4 Tuesday, June 1, 2010 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com Blue's season ends at Big Tens By BEN ESTES Daily Sports Writer COLUMBUS - The senior first, Mike Dufek, baseman slowly trudged into the postgame press conference on Saturday at Bill Davis Stadium in Columbus, with an expression filled with pain and disappointment. And who could blame him? He had just watched his team blow a seven-run lead, losing to Iowa 11-8 in the confer- ence's loser's bracket and getting elimi- nated from the Big Ten Tournament. Michigan's only hope of returning to the national tournament was to receive an at-large bid by winning the con- ference tournament. But instead, the Hawkeyes knocked the Wolverines out of contention, ending their season. "We were right in it today," Dufek said. "(I) thought we were going to win it when we had that big lead, (but) they came back." Just two days before, Michigan steamrolled the Hawkeyes 18-4 in the second round of the tournament, set- ting up a meeting with Minnesota in the semifinals. And after Michigan took an early 3-0 lead, Minnesota cut the deficit to 3-1 with a run in the seventh, causing coach Rich Maloney to bring in closer and junior right-hander Tyler Burgoon. With the bases loaded, the Gophers' Trip Schultz singled and Troy Larson walked, tyingthe game at three. And in the 11th frame, Minnesota completed the comeback, as junior right-hander Matt Miller could not retire a batter before Kyle Knudson singled, sending home the winning run. The Wolverines had no time to dwell on the heartbreaking loss, though, as they had a rematch with Iowa the next day. Atfirst,the Hawkeyes appeared as if they would hand over another easy win for Michigan. After a scoreless first three innings, the Wolverines scored eight over the next three and led 8-1going into the bottom of the sixth. But that's when the pitching meltdown began. Starting pitcher and sophomore right-hander Brandon Sinnery was pulled in the sixth after allowing five runs (four earned). Redshirt junior right-hander Matt Gerbe then allowed two, and it quickly became a one-run lead for Michigan. Iowa came right back to score four more times in the bottom of the eighth, taking the defini- tive 11-8 lead. With three straight outs in its last at-bat in the top of the ninth, the 2010 season ended quietly for the Michigan baseball team. For the second straight game (and continuing a theme that had been prevalent all season), the Wolver- ines experienced a crushing defeat, one that could have gone either way. 4 6 0 0 r, +