10
Thursday, May 19, 2016
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
SPORTS
Wolverines lose to Oakland
By NATHANIEL CLARK
Daily Sports Writer
What had been an immensely
frustrating week for the Michigan
baseball team appeared to be
ending in the bottom of the ninth
inning of Tuesday’s game.
Junior
catcher
Harrison
Wenson approached home plate
with runners on first and second
with one out. It was his chance to
be the hero.
But he grounded into an inning-
ending double play and Oakland
scored a run in the next frame to
top the Wolverines, 6-5. Michigan
(12-8 Big Ten, 34-17 overall) is now
on a five-game skid for the first
time since 2013.
“We talked about believing that
we could do it,” said Michigan
coach Erik Bakich referring to his
team’s rally. “We’ve had big innings
many times this year. Everyone just
found a way to get on base. We tied
it up and had the chance to win. We
just didn’t win it.”
Down 5-2 in the ninth, senior
pinch-hitter
Dominic
Jamett
began Michigan’s comeback by
getting hit by a pitch. On the
next at-bat, sophomore shortstop
Michael Brdar lifted a fly ball to
right field that appeared to be an
out before the right fielder dropped
it. Freshman second baseman Ako
Thomas then drew a walk to load
the bases with no one out.
Senior
center
fielder
Cody
Bruder took advantage as he hit
a bases-clearing double past the
third baseman to tie the game at
five. Junior left fielder Carmen
Benedetti was intentionally walked
before Wenson grounded into his
double play.
The Golden Grizzlies (10-12
Horizon, 22-24) put the nail in the
Wolverines’ coffin in the tenth
when left fielder Myles Zilinsky
singled to center to drive in the
game-winning run. Michigan went
down without much of a fight in the
tenth as a one-out walk by junior
right fielder Johnny Slater was
followed by another double play.
“It’s always tough to have an
emotional roller coaster like that,”
Bruder said. “It just didn’t work out
for us.”
Before the ninth inning, the
contest was a fairly low scoring
affair.
Oakland scored in the top of
the first when right fielder Tyler
Pagano hit a two-out, two-run
home run. The Golden Grizzlies
threatened further damage when
second
baseman
Ian
Yetsko
reached on a fielding error and Ben
Hart singled up the middle.
But Michigan sophomore right-
hander Ryan Nutof kept Oakland in
check when he got the next batter
to fly out to left field.
The Wolverines’ offense, which
had been stymied for the first four
frames, turned on in the bottom of
the fifth inning.
Bruder came to bat with runners
on first and second and one out.
He singled up the middle to drive
in Michigan’s first run while
Benedetti followed up with his own
RBI single to tie the game. Bruder
finished Tuesday with four hits in
five at-bats and four RBI.
The
Golden
Grizzlies
were
poised to strike again in the sixth
when they put runners on second
and third with two outs. Center
fielder Ryan Fitzgerald came to the
plate with a chance to put Oakland
on top.
Both runners scored during
Fitzgerald’s at-bat, but they did on a
balk and a wild pitch, respectively.
Michigan was in a two-run hole of
its own making.
The Golden Grizzles mounted
another offensive in the eighth
when catcher Matt Dileo came to
bat with a man on second and no one
out. He laid down a sacrifice bunt
down the third base line to advance
the runner to third.
But the throw hit Dileo in the
helmet and bounced past first base,
allowing a run to score and leaving
Michigan down 5-2 before its
ultimately unsuccessful comeback
effort one frame later.
“(The last week) has been a
rough patch for us,” Bruder said.
“We know we’re a good team and
we know that we’ll come out of this
stronger than we were coming in.
I think we’ll be alright, but teams
have rough patches.”
Even
with
their
recent
frustrating stretch, the Wolverines’
are still in 36th place in the rating
percentage index standings, which
will be used to help determine
which teams make the NCAA
tournament.
Before that, though, Michigan
will try to regain momentum with
a three-game road series at Illinois
beginning May 19 as a prelude to
the upcoming Big Ten Tournament.
