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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

