Now, a new Big Ten season has arrived, beginning at 7:05 p.m. tonight against Iowa in Iowa City, and head coach Jake Boss Jr. said he hopes MSU (15-6) will use last season’s disappointing finish as motivation.

“I think it was a bad taste in their mouth the way last season ended,” Boss said. “It’s something we talk about all time. I think they’re very motivated, and nobody wants to feel that again.”

Throughout the entire season, the Big Ten was a mess. And heading into that final weekend, each team had a chance to finish in the top six, while eight out of 10 teams had a chance to win the regular season championship.

Statistically, the Spartans were one of the top offensive teams in the muddled conference, and senior first baseman Jeff Holm said that was what made the ending of the season so frustrating. Holm said MSU has similar — if not better — talent this season, which makes him excited to start the Big Ten season.

“We had talent all the way up and down the order, and we have the same thing this year,” Holm said. “We got a great chance this year, so hopefully we can keep it all together.”

Last weekend, the Spartans played in-state rival Michigan and swept the Wolverines in three games.

However, due to a scheduling oddity, each game was a nonconference matchup, making this weekend’s three-game series against the Hawkeyes (9-13) the first conference games of the season.

Senior pitcher Kurt Wunderlich said it was nice to gain confidence last weekend with the sweep of U-M, but the real season starts today. And with the Big Ten regular season being so important, Wunderlich, who will start tonight’s game, said he hopes he can help MSU begin conference play on a positive note.

“When you get off to a good start, it always builds for the rest of the season also,” Wunderlich said. “Starting on a positive note is always important.”

Beating Iowa won’t be an easy task, though. The Hawkeyes rank fourth in the conference with a 4.38 team ERA and are led by a pair of junior pitchers — Nick Brown and Jared Hippen — who both rank in the top 20 in the Big Ten in ERA.

Coming off a 3-1 loss to Central Michigan on Wednesday, Boss said the Spartans cannot afford to have a similar performance in any of the three games this weekend.

Boss also said he doesn’t expect that to be a problem, as Big Ten play usually brings out the best in players and creates a level of intensity not typically seen during a weekday game.

“We’re trying to win a Big Ten championship,” Wunderlich said.

“So the intensity is always there, but it goes up another level now because we’re trying to win something bigger than just one game.”