11 Thursday, May 21, 2015 The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com SPORTS Season on the line as baseball heads to the Big T en T ournament By ZACH SHAW Managing Sports Editor The Michigan baseball team is playing some of its best baseball in years. The rest of the conference, how- ever, has followed suit. The 2015 Big Ten Baseball Tour- nament is set to begin in Minneap- olis Wednesday in what will be one of the most competitive conference tournaments in the country. For the first time ever, the Big Ten will send six teams inside the nation’s top 50 rankings to the eight-team event. The six Big Ten teams is a number only bested by the Southeastern and Atlantic Coast Conferences, which each boast eight such teams Despite having their most wins since 2010 and earning the No. 3 seed, the Wol- verines — who kick off the tournament against Indi- ana at 10 a.m. eastern time Wednesday — aren’t one of those teams. In fact, Michigan (14- 10 Big Ten, 33-23 overall) finds itself dead- last in Ratings Percentage Index, which factors in win percentage and strength of schedule. Despite being on the outside looking in, momentum has been building for the Wolverines. “It’s been an upward slope ever since I got here,” said senior infielder Eric Jacobson. “We’ve gotten better and better every time and the program is on the rise. We’ve got a resilient bunch and a confident bunch, and I think that bodes well for the postseason.” Michigan finished conference play with a 7-2 record, and recently showcased its postseason poten- tial by toppling No. 13 Oklahoma State on Sunday. Among the stars of that game was sophomore left-hander Brett Adcock, who struck out seven in three shutout innings. Guiding the Wolverines in their last game against the Hoosiers (12-10, 32-20) — a 4-3 win in Bloomington April 5 — Adcock gets the nod for Wednes- day and will lead the pitching staff into battle. The sophomore is 6-1 with a 2.00 earned-run average in his last seven starts. But should he run into trouble, Michigan coach Erik Bakich isn’t afraid to tap into his resources to get outs. “One positive about our staff — whether it’s our starters or relievers — is that everybody is battle-tested,” Bakich said. “Everyone’s been in some type of a nail-biter, some type of a close game, some type of a big situations where they had to make big pitches. “That’s only going to help us.” What also helps is that the Wol- verines can usually count on their offense to provide some breathing room. Leading the conference in hits, on-base percentage, and a bevy of other statistics, Michigan has no shortage of production at the plate. Sure, there are four Wolverines ranked inside the conference’s top 11 in batting average, but the bottom of the order — which went 8-for-18 in Sunday’s win over the Cowboys — makes Michigan a legiti- mate threat against any team. “One-through-nine, anybody can step up at anytime,” said senior catcher Kendall Patrick. “(Opposing) pitching coaches know that, and it makes them pitch everybody straight- up because they know there’s a dan- gerous guy behind them.” Ranking last in RPI, Michigan will need to win the whole tournament to earn its first postseason berth since 2008. But with its best team in Bakich’s tenure, the excitement around the team is equally high. “We’ve got to grind, and we know that,” Bakich said. “We know that the end of the year is always going to be a grind, always going to be a battle, so we’ve got to play pitch-to-pitch. “We know we’re going to take some blows, we know we’re going to trade punches, and we look for- ward to that challenge.” Seniors end on high note, beat No. 13 Oklahoma State By ALEX KHALIFEH Daily Sports Wrter If there’s one way to win a baseball game, it’s through dom- inant pitching. The Michigan baseball team (14-10 Big Ten, 33-23 overall) con- trolled its regular- season finale with pitching, en route to its 6-2 win against No. 13 Oklahoma State on Saturday. Whether it was sophomore left- hander Brett Adcock’s dominance — Adcock pitched 3.0 innings, recording seven strikeouts and one hit — or the relievers strong showing, giving up just two earned runs, the Wolverines’ pitching fired on all cylinders to the tune of 15 total strikeouts and just four hits allowed on the afternoon. “Adcock did a great job of set- ting the tone,” said Michigan coach Erik Bakich. “He attacked the zone and mixed up all of his pitches. I thought he did a terrific job. … He was able to keep them off-balance. “I thought (senior right-hand- ed pitcher) Donnie Eaton was very good in his inning, striking out the side. … Our guys weren’t going to be denied today.” Conversely, Oklahoma State (34-17) faced trouble against Michigan’s offensive lineup. With a 0.89 earned-run aver- age coming into his start, right- hander Remey Reed seemed like a tough matchup for any offense to go up against. But the Wolverines didn’t let up, highlighted by senior out- fielder Jackson Gline’s two-run blast in the third — his second home run in the series. Reed was pulled after 3.1 innings, giving up seven hits, three runs and striking out zero. The Cowboys’ offense attempted several comebacks, with the most notable being a three on, two out situation faced by freshman left-hander Michael Hendrickson in the fifth. Okla- homa State’s shortstop Donnie Walton came through with a two-RBI single, but further dam- age was pre- vented after senior right fielder Kevin White nabbed catcher Gage Green on a throw to freshman third baseman Jake Bivens, who promptly tagged Green out. Though the pitching didn’t come without its share of stress- ful innings, the defense record- ed outs when balls went in play. With a runner on, infielder David Petrino hit a deep fly ball to left field off of sophomore left-hander Keith Lehmann. But junior left fielder Cody Bruder made the catch and saved what would’ve been extra bases and resulted in a tie game. After the possible comeback opportunities, Oklahoma State fell apart in the bottom half of the eighth, when Michigan tacked on three insurance runs, attributed in part by fifth-year senior catcher Kendall Patrick’s two-RBI double against right- hander Carson LaRue. For Michigan, it ends its regu- lar season with its most wins since 2010, and is hungry for suc- cess in the Big Ten Tournament. “A win like this … brings momentum,” said Bakich. “It’s a good feeling to have. These guys work extreme- ly hard and deserve suc- cess. The way we played today with the execu- tion, the effort and the mentality. The total feeling today of (us) not going to be denied. “If we bottle this up and keep this going, we’re going to be a tough team to beat.” AMANDA ALLEN/Daily Sophomore left-hander Brett Adcock is 6-1 with a 2.00 earned-run average in his last seven starts and started Wednesday. OKLAHOMA ST MICHIGAN 2 6 “We’re going to be a tough team to beat.” “We know we’re going to take some blows ... trade punches.”