‘M’ can right the ship
On May 10, the Michigan baseball
team was riding a five-game winning
streak, scoring 63 runs while
surrendering just 11 in that span. The
Wolverines, in spite of a combined
1-4 record against Minnesota and
Michigan
State, were
just
one-
half game
away from
the top spot in the Big Ten and were
off to their best start since 1987.
Today, Michigan is on a five-game
skid, its longest since 2013, in which
it has been outscored 31-19. The
Wolverines are now fifth place in
the conference standings with three
contests left.
“The last week has been an
emotional
roller
coaster,”
said
Michigan
coach
Erik
Bakich.
“Losing is not something that we
are accustomed to or will ever get
accustomed to.”
To add insult to injury, three
of Michigan’s losses came from a
sweep by its arch-rival, Ohio State.
The Wolverines’ 3-2 loss May 13 was
especially painful as the game ended
when the Buckeyes’ centerfielder
robbed senior designated hitter
Domenic Jamett of a game-tying
base hit with a diving catch.
But the most frustrating contests
for the Wolverines during their
recent struggles were undoubtedly
their two non-conference matchups.
Against Central Michigan on
May 10, Michigan found itself in
an 8-0 hole after four frames. The
Wolverines nearly erased the deficit
thanks to four by freshman left
fielder Jimmy Kerr. But they came
up one run short, dropping an 8-7
game to a Chippewas team that has
won just 18 games this season.
It was a similar story for Michigan
against Oakland on May 17. Trailing
5-2 going into the bottom of the
ninth, senior center fielder Cody
Bruder broke through with a three-
RBI double to both tie the game
and put the winning run in scoring
position. Junior left fielder Carmen
Benedetti was intentionally walked
on the next at-bat in order to set up a
potential double play.
That brought junior catcher
Harrison Wenson to the plate,
hoping to strike back against the
Golden Grizzlies, but he was unable
to be the hero when he grounded
into an inning-ending double play.
Oakland put up an RBI single in the
next frame for the win.
Wenson
has
been
in
an
uncharacteristic slump as of late,
recording just two hits in his last
20 at-bats. The Wolverines will
certainly need him to recreate his
earlier-season success if they are to
snap out of their current funk.
Michigan
has
been
playing
without outfielder Matt Ramsay,
who is currently out with an injury.
He was a fixture at the second spot
in the Wolverines’ lineup, posting a
.298 batting average, four home runs
and 28 RBI.
“I feel really bad for (Ramsay),”
Bruder said. “It’s his senior year. To
end like that is pretty awful.”
But according to the team, a big
part of its struggles has been players
feeling under pressure, as Bruder
said after the Oakland loss.
“It seems like everyone feels like
every pitch is magnified at this point
of the season,” Bruder said. “If you
take a strike, you feel a little worse
than at the beginning of the season.”
Added Bakich: “You can sense the
frustration in everybody. Some guys
maybe are pressing or trying too
hard to change that outcome.”
To be sure, the Wolverines have
more than enough ability to turn
things around. Michigan is hitting
.310 as a team, the second highest
mark in the Big Ten, and are tied for
first in the conference with 310 runs
scored. The pitching staff leads the
Big Ten with 440 strikeouts.
The Wolverines also have a
three-game series at Illinois to fine
tune themselves before the Big Ten
Tournament.
While
the
Fighting
Illini’s
record does not appear imposing
when compared to Michigan’s, the
Wolverines have played significantly
better at home than on the road —
16-4 and 13-13, respectively. Illinois,
meanwhile, is 11-4 at home this
season.
Michigan is No. 36 in the NCAA
rating percentage index standings,
the highest ranking of any Big
Ten team. While that puts the
Wolverines in solid position for
making the NCAA Tournament for
the second straight season, losses at
Illinois could jeopardize Michigan’s
chances if it does not repeat as the
Big Ten Tournament champion.
“We know we’re a good team,”
said
sophomore
infielder
Jake
Bivens. “We’ll be alright, good teams
have rough patches.”
Bivens is right that the Wolverines
are a good team, but they’ll need
to shape up quickly if they want to
achieve their goals.
ELIZABETH XIONG/Daily
Senior Cody Bruder had four hits and four RBI in five at-bats in Tuesday’s 6-5 loss to the Golden Grizzlies.
BASEBALL
NATHANIEL
CLARK