“I don’t think you can go into a game expecting to put up 20 runs,” senior outfielder Johnny Lee said. “It’s such a rare thing to happen but you definitely should go into a game thinking you can do it. It felt good to put a big crooked number up there.”

Lee went four-for-four with six RBIs for the Spartans (8-17) and freshman pitcher Tony Bucciferro earned the victory, striking out six and giving up seven hits in seven innings.

“I was spotting my fastball real good,” Bucciferro said. “My changeup, which I’ve been struggling with this year, was finally there. My slider has always been there. That was probably my best performance of the year.”

The Spartans wasted no time roughing up CMU starter Jesse Hernandez, tallying three runs in the top of the first. Hits from junior outfielder Eli Boike, senior infielder Eric Roof and Lee were part of the barrage that knocked the righthander out before he could record four outs.

MSU batted through their lineup in the second, scoring seven runs. Four walks, a second Chippewa error and a single were the end of the story for Hernandez, who gave way to righthander Jake Sabol.

A Lee double down the rightfield line for two more RBIs and a single from senior infielder A.J. Schindler accounted for four more MSU runs before Sabol left CMU in a 15-0 hole. Southpaw Michael Nixon came in and surrendered a solo home run to Roof and an RBI double to Lee in the bottom of the sixth.

The Chippewas’ scored a run in each of the seventh, eighth and ninth innings. MSU registered at least a run in every inning but the fourth.

“It’s always good to follow up a tough weekend when you can play real well,” MSU coach Jake Boss Jr. said. “Central’s a good ball club. We came right out of the chute. If you can start quickly, get into the bullpen, that gets deeper into their pitching rotation and you’ve got a chance to make some good things happen.”

MSU will look to earn its first conference win as they open McLane Baseball Stadium on Friday against Northwestern. The stadium, built with a $4 million donation from Houston Astros CEO Drayton McLane and his wife, Elizabeth, will feature 2,500 seats, a new press box and brick backstops.

“We can’t wait,” Boss said. “It’s exciting. The first thing I do every day is I walk out on the field and check out the construction and see what’s going on. I can’t tell you how excited we are. To play there and back at home on campus is something we’re really looking forward to.”