The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Friday, March 29 2013 - 7
2013 Michigan Baseball Preview
Bakich fueled by promise to dying coach A look at the Big Ten
In
put E
phone
fough
year
lateral
known
is a de
leads
eratior
leadin
erally
Tha
words
East C
form
himse
mates.
"I t
get to
said.
loved
Dur
ing at
made
Omah
onship
his squ
East C
Bakich
the ra
broke
Som
breath
and h
breath
his tea
region
Super
that w;
get.
LeC
tunity
ALS t
career
of 36.
Aft
for hi
Omah
inside
colleg
the ea
on th
contin
Omah
Bakich
Schna
coach
to thr
and ts
LeClai
coachi
try.
"He
By MAX COHEN experience going to Omaha and
Daily Sports Writer competing for national champi-
onships," said Coastal Carolina
July 2006, Lynn LeClair assistant coach Joe Hastings.
rik Bakich on speaker- "We kind of feel like we're car-
as her husband Keith rying the torch for him."
t the final days of his five- The influence of LeClair on
battle with amyotrophic his former players affects more
1 sclerosis. ALS, also thanjusthowthey coach. Bakich
n as Lou Gehrig's disease, and many of his former team-
bilitating condition which mates honor LeClair by wearing
to the progressive degen- No. 23 when they coach.
n of one's motor neurons, "(LeClair) instilled a work
g to immobilization gen- ethic in all of us that was just
followed by death. that we're going to outwork peo-
it day, Bakich said his final ple, we're going to work harder
to his former coach at than everybody else," Godwin
arolina University in the said.
of a promise, on behalf of Like his teammates, the
lf and his college team- work ethic Bakich developed at
East Carolina as a player under
old him that we would all LeClair stayed with him as he
Omaha for him," Bakich began his coaching career as a
"I told him that we all volunteer assistant at Clemson
him." in 2002. In his one season at
ing his five years coach- Clemson, the Tigers reached the
East Carolina, LeClair place Bakich always wanted to
it clear that playing in go: Omaha.
a for a national champi- "There's not a better amateur
was always the goal for sporting event than the College
uads. In his two seasons at World Series," Bakich said. "I
arolina in 1999 and 2000, was just a volunteer coach, but it
h heard Omaha used as didn't matter. I felt like it was a
lly cry whenever the team lot of years of hard work."
huddle. Though the Tigers didn't
se people eat, sleep and capture the national champion-
e baseball. LeClair ship that year, Bakich's youth-
is players ate, slept and ful enthusiasm and passion for
ed for Omaha. LeClair led the game impressed his fellow
ms to four straight NCAA coaches at Clemson so much
al appearances and one that when Clemson assistant
Regional appearance, but Tim Corbin was hired to coach
'as the furthest he would Vanderbilt in the 2003 season,
he brought Bakich along as his
lair never had the oppor- hitting coach and recruiting
to coach in Omaha. His coordinator, despite Bakich hav-
ragically cut his coaching ing only one year of coaching
short in 2002 at the age experience.
Corbin's staff had the arduous
er they finished playing task of rebuilding a Vanderbilt
m, LeClair's passion for baseball program that hadn't
a continued to burn deep made a NCAA Tournament
of his players. As their appearance since 1980. In the
iate careers finished in SEC, where baseball power-
rly 2000s, many players house reign, this was no easy
ose East Carolina teams task. Because of the challenge
ued their quest to reach that faced him in recruiting elite
a as college coaches. From players - so many other schools
h and his assistant Nick in the area already had elite
bel at Michigan, to hitting baseball programs - Bakich
Cliff Godwin at Ole Miss recruited like he did everything
ee other college coaches else: relentlessly.
wo in the minor leagues, "He would never, ever accept
ir's former players fill up no for an answer," Corbin said.
ng staffs across the coun- Not only would Bakich not
accept no from individual
never got the chance to recruits, but he would also not
Michigan coach Erik Bakich is in his first year as the head coach at Michigan.
accept that Vanderbilt couldn't
be a relevant baseball program.
In his first year as recruit-
ing coordinator, the father of
a future major league player
wouldn't let Bakich speak on
the phone with his son because,
"Vanderbilt was not even a blip
on the college baseball radar."
After the conversation with
the father, Bakich walked into
Corbin's office and promised
that they would make Vander-
bilt more than just a blip on the
college baseball radar - they
would make it into an academic
and baseball powerhouse like
Stanford and Rice.
