Following yet another sub-.500 regular season, Michigan State baseball was able to sneak into the Big Ten Tournament as the 12-seed.
No one expected the team that went 11-19 in Big Ten play and got the last seed in the Big Ten Tournament field to make any noise, but the Spartans have pulled off two straight upsets and are now headed to the quarterfinals to face USC this weekend.
The 12th-seeded Spartans shocked fifth-seeded Purdue in the first round with an 8-4 win. That was shocking to everyone considering Purdue is 36-19 and it looked like a legit threat to win the Big Ten Tournament. The Boilermakers were also 18-12 in Big Ten play so the fact that they lost to the worst team in the tournament was unexpected.
Michigan State advanced to the second round to face Iowa (33-21, 15-15) on Wednesday and the Spartans pulled off a second straight upset.
Jake Boss’ team trailed 3-2 after six innings before tying things up and then taking a 4-3 lead in the top of the ninth. The bullpen closed the door in the bottom of the ninth to secure a huge 4-3 win, advancing to the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals.
With the win, Michigan State will now advance to the Big Ten Tournament quarters on Friday against USC at 9 a.m. ET.
The Trojans will present the toughest matchup yet for the Spartans. They finished with a 20-10 Big Ten record and are 42-14 overall this season. They’ve been one of the best teams in the NCAA, contrasting one of the most disappointing teams in the Big Ten in Michigan State.
Jake Boss, Michigan State can make up for the ugly regular season
In his first nine seasons as head coach of Michigan State baseball, Boss’ Spartans had a winning record eight times. Since then, he’s had just three seasons of over .500 baseball and one of them was a 9-6 campaign during a COVID-shortened year.
It’s been nothing but futility for the baseball program.
This season is no exception as Michigan State stumbled to an 11-19 record in Big Ten play and they’re just 23-31 overall. It’s been an ugly year, but a continued run in the Big Ten Tournament would more than make up for it.
No one expected to see Michigan State in the NCAA Tournament, so a deep Big Ten Tournament run would make up for mediocre baseball over the past couple of months.
Boss has to earn that extension that he signed before the season.
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