The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Sports
Friday, March 27, 2015 — 7
Big Ten preview: Wins are
there for the taking
By ISAIAH ZEAVIN-MOSS
Daily Sports Writer
The Michigan baseball
team, after a season of
playing
.500
baseball
and a quick postseason
elimination, sets out on
this year’s conference play
with a firm belief that it can
bring home success, pride
and, perhaps, hardware.
Fortunately
for
the
Wolverines, the Big Ten does not
boast unusually formidable talent. If this season is to truly represent a
turning point, Michigan will have to hold its own inside the conference.
Here is a preview of the Big Ten’s best in 2015.
No. 11 Maryland (3-0 Big Ten, 17-5 overall)
The Terrapins, who are playing their inaugural season in the Big Ten
after making the switch from the ACC, represent this year’s toughest
competition. Maryland’s offense ranks first in batting average, on-base
percentage, runs scored and home runs. Before its loss to James Madison
on Tuesday, Maryland strung together a 10-game win streak in which it
scored 9.9 runs per game.
Though Maryland’s pitching staff ranks in the middle of the Big Ten
in most team statistics, sophomore fireballer Mike Shawaryn leads the
Big Ten in strikeouts and wins. Last season, Shawaryn was a Freshman
All-American.
Player to watch: Infielder Brandon Lowe
Lowe is the leader of Maryland’s elite offense, hitting .402. Lowe
also leads the Big Ten in hits, runs and slugging percentage. Last
season, Lowe was named to the Freshman All-American Team and
led the team in batting average as a freshman.
No. 17 Illinois (17-5)
One of the biggest surprise stories in this young season has been
the success of the Fighting Illini. After a quick exit in the Big Ten
Tournament last season, few expected to see the elite performance
that Illinois has put on thus far. Nevertheless, the Fighting Illimi is
second in the Big Ten in both home runs and total bases.
Player to watch: Left-handed pitcher Kevin Duchene
Duchene leads an Illinois pitching staff that leads the Big Ten
in team earned-run average (2.08) and opposing batting average
(.201). Duchene has allowed just two runs all season and is third in
the Big Ten in opposing batting average (.167).
No. 19 Indiana (1-1, 16-5)
In 2014, the Hoosiers won the Big Ten Tournament and went
on to make it to the NCAA Regionals. Two players from last year’s
team, Dustin DeMuth and Joey DeNato, graduated and were
drafted professionally.
Indiana has found similar success this year. It has won 13 of its
last 14, and the Hoosiers do it by crushing the baseball. Indiana is
second in slugging percentage (.410) and third in home runs (14).
Player to watch: Right-handed pitcher Thomas Belcher
Belcher leads a staff that ranks third in team ERA and opposing
batting average. Belcher has allowed just 16 hits in 22.2 innings, and is
the only starting pitcher in the Big Ten yet to walk a batter.
Nebraska (3-0, 18-7)
With last weekend’s sweep of Michigan, the Cornhuskers
started this year’s conference play on a perfect note. Already this
season, Nebraska has put together an 11-game win streak and,
although they went on to lose, the Cornhuskers brought the tying
run to the plate against No. 1 LSU. Sophomore designated hitter
Ben Miller is third in the conference in hits (31) and RBI (23).
Player to watch: Left-handed pitcher Kyle Kubat
The seasoned Kubat has been lights-out this season, with a
1.60 ERA and four wins. He has been a workhorse for coach
Darin Erstad this season, logging 39.1 innings, good for third
in the Big Ten.
Ohio State (2-1, 15-6)
Coming into this season, the Buckeyes, similar to
Michigan, had a vision of a team finally producing tangible
results.
“Last year, we had a young team and dealt with a lot of
adversity,” said Ohio State coach Greg Beals, in the days
before opening day. “We are confident we are a much
tougher team this season.”
So far, the young Buckeyes have shown promise.
The pitching staff, almost entirely comprised of
underclassmen, has posted a 2.58 team ERA, ranking
fifth in the Big Ten.
Player to watch: Left-handed pitcher Ryan Riga
After a junior year that left many wanting more
— his ERA ballooned to 4.33 by season’s end —
Riga has used his seniority for extra motivation.
Leading the team in almost all major categories,
Riga’s 0.98 ERA is good for third in the Big Ten.
Iowa (14-5)
Though they have yet to play any ranked opponents, the Hawkeyes
have had success, despite playing just two games within the friendly
confines of Iowa City.
Despite the success, Iowa struggles to stand out on either side of the
ball. The only statistic in which the Hawkeyes lead the Big Ten is hit
batters. Ouch.
Player to watch: Right-handed pitcher Calvin Matthews
Matthews has been astounding this season. Having only let across
one earned run in 26 innings, he leads the Big Ten in ERA (0.35).
Rutgers (2-1, 6-14)
After losing 13 of their first 16 games to start the season, things looked
to be spiraling downward fast for the Scarlet Knights. But last weekend,
Rutgers traveled to West Lafayette and took two of three from pesky
Purdue is now riding a four-game win streak. Junior pitcher Howie
Brey, who surrendered only one run in seven innings Saturday, is eighth
in the Big Ten in strikeouts (29).
Player to watch: Outfielder Tom Marcinczyk
Marcinczyk is the third hitter in the Rutgers lineup, batting .356 with
a .603 slugging percentage and 18 RBI.
Michigan State (1-2, 10-11)
Though they have not been able to find any consistency, the Spartans
can at least hang their hat on being always on their toes — they lead
the Big Ten in runners picked off (eight) and are fourth in fielding
percentage (.974).
Player to watch: Infielder Mark Weist
Weist is the only Spartan hitting above .300, ranking 15th in the
conference in batting average (.341).
