Boss said the players are the number one reason he sticks around at MSU.

“Getting a chance to be around these guys every day, it's a special group of kids and they keep you young,” said Boss. “They do everything that we ask them to do. The relationship piece of coaching is what's most valuable.” 

The doubleheader sweep improved MSU to 11-2, marking its best start since 2016. Stellar pitching played a crucial role, as the Spartans allowed just four earned runs while striking out 18 batters. MSU ace Joseph Dzierva took the mound against UAB, delivering another dominant outing. The redshirt junior allowed just three hits and one earned run — the first he’s given up this season — while striking out eight and issuing four walks.

“Joe was good today,” Boss said. “I thought he was really sharp today, his velocity looked good and he threw three pitches for strikes, so I think he really did a nice job of locating pitches and making big pitches in big counts.”

Game one: MSU 3, Cornell 2

Junior RHP Nolan Higgins started game one, allowing five hits and one earned run — a solo homer in the third inning — over 5 2/3 innings. He struck out five, lowering his ERA to 2.17.

Three Spartan relievers followed Higgins. Graduate senior Zach Maxey handled the middle innings, while senior Zach Maxey contributed 1/3 of an inning before being pulled after issuing a walk in the ninth. Graduate transfer Tyler Horvath closed out the game, earning the win.

In the ninth inning, with no outs and a runner on first, Cornell’s Kyle Musser drilled a deep shot to left-center, narrowly missing a home run. John Quinian attempted to score from first, but MSU executed a flawless relay — center fielder JT Sokolove to shortstop Randy Seymour to catcher Noah Bright—to cut him down at the plate.

“I thought Nolan was better today than he was last week, and I thought he was better last week than he was in week one, so he was able to go deeper in the game this week than he did last week,” Boss said. “I thought his stuff was really good today. He's a really talented kid who I think has a bright future ahead of him.”

MSU bats didn’t have the same juice as they did a week ago against Harvard but they prevailed nonetheless. The Spartans got on the board in the bottom of the first from a Nick Williams RBI groundout. Later in the fourth, Williams earned himself an atypical home run. Williams' hit was lined to the right field foul pole and was ruled in play by just a few inches. The Cornell outfielder, lost sight of the ball allowing Williams to score standing up. 

MSU capitalized on costly Cornell mistakes in the bottom of the ninth. Right fielder Parker Picot drew a four-pitch walk and moved to second when left fielder Jake Dresselhouse was hit by a pitch. Then, Seymour stepped up and laced a 1-2 pitch to right field, easily scoring Picot for the walk-off win.

Game two: MSU 5, UAB 2

Dzierva took the mound for the nightcap, showcasing his dominance again. The 6-foot-8 lefty threw 108 pitches over 6 2/3 innings, striking out eight while allowing just three hits and one earned run. Sophomore Tate Farquar came in relief of Dzierva allowing two hits while graduate reliever Gabe Viebrock closed the game in the ninth. 

Senior captain Sam Busch powered MSU’s offense with two home runs — one in the first inning and another in the sixth — bringing his season total to four. The East Lansing native first baseman leads MSU in home runs, batting average, hits and RBIs among other statistics cementing himself as the Spartans' go-to power bat. 

Catcher Caleb Berry added to MSU’s home run barrage in the seventh, launching the Spartans’ third long ball of the game to extend the lead to 5-1.

“I'm really proud of our guys. I'm the one that set the schedule so I'm the one that put our guys in the tough spot and kind of challenged them a little bit with the schedule today, and to their credit, they responded.”

Next up, MSU takes on Winthrop on Saturday, March 8, at 4:00 p.m. before closing out the weekend against UAB on Sunday. The Spartans will then return home to face Michigan in a non-conference matchup on Wednesday, March 12.