the final one taking place in the second-annual Clash at Comerica on May 15.

And while excited for the notable game at the home ballpark of the Detroit Tigers, junior outfielder Jordan Keur said the team anticipates playing on the big stage but doesn’t want to overlook the value of getting a victory on Wednesday.

“Anytime you get to play in a big league park — that doesn’t happen, not everybody gets to play in there,” Keur said. “That’s an easy game to look forward to.”

On the hill for the Spartans on Wednesday will be sophomore Mike Theodore. The transfer from Tennessee is 2-1 with a 3.12 ERA in nine appearances for MSU this season, including seven starts. Theodore will look to rebound from his last start against Michigan, where he was shelled for five hits and three earned runs in 1.3 innings in Ann Arbor.

“(Theodore) threw a little bit in the pen last week and was OK,” Boss said.

“Hopefully he’ll get back into his routine tomorrow with the start and come back and throw strikes.”

After putting up 13 runs on 16 hits against the Broncos on Tuesday, Theodore likely will have plenty of runs to work with, which is an encouraging sign for an offense that has struggled at times this season.

“It keeps our minds clear,” junior third baseman Torsten Boss said.

“When we’re struggling, we kind of press a little bit. To come out and swing the bats like we did (on Tuesday), it puts a little ease on us and it feels good to go out there and perform the way we want to perform.”