As Bakich pledged, Vander-
bilt soon became relevant again,
making the NCAA Tournament
in 2004. What made the pro-
gram a force to reckon with was
his relentless recruiting, which
paid off as he played instrumen-
tal roles in landing Vanderbilt
left-hander David Price and
third baseman Pedro Alvarez,
who joined the Commodores in
2005 and 2006, respectively. The
duo was so successful at Vander-
bilt that Price became the No. 1
overall pick in the Major League
Draft in 2007 while Alvarez
became the second overall pick
the following year.
With Price and Alvarez lead-
ing a star-studded team that had
five future first-round Major
League draft picks, the 2007
Commodores won both the SEC
regular-season and Tourna-
ment championships. Less than
a year after his final promise
to LeClair and with Vanderbilt
as the No. 1 overall seed in the
tournament, a return trip to
Omaha for Bakich seemed inevi-
table. In the regional finals, the
Commodores faced an under-
dog Michigan team. With the
game tied in the ninth, Corbin
inserted Price on two days rest
to shut down the Wolverines. In
the top of the 10th inning, fresh-
man pinch-hitter Alan Oaks hit
a solo home run off of Price to
give Michigan the lead and the
win. It was Price's only loss that
season.
"That was one of the tough-
est coaching moments to over-
come," Bakich said. "It's still
an unhealed wound. (You feel
like) you're flying a 1,000 miles
an hour then just come crashing
through a brick wall all at once."
In 2009, Bakich's pursuit of
Omaha put him on the move
See BAKICH, Page 6
By SHANNON LYNCH
Daily Sports Writer
It's been 30 years since a Big
Ten team has reached the Col-
lege World Series in Omaha,
Neb.
It's an understatement to say
that Big Ten baseball has been
a huge disappointment recently.
One team from the conference
has earned the automatic bid as
the Big Ten Tournament cham-
pion in the past three years,
which is pitiful in comparison
to baseball powerhouse confer-
ences like the ACC, which has
earned 20 at-large bids to the
tournament since 2010. The Big
Ten hasn't earned more than one
bid happened since 2009.
Purdue was the last Big Ten
team to reach the NCAA Tour-
nament, but with a current 0-3
record in conference play, anoth-
er run for the automatic bid isn't
looking too promising for the
Boilermakers. Currently, Indi-
ana and Ohio State seem to have
the best chance at earning the
Big Ten's bid to the tournament.
Here's a look at the six teams
that currently hold the best
records in the Big Ten, looking to
earna spot in the NCAA Tourna-
ment, reach the College World
Series, and break the 30-year dry
spell.
HOOSIER DADDY?
Indiana (19-3) is running on a
12-game winning streak, which
includes wins in its first five
conference games. The Hoosiers
lead the Big Ten with a .315 bat-
ting average and a 2.05 ERA. The
team just opened its season at
home in its new facility - Bart
Kaufman Field - with a 15-1
victory over Miami (Ohio) last
week. Catcher Kyle Schwarber
leads the team with a .416 bat-
ting average and a .984 fielding
percentage.
BUCKEYES BATTLE
Despite suffering the loss of
one of its top players from last
season, Ohio State (15-6) has
excelled on the field thus far
against non-conference teams
and kicked off Big Ten play with
a sweep of Purdue last week.
Right-hander Josh Dezse was
expected to be a major asset
for the Buckeyes, hitting .306
and posting a 2.86 ERA but is
expected to be out for at least a
few more weeks, due to a back
injury in early February.
WILDCARD WILDCATS
It might not boast the stron-
gest overall record, but don't
discount Northwestern - it has
some serious talent in its lineup.
Under the direction of coach
Paul Stevens, a 26-year veteran,
the Wildcats have a structured
system that has proven success-
ful. Top-of-order contributors
include shortstop Trevor Ste-
vens, who leads the team with
nine runs scored, and first base-
man Jack Havey, who ranks sec-
ond in the conference in batting
average (.469) and on-base per-
centage (.553).
CORN UP PRODUCTION
In their second year asa mem-
ber of the Big Ten, the Cornhusk-
ers (8-15 overall, 2-2 Big Ten) are
looking to improve on their 14-10
conference record from last sea-
son and establish themselves as
contenders for an NCAA bid. In
2012, the Cornhuskers improved
their offensive productionby 150
hits, 107 runs and had 106 fewer
strikeouts than in their previous
season. If Nebraska continues to
build on its improvements from
last season, it has the potential
to be unstoppable.
