“They’re great kids and I wouldn’t trade any one of them,” Boss said. “They’ve been outstanding all year long for us and have been really good for the last three years. They’ve been through an awful lot but they certainly deserve all of the successes they’ve had.”

The Wildcats jumped out in front of the game early, starting with a double from third baseman Chris Lashmet. Lashmet would score on an error by sophomore third baseman Torsten Boss to give Northwestern the 1-0 lead.

Boss would redeem himself for the error by leading off the top of the second inning with a home run over the right field fence to knot the game at one run apiece. The home run was Boss’ seventh on the season and served as a jump start to MSU’s offense.

The scoring continued in the bottom of the third inning after sophomore left fielder Jordan Keur, who reached on a single, scored on a triple by sophomore second baseman Ryan Jones. The Spartans weren’t done as a sacfice fly to shallow left field scored Jones to extend MSU’s lead to 3-1.

Jones, who earlier in the year had a 33 game hitting streak, added three hits and drove in two runs on the day for the Spartans.

“I was just trying to relax up there and act like it was just another game,” Jones said. “I was trying to relax people in the dugout but as well as them I was trying to relax myself – the balls were falling for me.”

The Spartans lead 4-1 until the bottom of the eighth when the flood gates opened. Shortstop Justin Scanlon led the inning off with a triple to center field and would later score on a wild pitch. MSU tacked on six more runs in the inning to pad their lead, 10-1.

One day after senior pitcher Kurt Wunderlich threw a complete game shut out against the Wildcats, Bucciferro added an impressive performance of his own for the Spartans on Friday. Bucciferro threw nine strikeouts over nine complete innings, including striking out the side in the top of the ninth, and surrendered just three hits on the day to bring MSU to the title.

“I was closing that game out — I wasn’t not going to close that game out,” Bucciferro said. “We owed it to (Boss). We owed it to everyone over the past 30 years. We owed it to all of our fans. We owed it to State — it’s a good feeling.”

The Big Ten championship is the first one for the baseball program since 1979 and the fifth Big Ten title earned by the athletics department during this academic year.

As the team’s celebration rolled on, seniors outfielder Brandon Eckerle and first baseman Jeff Holm rushed out to the Big Ten championships banner in left field and added a white taped “‘11” to authenticate the title. The previous years on the banner 1979, 1971 and 1954 — marking the first title. Several Spartan players and fans posed for pictures in front of the banner following the game.

“We’re going to be a part of history now,” Holm said. “Hopefully we have many more years to come. Our program’s on the up rise — the up-and-up — and hopefully it keeps going that way.”

If the Spartans defeat Northwestern at 1:05 p.m. Saturday at McLane Baseball Stadium at Kobs Field, they will have a three-game sweep over the Wildcats and claim sole possession of the Big Ten championship.

For some players, such as Jones, much of the credit in the quick turnaround of the program can be attributed to Boss and the work of his coaching staff during his three-year tenure. The progress has earned a promising young program a Big Ten title and an welcome addition to a banner which hadn’t changed in more than three decades.

“I’m just happy for our whole team – especially for Coach Boss,” Jones said. “To come in here three years ago and start off with brand new players and now leading us to a Big Ten championship after 32 years of not having one, it’s something cool to be a part of.”