“The bus is a fun place to be when you win,” MSU coach Jake Boss Jr. said.

The Spartans (17-23 overall, 8-7 Big Ten) moved up into fifth-place in the Big Ten after the sweep of last-place Iowa. They’ve now won five of their last six conference games and the last two weekend series.

Their upcoming weekend set against ninth-place Penn State — coupled with the dedication ceremony of McLane Baseball Stadium — gives the Spartans a third-consecutive weekend with a viable chance at a sweep and moving up in the conference standings.

“We’re sitting pretty well in the Big Ten standings,” senior catcher Eric Roof said. “We know a couple teams ahead of us lost, so this was an important weekend for us to move in the right direction.”

The Spartans, who aren’t near the top in any major Big Ten statistical category, put together 48 hits in the three-game set and have four players batting .300 or better.

“Hitting is contagious, and we had a couple guys get hot on Friday and it just kind of steamrolled,” Boss said. “We talked a lot about executing and just having quality at-bats. We talked about moving runners over and getting runners in. They took that to heart, and I think they really stuck with the game plan all weekend long.”

Roof went 3-for-6 with two runs and three RBI in Friday’s opener and 2-for-3 with two runs and 5 RBI, including a grand slam, in Sunday’s series finale. On Saturday, junior infielder Chris Roberts went 5-for-6 and drove in a career-high six runs in the Spartans’ second victory.

“Everybody’s just kind of feeling comfortable with their swing now and seeing the ball better and sticking to an approach,” Roberts said. “I’m just kind of picking up the ball earlier, recognizing the pitch and slowing things down with my swing.”

Freshman right-hander Tony Bucciferro started Sunday’s game for his first weekend start as a Spartan. He’d
previously been successful as a mid-week starter before this week, when Boss tapped him to throw Sunday’s game.

“He was surprised when we pulled him so early on Wednesday,” Boss said of Bucciferro’s two-inning outing against Central Michigan on Wednesday. “We told him right after that that was the reason. He had a big smile on his face. It’s neat to see a guy who’s worked really hard like that get what he deserves.”

In 10 appearances, the freshman is fifth in the conference with a 2.77 ERA and has posted a 4-1 record in about 48 and two-thirds innings pitched.

“Tony has thrown very well in his mid-week starts, and we just really felt he deserved the opportunity to throw in the Big Ten,” Boss said. “Tony’s a strike thrower, and you need to have a strike thrower. Especially on Sunday in the Big Ten, because pitching can get a little thin. So you can’t afford to give away bases.”

The Spartans have won seven of their last nine contests dating back to the mid-week match-up against Western Michigan on April 15. That week included the U-M series win and convincing victory against the Lansing Lugnuts in the third annual Crosstown Showdown, and was a week many members of the team believed was a turning point in their season.

“One of our goals is to win the Big Ten and beating teams you’re supposed to beat and sweeping them is a key in doing that,” Roberts said. “Two good weekends is definitely a step in the right direction. We’re finally getting the mentality that we’re here to win instead of trying not to lose and going into these games with the mind-set that teams are going to have to beat us and we’re not going to beat ourselves.”