As the Spartans (32-18 overall, 13-8 Big Ten) head into their final regular season series — hosting Northwestern (19-27, 9-11) with game one at 3:05 p.m. Thursday — they hold a one-game lead over Minnesota (21-20, 12-9) and Illinois (22-25, 12-9) in the Big Ten. To be guaranteed outright champions, MSU will have to sweep the Wildcats at McLane Baseball Stadium at Kobs field.

“We deserve to be first place in the conference because we won more games than the other teams in the conference, and we’ve earned that,” Boss said. “I think we’ve earned the position we’re in right now, and we’ve earned the chance to compete for a championship.”

MSU enters the Northwestern series after being swept at Indiana last weekend but following up with a commanding 20-3 road victory over Notre Dame on Tuesday. Under pressure to maintain its conference lead, Boss said he hopes the team’s struggles at Indiana will erase any nerves going into the weekend.

Despite sitting in a better position compared to the same time last season, MSU is ending its regular season facing the Wildcats for the second consecutive year.

Playing in Evanston, Ill., last season, the Spartans lost two of the series’ three games — including a walk-off loss in game three — ending their hopes of playing in the Big Ten Tournament. Senior outfielder Brandon Eckerle said they still have a bad taste in their mouths from the season-ending series and are looking for revenge against the Wildcats.

“It’s something we definitely remember,” he said. “It’s a tough way to go out and a tough way to end the season.”

This time around, MSU has more than just a home-field advantage. The team is 9-0 in home conference games, giving everyone an added confidence boost.

For Northwestern, pitcher Luke Farrell will pitch in the first game, and he enters the series with a 3.58 ERA and a 6-2 record this season. The Wildcats also have pitcher Paul Snieder — who hit the game-winning three-run homer that ended MSU’s season last year — and he leads his team with both a 2.88 ERA and a .370 batting average.

After last season’s meeting, Eckerle said he knows Northwestern isn’t going to give the Spartans anything, and they have to be ready to play hard and finish.

“We can’t think we’ll win the Big Ten title after one game,” junior shortstop Justin Scanlon said. “We’ve got to put together multiple games and go out and get game one and just keep building from there.”

Taking last weekend as a learning experience, Scanlon said while the Spartans are hungry to earn their Big Ten championship, they’re at their best when they relax and simply play the game.

Game two of the series is at 3:05 p.m. Friday, and game three is at 1:05 p.m. Saturday. Seeds for the Big Ten Tournament will be announced Saturday after the conclusion of all conference games.

“From day one, this was our goal — to win a Big Ten championship,” Eckerle said.

“It really comes down to this weekend, and we have a chance to do something special and achieve our goal and do something that hasn’t been done in a long time.”