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.