Against the talented Buckeyes, MSU knew its 12-game home winning streak and its standing atop the Big Ten would be in jeopardy.
After winning Friday's game, 10-7, a victory that kept the Spartans in sole possession of first place in the conference, MSU dropped its next three games against Ohio State, 8-7, 19-2 and 12-10.
"We gave up 46 runs this weekend and we couldn't catch the ball," MSU manager Ted Mahan said. When you do that, you can't win. We didn't give ourselves a chance to win."
The three consecutive losses, coupled with the Buckeyes' wins, helped Ohio State (17-14 overall, 8-4 Big Ten) to leapfrog MSU (18-15, 7-5) for the Big Ten's top spot.
"We came in here a game behind, needing to make up ground if we could," Ohio State manager Bob Todd said. "Obviously, we made up ground."
The players said Sunday's defeat, because it ended a disappointing weekend, stung the most.
After the Buckeyes built a 6-1 lead in the top of the sixth, the Spartans made their move toward a comeback victory.
Junior right fielder Travis Gulick and senior first baseman Scott Koerber launched back-to-back home runs over the left-center field fence to bring MSU within three. MSU added another run late in the inning to pull within 6-4.
After the Buckeyes added another homer in the top of the seventh, the Spartans continued their offensive surge from the sixth inning.
Koerber hit a long pop-up that cleared the fence and turned into a two-run home run. Following a single by junior catcher Erik Morris, senior third baseman James Moreno launched a shot over the left field wall to give MSU its first lead of the game.
Freshman designated hitter Sean Walker then followed up with a moon shot over the center field fence to give MSU a two-run cushion, 9-7.
"We're capable of doing that," Walker said. "Days like today make it a launching pad out there. But teams like Ohio State, they can hit too."
Walker was right, but the Buckeyes would need a little help from MSU defense.
Two outs, Buckeye runners on second and third and a sharply hit grounder hit to freshman shortstop Troy Krider turned from inning-ending groundout into a Spartans nightmare.
"I got the ground ball and I knew it was going to take a bad hop, so I wanted to smoother it," Krider said. "It took the bad hop and went up off my shoulder."
The blunder skipped into the outfield allowing both Ohio State runners to score. Three more Buckeyes would cross the plate and the Buckeyes were in control, up 12-9.
Eight runs in their previous two at-bats seemed to signal another MSU comeback, but MSU's first two hitters - sophomore second baseman Oliver Wolcott and Gulick - struck out looking.
"It did kill the momentum," Walker said. "You could see the hitters were frustrated when they were talking to the umpires. It's tough."
What made Sunday's 12-10 loss even harder to swallow were Saturday's results. Mahan called the 19-2 defeat "just one of those games," but the leadoff game came down to making key plays and, like Sunday, the Spartans didn't come through in the clutch.
Friday's victory was puzzling: two aces on the mound typically calls for a low-scoring game. In the end, MSU senior right hander Bryan Gale gave up seven runs in seven innings, but still picked up the victory.
The Spartans didn't know, however, that Friday's win would be the only one on the weekend.
"If we had split, we'd still be in first," Mahan said. "This is the first time this year we're not in first. Hopefully, that is some sort of incentive."