Purdue (1-2, 9-14)
While Purdue may not win very many games this season, the
Boilermakers will make you work to get them out. They are second in
the Big Ten in walks (88), as well as batters hit by pitch (28). They are
currently on a four-game losing streak, most recently in an 8-2 loss to
Ball State.
Player to watch: Left-handed pitcher/first baseman Kyle Wood
Wood is not only the catalyst of Purdue’s offense — he is the only
Boilermaker to be hitting above .300 (.370) — but he has also posted a
1.69 ERA in two relief appearances.
A
round the time that Barry Larkin was playing for the Michi-
gan baseball team in the 1980s, the team was wildly success-
ful. In that 10-year span, the Wolverines went to nine NCAA
regionals, won seven Big Ten titles and earned four trips to the Col-
lege World Series, comprising what many consider to be a decade of
dominance unlike many others in the sport’s history. There were All-
Americans, Big Ten Players of the Year, first-round MLB draft picks
and future Hall of Fame players throughout the roster. They came
together to propel the program into the national spotlight.
And a similar stretch could be on the horizon.
But to get there, Michigan coach Erik Bakich will need to recapture
the intangible elements that allowed those teams to
be great.
When asked why he decided to come to
Michigan, Larkin said more than anything it came
down to the core values stressed in
Ann
Arbor that made him feel at
home.
“Some of the things that
were really stressed in my
household were extended
when I came up here,” he
said. “There’s something
about the values and what’s important
to the people. The other thing was
just the people surrounding
the
program,
the
people around the
University
of
Michigan.”
During
his recent
induction to the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame, Larkin shared more of
his experiences on being recruited to Ann Arbor. As Larkin grew to be
a standout football player in Cincinnati, he caught the eye of legendary
football coach Bo Schembechler, who gave him a spot on the football
team at Michigan.
When an unexpected player returned for his fifth year on the team at
Larkin’s position, Schembecher allowed the freshman to take a redshirt
year and play baseball during spring season instead of working with the
football team.
“By the end of that season I decided I just wanted to play baseball,”
Larkin said. “I had to go tell Bo that … and the meeting didn’t go too well.
He reminded me, ‘Larkin, this is the University of Michigan. Nobody
comes to the University of Michigan to play baseball.’ ”
Schembechler told Larkin to go home and come back the next day
when he had come to his senses, but nothing would change in his mind.
“I thought that was the end of it,” Larkin said. “But we were out there
taking ground balls in spring baseball practice and this guy in a parka
comes walking inside the stadium and stops on the third-base line. He
says, ‘Larkin, you sissy! Come hit a man that can hit you back instead of
that baseball.’ It was Coach Schembechler.”
Telling one of the most storied coaches in the history of college
football something he didn’t want to
hear was one of the best
moves
Larkin
made in his life. In
his college career,
Larkin went on to be a
two-time All American,
two-time Big Ten Player of
the Year and lead the team to
the College World Series in back-
to-back seasons.
By recruiting the best talent the Midwest has to offer, along with
using ties from his time in California and the East Coast, Bakich is
putting the fruits of his first true recruiting class to work right away.
And the results will prove impressive.
The tangible rankings are nice to look at. This year’s recruiting class
came in at No. 20 in the nation, and for the first time in a few years the
Wolverine coaching staff has enough veteran firepower to shelter some
of the young players from jumping into game action too quickly. For the
handful of freshman players who are getting playing time, the results
are largely positive.
The standouts from this 2015 class have been second baseman Jake
Bivens, who is hitting .304 and has started in 21 games this season, along
with right-hander Ryan Nutof, who has proven to be a reliable starting
pitcher for the Wolverines through six appearances in his young career.
Another is right-hander Bryan Pall, who has a minuscule 0.63 earned-
run average through 14.1 innings of relief. Others could emerge in due
time this season.
While those rankings can sometimes predict on-field success, they
can’t often measure the field of character.
From a Michigan coach’s perspective, you look for a combination of
talent on the field, in the classroom and as a leader in the players you’re
recruiting. The types of players Bakich seems to be looking for have
to be strong in all three phases of that evaluation to have a spot in the
program.
Bakich has a ways to go with the current team in both on- and off-
field areas, but make no mistake about it: When firing on all cylinders, it
has no ceiling. Some year in the near future, people around the program
will know it’s “the year.” The right blend of baseball talent and passion
for Michigan will come together and propel this program back to that
decade of dominance it experienced in the 1980s.
This year might not be the one where it all comes together for the
Wolverines, but following Bakich’s vision, “the year” won’t be far off.
STAFF PICKS
Isaiah Zeavin-Moss
Danny Vargovick
Ben Fidelman
32-25
13-12
Glines
Glines
Bivens
Maryland
Maryland
Lowe
Iowa
Big Ten Tournament
35-22
15-10
Glines
Glines
Ryan Nutof
Maryland
Maryland
Lowe
Ohio State
Big Ten Tournament
36-21
13-12
Evan Hill
Glines
Bryan Pall
Maryland
Indiana
Glines
Iowa
NCAA Regionals
Nathaniel Clark
The Daily baseball writers
do their best to predict
what will happen in the
world of Big Ten
baseball this season.
34-23
16-9
Jackson Glines
Glines
Jake Bivens
Maryland
Maryland
Brandon Lowe, Maryland
Iowa
Big Ten Tournament
Michigan overall record
Michigan Big Ten record
Michigan MVP
Michigan Offensive POY
Michigan Freshman of the Year
Big Ten regular season champion
Big Ten Tournament champion
Big Ten MVP
Big Ten surprise team
Michigan’s season ends here
BEN
FIDELMAN
Mirroring the decade of dominance
Baseball Preview