To say Northwestern baseball coach Paul Stevens is pleased with the play of freshman third baseman Frank Favia would be a bit of an understatement.

“Defensively he’s Brooks Robinson Jr.,” said Stevens during a practice before last weekend’s series against Minnesota. “He has played to levels that I never expected him to play. Robinson was called the Hoover. This kid may be Eureka.”

Four freshmen made it into the starting lineup against the Golden Gophers, and each contributed with both the bat and the glove. This weekend the Wildcats (19-17, 4-8 Big Ten) will look for more of the same in a four-game set against Michigan State (13-23, 3-8), beginning with today’s 3 p.m. start.

Stevens said the freshmen — Favia, outfielders Brandon Ackley and Eric Roeder and first baseman Travis Tharp among others — have performed well for the team so far in Big Ten play.

“There are always new tricks to be learned,” Stevens said. “But they put their pants on the same way as everybody else, so they’re ready to strap it on with anybody in the conference. I like that approach.”

Favia, for one, said he’s feeling more comfortable on the field than at the beginning of the season.

As for his glovework, of which Stevens spoke so highly, Favia said he struggled initially during the offseason, but has worked on his focus and maintaining soft hands.

But the biggest adjustment Favia and his rookie teammates have made is to the Big Ten’s top-level pitching.

“Every Friday you’re seeing somebody’s ace,” Favia said. “Everybody’s ace is a potential draft pick.”

Ackley said the advanced scouting at the college level makes it difficult to adjust to Big Ten pitching.

“Every team has the book on you,” Ackley said. “They know what pitches you like and what counts you swing on. They exploit your weaknesses as well as they can. If they make a mistake, you have to make them pay.”

Even so, the freshmen have held their own at the plate. In a series against Illinois, Favia rattled off six consecutive hits. When Minnesota came to town, Tharp drove in NU’s lone run Friday with a clutch single up the middle.

Meanwhile, Ackley is sporting a .322 batting average and is third on the team with seven doubles. Roeder has a .353 on-base percentage.

“The more good pitchers you see, the more you get used to them,” Favia said.

And the more experience the freshmen get in Big Ten play, the more they have been treated like their older teammates.

Stevens said regardless of what year a player is, he should play at a high level.

“It’s the person I believe in that I’m putting out on the field to get the job done,” Stevens said.

Ackley said he has adjusted so that he doesn’t think of the age gap.

“At first I was nervous, but once you get out there it’s just baseball,” said Ackley, who has played in almost every conference game. “It’s just you and a bunch of other guys. In warmups you get nervous, but when you get out there you’re all equal.

“We’ve all been on winning teams before and we’re not looking to change that.”

After splitting over the weekend against Minnesota — the Big Ten’s third-place team — and drubbing Valparaiso Tuesday, the Cats have experienced some success after a rocky stretch of games against Lewis, Illinois and Chicago State.

Four wins against Michigan State would even out NU’s conference record. But the Spartans rank slightly ahead of the Cats in the Big Ten, and Stevens said the team can’t look past its opponent.

“Any team on any given day can beat anybody else, as we’ve seen during midweek, so I’m not underestimating Michigan State one bit,” Stevens said.

Favia said this weekend’s series against the Spartans gives the Cats — rookies and all — a chance to make a run in the conference.

“We’re trying to play .500 for the rest of the year and get three or even four from somebody,” Favia said. “We feel that all we have to do is make the Big Ten tournament. As long as we make that tournament, we feel we have as good a shot at winning it as anybody.”