However, senior third baseman Torsten Boss said the team enters Tuesday’s and Wednesday’s games with the same goal they have every weekend.

“We’re just looking to get a couple dubs, you know, a couple more wins,”  Torsten Boss said.

“We’ll hopefully work on hitting the ball better and working hard, but the mindset doesn’t really change.”

Since losing four in a row at the end of February and beginning of March, MSU has won nine out of the last 10 games, and the Spartans will hope to extend their six game winning streak this week.
They also hope to welcome sophomore catcher Joel Fisher back into the lineup.

Coming into the season as MSU’s expected starter behind the plate, Fisher suffered a leg injury trying to field a foul ball early this season. He’s started just two games and made a total of six appearances, but head coach Jake Boss Jr. said Fisher might make a return Tuesday or Wednesday.

“He had a good workout before the game (Sunday),” Jake Boss Jr. said. “He felt really good and was able to do just about everything without any pain. It will be good to be able to put him back in the middle of the order.”

Fisher’s presence likely will help bring stability to a lineup that featured as many as three freshman starters last weekend against the Golden Grizzlies.

That youth has helped contribute to a lack of execution at the plate this season, Jake Boss Jr. said, and more experience in the lineup can’t hurt. With or without Fisher, though, the Spartans still will have various young players making contributions, especially during the midweek games, and junior second baseman Ryan Jones said that’s good for the young guys.

“As freshmen, it takes some games and some experience to get them to understand everything,” Jones said. “And that’s what we try to do as upperclassmen is show them the ropes, and I think we’re doing that so far.”

Sophomore right-hander David Garner will get the start on the mound Tuesday, making his first appearance since taking a ball to the back when junior catcher John Martinez tried to throw out an Oakland runner at second base Friday.

Garner is yet another young player earning more experience with each and every game, and Jake Boss Jr. said the team continues to make progress as conference play approaches.

“We’re getting there,” Jake Boss Jr. said. “We are young, we got a lot of guys that are learning from the older guys, and that process is continuing to get better and better.”