“In baseball, games like that can go as quickly as they come,” Boss said of MSU’s victory in the rubber match of its first Big Ten series. “I told the guys to enjoy it right now, but not to think it’s going to happen again Tuesday because Bowling Green is going to come in here ready to play.”

Despite losing the Big Ten opener against Iowa on Friday, the Spartans (19-5 overall, 2-1 Big Ten) have been on quite a roll, winning 13 of their last 14 games.

Offensively, MSU’s team batting average of .342 is tops in the Big Ten, and four of the Spartans’ everyday starters are hitting above .400.

“If you can hit anything above .300, it’s pretty good,” said junior center fielder Brandon Eckerle, who is hitting .408 on the season. “If you have guys hitting above .400, and several of them, then that’s really good for the offense. Everyone is just seeing the ball really well.”

Defensively, the Spartans’ .986 fielding percentage is the best in the conference. MSU also has committed only 13 errors this season. The next closest conference team has made 30.

MSU’s pitching has stuttered at times early this season. But with all the offensive firepower in the lineup, the MSU pitching staff has had plenty of run support with which to work.

“For us to be able to put up the big offensive numbers, it’s something that hopefully our pitchers will go up there and know that we will score some runs and they can relax a little bit,” Boss said.

After a tough loss to Bowling Green last season, the Spartans are hoping to earn some revenge Tuesday. Last year, MSU traveled to Bowling Green and suffered a 16-13 loss in a seesaw slugfest that saw a ninth inning MSU rally fall short.

“They usually play us really tough,” senior right fielder Eli Boike said.

“But I think we owe them one for last year. I think we will come out ready to play.”

The Falcons (8-14-1 overall, 2-4 MAC) are coming off a narrow 4-3 victory over Eastern Michigan on Sunday, which prevented Bowling Green from being swept.

Although Bowling Green’s record might not be as impressive as MSU’s, Boss is making sure the Spartans don’t underestimate the Falcons.

“They are a team that always plays hard,” Boss said. “Our guys know they are going to have to be focused and play really well in order to win. Bowling Green is a team that’s always had a strong program and they have a lot of tradition of winning.”

After Tuesday’s midweek nonconference game with the Falcons, the Spartans will travel down the street to Cooley Law School Stadium (formerly Oldsmobile Park) for the Crosstown Showdown against the Lansing Lugnuts on Wednesday. The first pitch will be at 7:05 p.m.

“Playing in the Crosstown (Showdown) is always really fun,” Boike said. “It will be a good crowd and you get to play against professional players, which is awesome.”