Opening pitch for game one is set for 3:05 p.m. today, and after enjoying Tuesday’s win, Boss said his guys know it’s time to get down to business against the Golden Gophers.

“They’re focused,” Boss said of the Spartans. “This is what we play for. Tuesday was a fun thing, and it’s a great experience for our guys. But we’ve worked since Sept. 1 for opportunities like the one we have this weekend, so focus won’t be a problem.”

MSU and Minnesota are two of five teams logjammed at the top of the Big Ten standings heading into the second weekend of Big Ten play. Boss, who is in his third year in East Lansing, said the Golden Gophers traditionally are one of the best teams in the conference, and this season is no different.

Although Minnesota lost a number of key players from last year’s team, which finished 2010 as the best team in the Big Ten, Boss said the Golden Gophers — led by six-time Big Ten Coach of the Year John Anderson — once again are a solid all-around team that makes few mistakes.

“They just play good baseball,” Boss said. “They’re good at everything. … It’s always a very complete ball club when you play them.”

Fortunately for the Spartans, they will be welcoming Minnesota to McLane Baseball Stadium for the first home conference series of the season, rather than traveling to Minneapolis.

Senior outfielder Brandon Eckerle, who leads the Big Ten with a .431 batting average, said protecting home field always is important to him and his teammates, and even more so when it comes to conference play.

“Our goal is to win every series, and obviously at home, that’s even more important,” Eckerle said. “You have to win your home games and hopefully steal some on the road if you want to win a championship.”

Eckerle said playing at home is a big advantage for hitters, especially when it comes to being comfortable in the batter’s box and a hitter’s line of sight back toward the mound. Likewise, senior pitcher Kurt Wunderlich said throwing at home has its advantages. But regardless of position, both players said playing on their home field as opposed to on the road simply is easier and less stressful.
“You get to be on your own schedule,” Wunderlich said. “You can show up an hour, two hours before the game time, sleep in your own bed and just go through your own routine.”

MSU is returning home after taking two-of-three from Iowa last weekend in Iowa City followed by the short trip down Michigan Avenue to take on the Lugnuts. The Spartans were scheduled to take on Eastern Michigan at home Wednesday, but the game was postponed until later this month due to rain. As a result, MSU received some extra rest heading into the weekend.

While senior first basemen Jeff Holm said the position players still came in and did extra work Wednesday, the time off this week almost certainly will be beneficial to the Spartans’ bullpen.

Along with Wednesday’s rainout, MSU’s starting rotation and go-to relief pitchers all received a break during Tuesday’s win against the Lugnuts. Among the eight pitchers used Tuesday, only freshman Zak Wilkerson had seen action all season.

“It definitely helped with the bullpen guys because they kind of got used up last weekend,” Wunderlich said. “But (Tuesday) really just helped with the confidence of the whole staff, too, because everyone went out there and threw really well.”

The same could be said for all of the Spartans, who beat Lansing for just the second time in the five-year history of the series Tuesday.

Holm and Eckerle — the top two hitters in the Big Ten — both said MSU’s confidence is sky high following Tuesday’s win, and they now will try and take that confidence into this weekend, which includes games at 1:05 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, and the rest of the Big Ten season.

“Winning Tuesday helped a lot,” Holm said. “We played well against a good team — a professional team — in front of a lot of people. Coming back to our home field, hopefully we can carry that over.”