SIBLING ALLIANCE IN ILLI-
NOIS
Illinois (14-6) is currently fifth
in the Big Ten but with a losing
record; 1-2. Its six-game win-
ning streak against Baylor and
Southern Illinois was broken last
week by the Huskers, and it's yet
to be seen whether the Fight-
ing Illini will be able to impress
against other conference teams.
Brothers Justin and Jordan Parr
are key members of the Illinois
lineup - the senior and redshirt
junior combined for 74 runs and
130 hits last season, and both are
currently batting above .300.
HAWKEYE OF THE HURRI-
CANE
The Hawkeyes round out the
top-six teams in the Big Ten
hoping to qualify for an NCAA
bid this season. Iowa is also 1-2
in conference play and 9-10 over-
all this season. Left-hander Matt
Dermody has been red-hot on
the mound this season, postinga
1.91 ERA in five appearances, all
in which he has earned the win.
He pitched his first complete
game of the season last week,
earning the 2-1 win over North-
western.
Positional
Previ ew
By ALEX TAYLOR
Daily Sports Writer
For a Michigan baseball team with
freshmen positioned at important
infield spots, the key will be how fast
they develop and how they comple-
ment the experienced players sprinkled
throughout the lineup. Let's take a look
at the starters.
Michigan has platooned left
field so far this year, switching
between sophomores Kevin White
and Zach Zott based on match-
ups an ho has the hot bat. On
the y r, the lefty Zott is hitting
.26 ut recorded seven hits over
three games last weekend. The
right-handed White is batting .322
with three doubles and two triples.
Though he sta
the season, fresh
ed to his natural
hasn't looked bac
the three hole, ha
leading 18 RBI an
age. Displaying ve
of an arm, he has
spring.
At thid base, Michigan has
use aombination of sophomore
Dylan laney and redshirt junior
John DiL ura. elaney has a .417
on-base percentage to go along
with his eight RBI. DiLaura has a
.386 on-base percentage, six RBI
and has drawn nine walks. Defen-
sively, DiLaura has only ne error
on the season, while Delaney has
three.
rted a
hman
Ipositi
ck sinc
ias hit
d a .3
ery go
s field
Senior captain Patrick Biondi is
unquestioned centerfielder, though
a recent thumb injury has caused
him to miss the last two series. In
the 15 games he has played, the
lefty has hit .393 with 17 runs and Havi layed centerfield due to
is a perfect 6-for-6 on stolen-base Biondi's sence, junior Michael
attempts. Biondi also utilizes his O'Neill will urn to his position in
speed in the outfield, taking away right field whe londi returns. The
many sure-fire extra-base hits. right-hander hit n the two hole
and has been on a r to start the
season, hitting .388 hile leading
the team with 10 dou a and 38
hits. O'Neill can also co serious
ground and has a hose fro he out-
field.
Freshman ob Cronenworth has
t trid base to begin started every ga at second base for
Travis Maezes shift- the Wolverines. sweet-swinging
ion of shortstop and lefty has hit .358 on th eason with 18
e. The lefty, hitting in RBI and leads the team two home
five doubles, a team- runs. Cronenworth started t ear hit-
86 slugging percent- ting further down in the lineup t has
od range and a rocket recently hit in the four hole. He i so
ed at a .944 clip this sure-handed at second with a fieldi
percentage of .949.
At firs se, Michigan ha one with the
combination sophomor yle Jusick and
freshman k xton. th are left-hand-
ed hitt , but J hrows right-handed
wherea xton ws left-handed. At the
plate, Sex 10 hits, five RBI and has
drawn eigh alks. Jusick is batting .290
with a .4 on-base percentage. In the field,
Jusic s yet to record an error while Sexton
ha ly recorded two errors on the season.
At catcher, the Wolerines have mainly used junior
Cole Martin, with redshirt junior Zach Johnson seeing
limited action in a back-up role. The switch-hitting Mar-
tin has eight RBI and a .282 on-base percentage. While
handling the pitching staff, Martin has committed three
errors behind the plate.
Pitchers
Michigan has used a wide variety of pitchers with
freshman Evan Hill finding the most success of the
group. Sporting a 3-1 record with a 2.21 ERA, Hill is the
closest thing to an ace the Wolverines have. Senior
Ben Ballantine, redshirt junior Logan McAnallen and
sophomores Trent Szkutnik and James Bourque have
all started three or more games for the Wolverines
and will be called upon to contribute. Senior Kyle
Clark, sophomore Matt Ogden and Cronenworth -
who also pitches when not playing second - have
seen significant time on the mound.