Joe Blackburn said he wanted the Penn State baseball team to carry the momentum from its "emotional" come-from-behind win on Sunday into yesterday's series finale against Michigan State.

Apparently the middle of the Nittany Lions' batting order was listening to the junior catcher.

Thanks to an offensive explosion courtesy of its No. 4 through No. 8 hitters, Penn State won its first conference series of the season with a 10-4 shellacking of Michigan State yesterday at Kobs Field in East Lansing.

"We definitely carried that momentum into [yesterday's game]," junior outfielder Brian Ernst said. "We got great pitching and we got great hitting."

The Lions also posted a 3-1 win in the series opener on Saturday and a 6-5 win in the nightcap of Sunday's doubleheader.

It was the first road series win of the season for the Lions (12-18, 5-5 Big Ten), who were victors in three of four games against the Spartans (15-13, 6-5), as well as the first time this season they completed a four-game series with a conference opponent.

"Anytime you take three of four, home or away, you're getting a leg up on the next guy," head coach Robbie Wine said.

Inclement weather had shortened Penn State's first two Big Ten series of the season -- at home against Minnesota and on the road against Iowa -- from four games to three. In both series, the Lions lost two games.

Although weather delayed the start of the series against Michigan State, it could not prevent the two teams from completing their full slate of games.

And the middle hitters of the Penn State batting order made the most of it in yesterday's series-clinching win.

The No. 4 through No. 8 hitters -- Blackburn, junior infielder Mike Deese, Ernst, sophomore outfielder Rick Marlin, and sophomore outfielder Scott Kelley -- combined for all but two of the Lions' 13 hits, all 10 of their runs scored, and nine of their 10 RBI.

"We were being more selective [at the plate]," Ernst said. "We were getting good pitches to hit and we weren't missing them. We had a good approach."

Leading the quintet was Marlin, who used two hits, including a bases-clearing triple in the eighth inning that broke the game open, to drive in a career-high five runs on two hits. He also scored twice.

Both Ernst and Blackburn tallied three hits and scored three times, while Deese drove in two runs. As for Kelley, he produced two hits that drove in three runs, which was a career-high for the former relief pitcher.

The production from the middle of the order not only propelled Penn State to the win, but it also came during one of the most important series of the year thus far.

"We needed to come against Michigan State and win the series," Ernst said. "We got great pitching, great hitting, and great defense. It was a total team effort."